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  • Irresponsible News Reporting?

    Is it just me, or was it patently irresponsible for KHNL to air YouTube footage of some hairbrained twit doing 180mph on his motorcycle on H-3 Fwy? All it did was give this guy the attention he was looking for when he posted the video of himself (it was shot from the motorcycle). Where is the news here? Is this not sensationalism? With the epidemic of excessive speeding, street racing and pedestrian fatalities in our state, how can airing this bit of amateur video be justified? Don't get me wrong, I can certainly rationalize it, being the devil's advocate that I am, but it just doesn't seem right.
    Don't be mean,
    try to help.

  • #2
    Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

    your post intrigued me and i just read the story online. personally it seemed like the reporter did a story just because the video was there and it would look pretty cool on tv, which i have a problem with. now if the video was used because there was some sort of on-going problem with motorcycle speeders or if a motorcycle rider had caused the death of a pedestrian or something where the video could be used to help illustrate the story, then i could justify it being used.

    otherwise there's a lot of "cool" video on youtube...where does one draw the line? i recall the use of some fights recorded on oahu high school campuses that hit the news last year.

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    • #3
      Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

      Originally posted by sin View Post
      your post intrigued me and i just read the story online. personally it seemed like the reporter did a story just because the video was there and it would look pretty cool on tv, which i have a problem with. now if the video was used because there was some sort of on-going problem with motorcycle speeders or if a motorcycle rider had caused the death of a pedestrian or something where the video could be used to help illustrate the story, then i could justify it being used.

      otherwise there's a lot of "cool" video on youtube...where does one draw the line? i recall the use of some fights recorded on oahu high school campuses that hit the news last year.
      Yeah, I remember that school fight story. That was actual news, something that parents could use to talk to their kids. But the footage of the motorcycle blazing down H-3 seems only to give YouTube and the speedy jackass publicity. How many speed freaks are going to be doing the same thing after seeing that clip?
      Don't be mean,
      try to help.

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      • #4
        Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

        slow news day?
        kinda OT, but i recall an article online about how much content is actual news. the person edited a screen shot of cnn to remove ads, sensational news (24 hour anna nicole-smith!) and what was left (hard news) was pretty sparse.
        Aquaponics in Paradise !

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        • #5
          Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

          You mean this video? It'd been flying around via e-mail, so eventually it'd land in a media person's inbox. Seeing as how it was posted in December, it's not exactly fresh.

          I agree, it seemed about as desperate a way to fill airtime as the "kids fighting on YouTube!" thing last year. Though one could make a case for that... I was surprised myself a while back when a search for stuff on my alma mater turned up schoolground scraps. Way to make an alumni feel proud!

          It comes down to judgement and what bad behavior may or may not be fueled by coverage. Just last week there was all that handwringing about covering suicides, after a spate of them in recent weeks. I remember we didn't cover them at Ka Leo, or at least were well aware of the "taboo" status of the topic (for news -- features and editorials were another story).

          I remember smirking at KHON after the suicide on Kinau St. They actually said, "Now, we don't normally cover suicides, but..." And whatever their lame excuse, my head finished the sentence, "...we got some great footage of the smashed car and an interview with the driver, so you bet we're going to cover this one!"

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          • #6
            Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

            Originally posted by pzarquon View Post
            I remember smirking at KHON after the suicide on Kinau St. They actually said, "Now, we don't normally cover suicides, but..." And whatever their lame excuse, my head finished the sentence, "...we got some great footage of the smashed car and an interview with the driver, so you bet we're going to cover this one!"
            Classic. I'm surprised that the anchor had the restraint to eschew the obvious "it's raining men" gag. The "If it bleeds, it leads" maxim is unfortunate, but I must admit to a certain amount of culpability when it comes to morbid fascination.

            Actually, I wasn't aware that the H-3 motorcycle YouTube clip was that old. That's just sad that KHNL has resorted to mining voyeuristic internet sites and calling it news. Although I suppose anything that happens anywhere is news. "Think About It." =p
            Don't be mean,
            try to help.

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            • #7
              Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

              I saw that report and it was poorly done...no offense to the reporter he is new..and I have no idea what resources the station gave him that day. Did they give him the report three hrs before newstime? Did they send him on four other stories in addition to that one? So he had no time to get any other facts or in-depth stuff?





              Story can be boiled down to this:

              - Guy rides bike really fast
              - People say "bad biker!"
              - The end

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              • #8
                Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                The guy on the bike is a first rate assclown. Too bad he didn't get caught.This is the kind of prick that ruins it for law abiding military people in Hawaii.
                Last edited by Keanu; March 7, 2007, 07:06 PM.

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                • #9
                  Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                  I would imagine it had to ba a slow news day or else it would have been triaged to the end where the rest of the human interest stuff goes.

                  Now about the footage...130-MPH on a bike...das all? No balls
                  Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                    Originally posted by Keanu View Post
                    The guy on the bike is a first rate assclown. Too bad he didn't get caught.This is the kind of prick that ruins it for law abiding military people in Hawaii.
                    It actually doesn't even look like the guy is based in Hawaii, if the website owner and the perp are the same (what's emblazoned on the front page sorta implies that.) Network Solution WHOIS says that the domain name is registered to someone in California. (search on the domain name)

                    Makes you wonder if speeding warrants extradition in Hawaii. For something of this magnitude (uh, let's see, 153 - 60 = 93 MPH over?), exceptions should be made.
                    Last edited by Keith H.; March 7, 2007, 08:10 PM. Reason: clarify
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                    • #11
                      Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                      Originally posted by Keith H. View Post
                      It actually doesn't even look like the guy is based in Hawaii, if the website owner and the perp are the same (what's emblazoned on the front page sorta implies that.) Network Solution WHOIS says that the domain name is registered to someone in California. (search on the domain name)

                      Makes you wonder if speeding warrants extradition in Hawaii. For something of this magnitude (uh, let's see, 153 - 60 = 93 MPH over?), exceptions should be made.
                      That was definetly KMCBH he was coming out of. If he's not a Marine or Sailor, makes me wonder what he was doing on base.

                      The fact remains that the dumbass in question is an out of state clown riding recklessly on our roadways and our media was stupid enough to glorify his assclown antics.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                        Originally posted by jdub View Post
                        [...]Actually, I wasn't aware that the H-3 motorcycle YouTube clip was that old. That's just sad that KHNL has resorted to mining voyeuristic internet sites and calling it news. Although I suppose anything that happens anywhere is news. "Think About It." =p
                        Possibly it was considered newsworthy because it pertained in Hawaii?

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                        • #13
                          Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                          Originally posted by Keanu View Post
                          That was definetly KMCBH he was coming out of. If he's not a Marine or Sailor, makes me wonder what he was doing on base.
                          Well, that may not mean anything. When I was working on my foolhardy HawaiiRoads.com project, and wanted to photograph the H-3 from the Kaneohe end, I just drove up to the gate, told 'em I missed my offramp, and got to turn around to drive back out. And, of course, one can get on base for any number of public or invitation-only events.

                          I irrationally suspect he was military, though.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                            Originally posted by pzarquon View Post
                            I remember smirking at KHON after the suicide on Kinau St. They actually said, "Now, we don't normally cover suicides, but..." And whatever their lame excuse, my head finished the sentence, "...we got some great footage of the smashed car and an interview with the driver, so you bet we're going to cover this one!"
                            suicide is a taboo topic for newspapers and television news alike, mainly because there is always a chance that some poor soul out there will see that this guy on tv got some attention by ending his life, so he should go out there to do the same.

                            but if that suicide affects other people, say you throw yourself off an H-1 overpass and that backs up traffic for four hours, then there's almost no way to avoid mentioning what happened. otherwise you end up reporting the backup, angry comments from drivers, hpd response but don't tell anybody what caused the back up in the first place? not.

                            in any case, my point was the whole "if it bleeds it leads" comment is pretty unfair i think. there's more to it than that.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Irresponsible News Reporting?

                              Here's the guy's MySpace profile and his reaction to the KHNL story. If I can identify the guy I certainly hope the Police or MPs have tracked him down.

                              http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endID=38834047
                              Sleep is a poor substitute for caffeine!

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