CNN Reporter's View of the SWC Ride; Mica's views on Amtrak

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Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill

Buckeye Train Watcher
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An article on the front page of CNN's online version this morning is a report about his ride on the SW Chief and the "problems" with Amtrak. Long interview with Mica and our Soviet style railroad. I do not know how to link to the site but you all can read it at your leisure.

A rather condescending view of those who ride Amtrak from one who seemed to enjoy part of his trip, but wanted to criticize it at the same time. :huh:
 
I agree with jis--the article is sloppy, one-sided (snide attitude toward the rail lovers he interviewed), and superficial (who on earth, even among railfans, makes their first talking point how tough it is to take a shower on the train?).

I looked up this kid's professional background (well, he looks like a kid to me, but then just about everyone does anymore) and he is a video producer, so it's not like they sent their top reporting team. He also worked for the Washington Post, then moved to CNN (which seems like a step down instead of up to me).

Does anyone else find it an interesting coincidence that he was on his way to cover the Republican debates? And that this was posted during a holiday travel season, when people are starting to realize trains are a comparatively relaxing holiday travel option and are beginning to take them instead of flying or driving? And that he found John Mica immediately to interview and quote? I'm not saying the article was planted--just that the coincidences are interesting.
 
I agree with the others, especially with Patty's suspicions!

CNN, as a reputable News Agency, has deteriorated greatly since Ted Turner sold out to Time-Warner.

But then the race to the bottom trying to match Fox accounts for much of that!
 
I stay away from CNN as much as possible and go with more accurate sources including FOX News. Of course something controversial like Amtrak is going to be viewed as a chew toy by whoever writes the story or blows in front of the camera. I'll just relax and ride the trains whilst they fuss it out :)
 
Quote from the article:

"You can sit on your bed and lean over the sink to brush your teeth and watch the sun rise over Fullerton"

Maybe I missed it but, how was he traveling? My SWC roomette had no sink.
 
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Folks: no matter if we like it or not, this article shows just how some members of the general public view trains and train travel. No discussion of how trains serve the intermediate markets, or markets with expensive air service or poor bus service, or anything like that.
 
Just a one sided sound bite.

No mention about the massive federal funding that makes air travel and highways.

Let alone getting pressure from Congress about air travel or highways ever making revenue that allows the feds to stop funding them.
 
Pretty much anytime I see Mica's name I realize it's probably not worth reading.

This sounds like another case of that.
 
Against my better judgment, I watched the first minute or so of the video (without sound because I'm in the office), and John Mica pops up on the screen, obviously on the train (and obviously in a coach seat!). Curiouser and curiouser.
 
Yeah I tweeted the author and said he should do better research. Look at his photo: he's just a kid.
 
OlympianHiawatha said:
I stay away from CNN as much as possible and go with more accurate sources including FOX News. Of course something controversial like Amtrak is going to be viewed as a chew toy by whoever writes the story or blows in front of the camera. I'll just relax and ride the trains whilst they fuss it out.
Click to expand...
Did you notice "accurate source" Fox News debating what role the engineer's sexual preference played in Amtrak's NEC derailment?

http://www.eonline.com/news/657191/fox-news-correspondent-sandy-rios-claims-amtrak-engineer-s-sexuality-a-factor-in-deadly-crash

http://www.newnownext.com/fox-news-correspondent-calls-amtrak-engineers-sexuality-a-factor-in-deadly-crash/05/2015/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/14/sandy-rios-anti-gay-amtrak_n_7286360.html

You can't make this stuff up, but you can see it treated like a legitimate issue on fake journalism channels like Fox News. It's no wonder that Fox News viewers score worse than people who don't read or watch any news at all when polled about basic news facts.
 
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Patty: Yes! Was Mica riding coach on the SWC? Was he on the SWC at all? If I had to guess, I'd say he was interviewed on an Amfleet I or something similar because the seats look too close together for a Superliner. Mica's implied pro-privatization rant could have been offset by a competent rebuttal if the reporter had been enterprising or knowledgeable enough to make the effort.
 
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As usual, CNN has no comments section and no email address for their "reporters". I'm not on Twitter but I commend blondninja for berating the author on twitter. Sloppy article, unresearched, incompetent, myth-spreading. If he really wants to learn anything about Amtrak "long-distance" trains he should take a quick overight trip from Atlanta (CNN's headquarters) to DC (which seems to be his beat). I recommend that other people berate him and pressure him to do that. :)
 
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CNN may have already had the interview with Mica, thus took advantage of this Producer heading out west to ride the SWC (had to have the best, he's a News Producer) to do a companion piece to the interview. Doubt this guy does regular reporting, why he is a Producer. This was not high priority enough to assigned one of the mainstream reporters. Anyway, the underlying assignment probably was to ride Amtrak to submit something that supports the Mica interview.
 
You're probably right, Lonestar.

The sloppiness of the report results in a piece that gives it a one-sided pro-Mica slant, because his opinions are not effectively countered by a clearly stated opposing view. They had the Mica clip and wanted to fill it out, rather than give it the meticulous scrutiny it deserved.

This reporter allowed his own laziness to make him Mica's tool.

Tom
 
FormerOBS said:
You're probably right, Lonestar.

The sloppiness of the report results in a piece that gives it a one-sided pro-Mica slant, because his opinions are not effectively countered by a clearly stated opposing view. They had the Mica clip and wanted to fill it out, rather than give it the meticulous scrutiny it deserved.

This reporter allowed his own laziness to make him Mica's tool.

Tom
Click to expand...
Why yes this is standard. It getting worse as the news rooms downsized. In 1983 or so, my high school first experience in TV was produce a news show based on a press release from the school.

Nothing new here. Slow news day. Got to fill it with something.
 
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