Another example of reporting leading...

Anyone who reads my blogs & has been to the Fayette Front Page or the Georgia Front Page knows I have a serious problem with so-called media reporting. I worked in it for years and was in marketing & public relations for years... and have worked with many, many local elected officials on their elections. Reporters slant things. Very, very few reporters have the time or inclination to do research of any importance into the issues they're covering. They tell you what they see.

A recent example of what I consider to be slanted reporting. In a local newspaper the following statement was printed in regards to GRTA, MARTA, buses, etc. in the Atlanta area: "Boardings have grown from more than 17,000 .... to more than 47,000.... A boarding represents one rider stepping onto or off a bus for a ride into or out of downtown."

Now think about that. It says a rider stepping onto OR off a bus. Are they counting the person twice? Should the actual numbers used be cut in half? If a connection is made while going into town does the person get counted four times? Once on and off each connection?

If they're being counted separately when they go to work in the morning, then again when they come home in the afternoon, should that number be divided by four? Or, if they're making a connection, should it be divided by eight?

Is it possible to just get an actual count of how many individuals use the GRTA express buses? I travel around Atlanta a few times a month and see empty express buses. We've gotten where we watch the buses to see how they're being filled... or not filled. They're more often than not empty or maybe have one or two people on them. I'm sure there are some that are utilized to a larger degree --- I'm not trying to take a tiny random sampling and make it out to be the norm. I don't know. I wouldn't mind knowing.

I've heard that many of the counties that signed on aren't happy with the results. It would be great to have a true, non-biased look at GRTA, MARTA, express routes, etc. Just the facts.