Letters on Transport to the media
From E.A. Gibbins CMILT
Updated 14.09.09
“The editor welcomes letters
….”, is not a promise to publish even if it corrects inaccuracies
with verifiable facts. This web site is devoted to letters on transport –
based on documented, verifiable research – responding to articles and
readers’ letters in various newspapers, and on radio & TV, which
contained inaccuracies or were out-of-context – most of which were not
published. Files are being examined to select more letters to add to the list.
Whilst some letters may have been rejected on grounds of length – which were
no longer than necessary to answer inaccuracies – parts of the letters
could have been used.
If the media devoted half as much space to publishing implicitly
solicited letters, based on researched & source-identified facts, as they
did to critical articles and readers’ letters, the image presented of BR
would have been more balanced and would have recognised that journalists had an
understanding of the real world. They also suffer from “circumstances beyond our control”,
whether it be badly smudged typescript, over-typed text in ‘quality’
newspapers, duplicated articles in the same edition or “gremlins”.
The main excuse – if they offer one – for non-publication,
is ‘lack of space’. The irony escapes them that they criticised BR
for failing to find seats for passengers presenting themselves without warning
a few minutes (or even, seconds) before departure, whilst they cannot find
space when they have 24 hours or more to play with! A careful review of some of
the trivia for which space is found, and checks on validity of some claims might
solve the problem.
Click for:
railway closures
(including Beeching)
privatisation &
private sector
Letters on other subjects will be added soon