Saturday 16 January 2010

The car supremacist bias of the corporate media

Two violent deaths on Britain's roads yesterday.

A woman was run over and killed after she confronted a man who was trying to steal her sports car from outside her home.

This was a very big story on BBC TV national news, and in total (by 6 p.m. yesterday) produced 161 news reports in the corporate news media.

A very much smaller story, which attracted only 15 news reports in the corporate news media was this:

A lollipop lady died after being knocked down by a lorry in front of horrified schoolchildren yesterday. Mother-of-one Catherine Gibson, 59, was hit by the truck while on patrol near St Anne's Primary school in Gallowgate, Glasgow.

The lorry would have been approaching a 20mph 'school zone' when the accident happened. Glasgow City Council officials later confirmed that flashing signs warning motorists to slow down were operating at the time.

Why the difference in emphasis?