Mode Shift: public good media in transport
First it was the excellent Reimagining Wellington series, and now the Dominion Post is doubling down on the public-good journalism with this great series Mode Shift. It’s part of a welcome shift in public good media
If you haven’t dived in to the full Mode Shift series, we highly recommend it. And it’s extra welcome given the typically hysterical reporting about walking, bussing, scooting and biking getting (slightly) more precedence on our streets, as there is about (slightly) more homes being (maybe) built near existing homes. You’ve no doubt noticed it too: headlines screeching “CONTROVERSIAL” and “RADICAL” and “DRASTIC”; the outrage of those who want the status quo placed firmly on articles’ centre stage; selective use of statistics and attention; and – where cycling is concerned – often outright incitement to violence as observed by mediawatch outfits here and overseas.
So this series is another welcome sign.
Kicked off by this stake-in-the-sand editorial by Anna Fifield that she explains on Mediawatch, Mode Shift is bubbling with facts – some of them startling – in articles that are varied, interesting and well researched. The op-eds are helpful reminders of public figures’ positions, and the whole series is illuminated by pieces on regular Wellington people “mode shifting” – like this by Bill Hickman and this by Matthew Tso.
Alongside the series, there’s also some great regular journalism coming out. We’re impressed by coverage of the Newtown cycle and bus lane excitement by Erin Gourley, new to the DomPost stable and jumping in the deep end of transport, power plays and legislation (when not in the sewers).
We’re also really happy to see some more representative banner pictures illustrating cycling issues. Pictures are powerful, and for years and years, every mainstream media article on a cycling-related issue seemed to be illustrated by a picture of a lycra-clad man on a carbon road-bike, often not showing their face, or someone cycling grimly on a mountainbike.
Now it’s this more like sort of thing – far more like the people you actually see on the street.
Let’s not underestimate the courage of these moves. The one major daily paper in a city has to tread a fine line in being seen to remain objective doing fact-based reporting on things that New Zealand weirdly insists on calling “political” – like facts of urban physics and climate change (see here from 5:20). And this is important.
Good journalism matters. The old saying “you are what you eat” is true, but it’s even more true that “you are what you read”. And the less our independent media need to rely on advertising so dominated by real-estate agents and car companies, the freer they’ll be to give clear-eyed perspectives on the issues that shape our lives. It’s a great time to encourage this: be a Friend of Stuff or subscribe.
PS: Credit should also go to Georgina Campbell, the Herald’s Wellington reporter who does a far better job of reporting progressive transport issues than her colleagues in Auckland (special exception to Simon Wilson), and (overblown headlines aside) is doing evenhanded coverage like this. Hooray!
Leave a comment