Well, that was tough yesterday. Reading
the headlines, the selective comments and seeing the pictures. The mainstream
media doing what it does best. Seeking out sensation with little regard for
those who were there, and who were personally affected by the terrible
tragedies on those two days. For those too who attended the FAI in its stiff
and formal setting, re-living the events in a court room is one thing, reading
sensational stories afterwards is quite another.
Seems to me, most news outlets latched
on to the word 'avoidable' when mentioning the fatalities and then selected and
plucked out other phrases to bolster their lurid headlines.
Yes, there were shortcomings in the
marking-out and taping-off, but to imply that signage was negligent is way off
the mark. There were signs and there was tape, and there were people who chose
to ignore them.
The mainstream media also neglected to
mention that in the JCR2014 tragedy a certain named individual was asked twice
to move back behind the tape, and each time the officials departed, he moved
back to his previous roadside position. There are also some additional reports
of conversations which took place at that time with other bystanders and these
were overlooked in the compilation of yesterday's 'news' reports, so what we
got was a pretty one-side and biased view of events on that fateful day.
And whilst I abhor the loss of life and
have sympathy for the family and friends of those lost, the facts have a right
to be reported. Over the years I have attended many motor sports events, on two
and four wheels, where some competitors have failed to go home to their
families at close of competition, but the Snowman Rally in 2013 was the first fatality
involving a spectator and the JCR2014 was the second where three more fatalities
occurred to non-competitors.
I can't help thinking that the 'news
industry' these days works in a similar, and yet very different, way to the 'political
industry'. Whereas politicians like to lead with positive headlines and good
news and play down the bad bits, journalists and editors prefer to lead with
lurid headlines and bad news and play down the positive bits.
Cynical? Yes, just a bit. I'm reminded once again of an old Editor in
my first newspaper job: "Get the facts right and the story will write
itself."
Although the Sheriff highlights 12 recommendations
which should be considered for future implementation many of these had actually
been underway for years, while some have been implemented in the past two years
and the rest are currently underway, he did make note that in both tragic
cases, circumstances on the day were affected by an influx of unexpectedly
large crowds which overwhelmed marshalling numbers at those locations.
Perhaps more importantly, the late
arrival of these large groups exacerbated those conditions. The underlying
advice here seeming to suggest that spectators should make a point of getting
to their chosen locations EARLY. In both cases the report also calls for more
experienced and better trained marshals - well, that scheme too is currently well
underway.
Another point to consider, folk were
going there to watch a rally. Unless they were first-timers they had an idea of
what to expect. And yet, some stood in silly and dangerous places regardless,
even when advised against doing so.
The FAI was not about apportioning blame,
it was about finding out what happened and what went wrong on those two
terrible days, but that's not the end of it. When both events take to the stage
in the future there will be some in the 'news industry' who will preface their reports
with reference to past events. It happens to other sports and to other 'news'
subjects too, so we'll just have to get used to it.
Next year and the new season is almost
upon us. As we turn a new page the hope will be that we can get back to enjoying
our sport in a safe and sensible manner. But let's not forget what happened in
the past and use it to make the future safer. The future of the sport is in the
hands of each and everyone one of us, not just those who participate and
officiate, but those who stand and watch.
