THE reporting of the story regarding the alleged “dumping” of a girl at Scotch Corner by an Arriva bus driver is interesting on several fronts.
The first article (Echo, Aug 28) containing the allegation carried major banner headlines and covered approximately a quarter page.
The second, in which a passenger had come forward to defend the driver’s actions (Echo, Aug 29) carried much smaller headlines and covered barely a tenth of the page.
There appears no reason why the passenger who came forward so promptly, plainly in response to the Echo’s article, should not be telling the truth and it may well be that the girl’s mother who complained about the incident and who wasn’t on the bus had made a mistake by not being aware of all the circumstances.
I read the first article – it was so bold it was difficult to miss. But I actually bypassed the second article first time around because it was much less prominent.
Given this and particularly in the interests of balanced reporting should not the second article have been equally as prominent?
It will be interesting to read the outcome of Arriva’s investigation and I hope that this is reported by The Northern Echo with the same prominence of the original article and not hidden away.
Ian Thompson, Spennymoor
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here