Gang: There was a bunch of chatter in mpls-issues a couple weeks ago prompted by an attack on a Metro Transit driver. I argued that an individual attack on a driver, especially one that didn't rise in seriousness above the other 14,000-plus annual assualts in Minneapolis, wasn't newsworthy. Some of you disagreed. What I didn't say--for competitive reasons--was that another reporter was working on trying to put that attack in perspective. Indeed, the stats show attacks on drivers are down, and arguably they are better protected than before. You can read Maria Baca's story in last Monday's paper, on the bottom of the Metro front page, or look it up in the online archive. It's one reason I continue to argue that a newspaper's reporting resources are better spent looking at the forest rather than the trees in cases like this. It's also something that differentiates newspapers, where you get some analysis, from television, where you get photography that may be dramatic in its own right but not necessarily consequential. Steve Brandt Staff Writer Star Tribune (Mpls-St. Paul) 425 Portland Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55488 612-673-4438 (voice) 612-673-4359 (fax) e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
