The end of December is the season for newspapers to unveil big projects aimed at changing public policy – and, not incidentally, winning prizes. (I know. I’ve done it.) This year, the Kansas City Star printed an unappetizing but provocative ser
ies on meat production showing that modern industry methods may be harmful for people’s health. Across the state, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran a series on pedestrians killed on railroad tracks and what it saw as the weak industry response. The reader reaction was quite different. The Kansas City Star readers wrote with praise. The Post-Dispatch was surprised by strongly negative comments suggesting that those on the tracks should exercise personal responsibility and wondering if the paper wanted to fence off rivers, oceans and expressways.
Read for yourself:
Kansas City Star series: Beef’s raw edges
http://www.kansascity.com/beef/
Reader response:
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/07/3954662/share-your-feedback-on-our-beef.html
Post-Dispatch series: Death on the rails
http://www.stltoday.com/news/special-reports/rails/
Reader response:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/hundreds-die-walking-the-tracks-each-year/article_b9c8bbcc-f424-559a-a0c4-bee46f8d4fe7.html?mode=comments