Headlines (and more Breed ID)

Boy oh boy, the media is on a ROLL this week -- which is easy to do when you're going down hill.  Here's one incident, and how different media reported it.

Headline: "Pit bull mix attacks students on Michigan school bus".

Headline: "Ottawa County Boy bitten by dog on school bus." The first sentence: "A pit bull is set to be euthanized after attacking several students on a school bus." From WZZM in Grand Rapids, MI.

Headline: "Dog Attacks Students on School Bus in Ottawa County." First sentence: "Police say a dog described by its owner as an Australian Cattle Dog-pit bull mix ran abourd a school bus in Western Michigan, nipping one student and scratching another." From WSBT in South Bend, IN.

Headline: "Dog scratches students on the school bus".  First sentence: "Two students are recovering from minor injuries following a bizarre incident on a school bus in Robinson Township involving a dog."  In the very last paragraph, the dog is described as "mostly a Blue Heeler with a little bit of pit bull". From WTHI - Terre haute, IN.

The dog apparently had a biting history and is regularly left out unattended.

I just think the headlines and first sentences are a perfect indication of how dog bites/attacks/scratches are portrayed. 

When the dog was a "pit bull", it "attacked several students on a school bus" - -and even made the headline.

When the dog was a Australian Cattle Dog/Pit Bull mix it "attacked students on a bus" in the headline, but "nipped one and scratched another" in the first sentence.

When the dog was mostly Australia Cattle Dog, it just "scratched" the kids and the breed wasn't even mentioned until the last paragraph.

There is a reason people say the media reports bites by 'pit bulls' differently -- and this is a perfect example.  And when someone like Merrit Clifton provides a list of breeds involved in "severe" dog attacks, note that he determines the severity of the attack based solely on newspaper reports. 

Just sayin'.

Comments

[Siani]

"The dog apparently had a biting history and is regularly left out unattended".

That one short sentence says it all for me. Once again, irresponsible dog ownership puts others at risk, and condemns a dog to death. When will people - especially the media - realize that neither the dogs themselves, or their breeds, are to blame for such incidents? Here in the UK, Rottweilers and Staffordshire bull terriers are the media's favorite canine betes noires at the moment, and often, even fairly minor incidents hit the national press, if they involve a Rottie or a Staffie.

[Selma]

This is a terrific entry in our 'pit bull' sweepstakes.

I'd love to see this in a big paper.

[Carianne]

So, NewsNet5 in OH posted this story on February 5th as something like, Dog Bites Kid on Bus Today, they reposted the story as Pit Bull Attacks Boy on Bus. This is unbelievable...