This aired last night. Enjoy.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=1393921&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
Feel free to send all comments to
mark.saxenmeyer@foxchicago.com
Already sent my "notes" about it to them.
Nine out of ten times it is the stuntas like dano that are the ones crashing, and they are not racing there doing a fricking wheelie they cant control. Thats nice they pined the race community with the footege of Arron yates and Matt Maladin.
They must have gotten ALOT of feedback.....the story has been pulled from the website... ::)
Quote from: gsracer on November 06, 2006, 02:34:44 PM
They must have gotten ALOT of feedback.....the story has been pulled from the website... ::)
I just watched it. Yes motorcycle fatalities are up, but they are mostly due to older riders, not kids racing bikes on the street.
I want to ride that 160 mph Harley chopper! :lmao:
Quote from: gsracer on November 06, 2006, 02:34:44 PM
They must have gotten ALOT of feedback.....the story has been pulled from the website... ::)
Its still there.
My Response:
Although I found your piece on Motorcycle Street Racing entertaining the story was lacking in several areas. I found the timing of the story a bit odd. Most of the motorcycling public has stored their bikes for the winter and probably won't venture out in this weather. Secondly you forgot to touch on the fact that any 16-18 year old can take a safety class and obtain a motorcycle permit. However the fact is there is nothing to stop that kid from buying a high performance motorcycle and taking it to the street without any formal training. I personally think that the Illinois' Secretary of State motorcycle test is a joke. I think we should adopt a tiered system whereas you start on a smaller bike and move up to a bigger one once you prove yourself. There are plenty of schools and trackdays within a hour of Chicago that offer the training needed to operate a motorcycle in the correct manor.
One example:
http://www.visionsportsridingschools.com/
You also failed to touch on the fact that a motorcycle can be an affordable mode of transportation and in most parts of the world are used more for commuting than pleasure. .
I also feel that the State Police Motorcycle Squad is on outdated equipment and deserves a makeover. What kind of example does the State set when their uniforms barely offer any protection?
As for the helmet law, it's my head it's my choice. I think Illinois would have a hard time changing that law. Although I choose to wear appropriate clothing including a leather jacket, racing boots and gloves and a full face helmet, it's still my choice.
As for the fact that most motorcycle accidents are caused by excessive speed. I would have to question that fact. All of the close calls I have had are by inattentive drivers. Several of those were by people on their cell phone, doesn't Chicago have a law about that? I think its about time that drivers take responsibility for their actions. The old adage " I didn't see the motorcycle", doesn't fly anymore, it doesn't work with stop signs it shouldn't be an excuse for car drivers.
How do I know all of this information? I am also an avid motorcyclist and road racer. I have done over 170 mph on a motorcycle, it happened to be on a race track with about 50 other racers around me. I do use a motorcycle for work as well. I find it the most efficient way to maneuver around the city and with the current gas prices it's a relative bargain to fill up.
I think Mayor Daley needs to embrace motorcycles and in his ever consuming effort to make Chicago more worldly at least add dedicated parking spots for motorcycles in the loop. I find it quite annoying that tickets are given to motorcycles that split meters. However if I take a full spot I risk damage to my bike by outraged car drivers.
If you wish to make an honest report on motorcycles and the City of Chicago feel free to contact me.
Their Response:
thanks for writing, ben. you're right--it should have
been done earlier but the bosses thought it would be a
good piece for november sweeps (ratings-driven periods
for tv).
as for all the other info you mentioned--yes that would
have been good to include as well but i was :30 too
long as it was!
mark
Fox sucks. :ass:
Being that I was in Iraq and also ride/race motorcycles, I have little to no respect for main stream media. As it is a simple fact that they rarely if ever mediate anything posative, relavant or TRUE!! FU(% FOX!!!! :preachon: :finger:
i have seen two other fox news productions in the last week that are neg publicity for bikers
http://www.cycleaddiction.com/forums/index.php?topic=2523.msg39433
Quote from: jer271 on November 06, 2006, 02:10:13 PM
Nine out of ten times it is the stuntas like dano that are the ones crashing, and they are not racing there doing a fricking wheelie they cant control. Thats nice they pined the race community with the footege of Arron yates and Matt Maladin.
Now, let's see wasn't there a guy who was trying to "back it in" on the public roads some time ago...?
:biggrin: maybe!
My response:
I was fairly appalled with and highly insulted by this report on sportbikes that Fox aired last night.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=1393921&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
There are numerous things about the report that I would like to take issue with:
1) The two riders you featured were lying through their teeth. Neither of those featured bikes will be going 160 mph or completing a 9 second quarter mile. There are bikes that will easily achieve those performance goals, but neither of the two gentlemen you interviewed happened to be riding one. The pair bragged and told lies, while Fox fed it all to the public as fact.
2) The only footage you had of riders going fast and racing was shot at an AMA professional motorcycle race, legally held on a closed racing course. As a racer myself, I seriously take offense at your network using footage of our sport in a negative way. I'm sure that if you'd used NASCAR footage in a story about teen auto deaths, you'd be choking on a large lawsuit right now, as well as having offended every NASCAR fan in the country. As fans and participants in the sport of motorcycle racing, do we deserve less consideration simply because our numbers are fewer?
3) While I feel for the mother who lost her son, the video she shot was of riders stunting, not racing one another. In fact, the only racing shown in your whole feature was being done legally by paid professionals!
4) You stated that motorcycle deaths are up each year. You forgot to mention that motorcycle registrations are up every year as well. Your story focused on "SPORTBIKES!" Somehow you failed to mention that Harley Davidson riders make up the majority of the motorcycling community, and didn't say a word about how Harley Davidson riders are much less likely than sportbike riders to wear serious safety gear or a helmet. Harley people happen to get killed in motorcycle crashes fairly regularly too. But I doubt you're any more anxious to take on Harley Davidson than you are NASCAR.
5) You interviewed a State Trooper who complained that sportbikes could go 240 mph on the highway. In truth, even the best racing bikes in the world can't achieve such high speeds. You would have to go to the Bonneville Salt Flats before you found bikes specialized enough to run such speeds. Again, with an obviously misinformed cop spouting inaccuracies, you presented it all to your audience as fact.
My opinions and statements are not uninformed. If a lifetime of involvement with the sport of motorcycling I've won legally sanctioned amateur races and championships, crewed for two professional race teams, taught high performance riding at the racetrack for the country's largest track time provider, written articles and book about a variety of motorcycle-related topics, and spent a great deal of time working on charity projects like Toys For Tots and others. Sportbikes are the type of motorcycle that I favor, and I take great personal offense at your stereotyping an entire genre of the motorcycle world in order to write a biased and sensational piece whipped up to generate ratings. This is not responsible journalism. Why not change your network's name to "Fox Enquirer?" Perhaps you could feature a half-bat, half-Elvis doing wheelies down the Dan Ryan on a UFO in your next report?
It is my opinion that you created this piece as shock journalism, strictly to garner points during the November sweeps, and with no regard for truth. If you want to use stereotyping of all the members in a specific group as a method to generate ratings, why don't you use a sexual, racial or gender stereotype instead? You'll get sued, but I'd bet your ratings will be through the roof.
Chris Onwiler
WOW! This thread is heavy. :pop:
K3,
+1!
Quote from: K3 Chris Onwiler on November 06, 2006, 07:58:51 PM
Perhaps you could feature a half-bat, half-Elvis doing wheelies down the Dan Ryan on a UFO in your next report?
That footage was used on FOX News, you have to have cable or Dish to see it. :biggrin:
The NHTSA statistics actually show that the largest growing number of motorcycle injuries and deaths are among the over 40 group, riding 1000cc and over bikes. Yup, Harley ridin' folk.
Helemt law is a must, plus real riding school ,with real instructor and real test is also a must (as it is in europe,for cars and bikes).
i agree this footage was ***** ,inacurate, bunch of lies .
i remenber passing my motorcycle licence in VA..i did a stop and go, a u trun and thas it..i was on a harley heritage...a guy on a brand new 750 cc made the inspector beleivs that his bike couldn t made the u turn btw the cones because not enough steering angle...she beleived him and gave him his licence....
i worked few weeks at a local dealer, some parents (rich), come to buy with their 18 y old kids m a 1000 gsxr, ..... when i mention abt track days or school on the track for the kid to learn his bike and his ability they look at me like i m crazy by mentionning the word "race track" . and then they cry .. because he is stunting on the street and blame the motorcycle...
anyway...i m getting pissed already...
should email this thread to the news so they know the real opinions of "racers"
Dear Fox and Mark Saxenmeyer
I found the clip Daredevil Bikers to be poorly researched and sensationalistic. Using facts that were not checked and oversimplifying the facts you chose to use makes me wonder where else you have chosen to violate the Journalist's Code of Ethics. Here is a link to that code of ethics. Perhaps you should try reading it. Http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp? Perhaps you could choose to be more overt in your decision to prioritize truth so far below ratings in the future.
Dario J Hartmann
they are just like cockroaches and leaches
Saxonmeyer's response to me:
chris,
thanks for writing. i appreciate you taking the time to
do so. my thoughts:
*it was about sport biking only, not harley davidson
riders.
*we said that speed bikers were inspired by the pros,
not that illegal speeding/racing was the same thing.
*the young speeders in birmingham were in fact racing
each other -- non stop.
*just becasue there are more motorcycle riders doesn't
mean that should be an exuse for more deaths.
*i'm sorry you feel the need to question my
journalistic integrity. as a reporter with 17 years
experience and 17 emmy awards to match, i stand by my
story.
we appreciate your viewership.
mark saxenmeyer
My reply to his response:
Nice collection of awards. I'm sure you deserved them. But what you've done in the past has absolutely nothing to do with the work you did on this story. This story was pieced together, full of inaccuracies, sensational, and prejudiced.
In your reply, you ignored my mention of the pair you interviewed lying through their teeth, the cop stating with authority things that flat weren't possible, and the way that you presented all this as fact. That is irresponsible journalism in my opinion.
You used footage of legal, professional racing and blamed it for inspiring street speeders. You could have just as easily done a piece on handgun violence while showing film of soldiers fighting in Iraq and blamed the soldiers for inspiring violence among inner-city youths. (But that surely would have raised the ire of veterans groups.) I just don't see where this piece was anything but a sensationalized and prejudiced slander of the sportbike riding community as a whole.
Oh, and though you weren't doing a piece about Harleys, you might be interested to know that one of the two thugs you interviewed was riding either a customized Harley Davidson, or a Harley clone built from custom aftermarket parts. Yet he was speaking with authority about the sportbike scene. His pal was aboard a Suzuki from the mid-eighties that was built before the current crop of machines which offer the performance that you were trying to decry.
The video clip you used from the woman who lost her son was of a pair of riders doing side-by-side wheelies. A bike can not deliver maximum acceleration while being balanced on the rear tire, therefore my assessment is that those riders were stunting, not racing. Furthermore, they were doing it in Birmingham. You couldn't have filmed local lawbreakers if you were going to cast dispersion on the local scene?
For a far more damning yet honest and fair assessment of the negative impact of sportbikes, check out the two-part piece that your Fox colleagues in Atlanta recently did on mountain road racers. I was horrified and ashamed by the conduct I witnessed as I watched their piece, but not offended. The Atlanta broadcasters went out of their way to point out that it was a few riders ruining it for everybody, something that you failed to mention.
It seems to me that the reporters in Atlanta did the research, found credible interviewees, were careful not to make blanket accusations, and overall turned in an unpleasant yet unimpeachable story. You did not equal their effort. I'm pretty sure you won't be winning an Emmy for this piece....
Bravo K3!! :cheers:
:cheers: :cheers:That there is some good reading Chris. :thumb:
One must assume, someone with little or no knowledge of the subject gathered your facts. Surely a seasoned proffesional did not piece together this juvenile misrepresentation of our community.
Living in Florida I see sportbikes everyday. I've not seen any "races" on any of the streets here. I do know a large number of riders frequent the local racetracks for legal organized racing. This group was not mentioned in your piece. Apparently you are unaware that riders wishing to "imitate the pros" as you say, do so at one of hundreds of racetrack events. These events are referred to as "Trackdays" and are far more interesting than a short video of kids doing wheelies. One of the most notable tracks for motorcycles is in Alabama as I'm sure you are aware. I will not ask you to name it.
A good business practice and a sign of maturity is to present a solution along with the problem. I am positive any attempt by you to provide information where the riders in your story can go would be met with open arms. I also am positive it all depends on what audience you serve. That is, what audience do you care about?
Fair and Balanced does not describe the rather amateurish piece you aired. It may be negativity is the focus of your work. If so, I applaud your efforts.
Well done Chris. :cheers:
K3 is 8)
Thanks Chris-your a motorcycles' best friend-I wonder if Bill oreilly would think fox is fully fair and balanced here.john in NJ -Leaving the Valley 700 alone based on afterthought and your trailing points- thanks-John in NJ
k3, that was awesome :thumb:
Quote from: steeltoe on November 07, 2006, 08:19:50 PM
One must assume, someone with little or no knowledge of the subject gathered your facts. Surely a seasoned proffesional did not piece together this juvenile misrepresentation of our community.
Living in Florida I see sportbikes everyday. I've not seen any "races" on any of the streets here. I do know a large number of riders frequent the local racetracks for legal organized racing. This group was not mentioned in your piece. Apparently you are unaware that riders wishing to "imitate the pros" as you say, do so at one of hundreds of racetrack events. These events are referred to as "Trackdays" and are far more interesting than a short video of kids doing wheelies. One of the most notable tracks for motorcycles is in Alabama as I'm sure you are aware. I will not ask you to name it.
A good business practice and a sign of maturity is to present a solution along with the problem. I am positive any attempt by you to provide information where the riders in your story can go would be met with open arms. I also am positive it all depends on what audience you serve. That is, what audience do you care about?
Fair and Balanced does not describe the rather amateurish piece you aired. It may be negativity is the focus of your work. If so, I applaud your efforts.
I hope you emailed that to the reporter
Well said Ben and K3.
I did send it grasshopper. That piece was truly useless insofar as meaningful information for any party. It had neither a point nor purpose.
Hey look, WMD's!
wow i am shocked at the irresponsable resporting that was done and how irgnoant it was. Im pissed at how poorly they researched and presented everything. I can honestly say as a highschool student I could do then times better than that. i have so much to say about that report but you guys already covered it. I'd liek to take one of those reporters to a race weekend. Although I duno if they would live through the tar n feathering ahha