The September 15, 2008 edition of NEWSWEEK magazine had a section of several articles under the heading “Project Green.” These articles showcased green architecture, green schools and a green curriculum. Caitlin McDevitt wrote one of the articles highlighting the Columbia Missouri school district and its “walking school bus” program. She made the point that with the rising costs of diesel fuel (up 34 percent in the past two years), this school district cut their transportation costs by redrawing its bus routes and eliminating some buses. With adults supervising groups of students who used to ride the bus, they now walk a half-mile to and from school each day.
McDevitt made the point that transportation was an easier cost to reduce because it does not affect the curriculum or the test scores of students. She went on to provide examples of other school districts that have eliminated buses as a response to the rising fuel costs. She also presented some other innovative ideas that school districts were using like four-day school weeks, scheduling athletic “away” events closer to home and even purchasing hybrid buses. While these would all be in the environmental “win” category, one downside of reducing buses would be if parents started driving their students to school instead of having them walk. According to Mike Martin of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, one school bus replaces 36 private vehicles. Gas for all those vehicles would be an environmental loss.
The focus on the “walking school bus” idea was a great way to represent how transportation is going green. However, in reading comments to the author posted on the NEWSWEEK website, it was surprising to read: “Columbia Missouri’s program of children walking to school is a FITNESS program called the “Walking School Bus”. It was not started as a response to rising fuel costs but if it can serve parts of town that are impacted by reduced bus routes that is wonderful. The author’s intentional failure to mention the origins of the program as a Fitness for kids plan and misrepresent it as an environmental evolution is poor journalism.”
I would like to think McDevitt reported the “Walking School Bus” factually, however this reader’s comment should show reporters just how important it is to report the facts. I am taking a Mass Media class this semester, and we constantly discuss the Code of Ethics journalist must follow. What I know for sure is that here, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln we are taught to seek the truth and report it. However, I am sure some of you out there have differing opinions on how journalists report the news…so feel free to share your thoughts!
