
You figure when you step on a charter bus you're pretty safe. You think the company performs numerous inspections and is in the good graces of the Department of Transportation. But for some NCAA teams that use these charter services many times throughout the course of a season, that is not the case. Bob Holtzman explains in an Outside the Lines story that some athletic departments don't even know about the safety reports of some of the charter companies they are using.
The story starts out following the Tennessee women's basketball team as they make a trip to Arkansas using University Bus Lines, a company the government considers "high risk." Holtzman interviews the Director of Basketball Operations for Tennessee about the decision to use this company. She says she "didn't know" the University Bus Lines was considered high risk. I think this is a great way to highlight a main point of Holtzman's story, which is that many university officials simply don't check very deep into the safety records of the bus companies they hire.
Holtzman also interviews the CEO of University Bus Lines and asks him why he thinks the government considers his company "high risk." This is where I find the editing of the story somewhat questionable. They stay with his answer as he says "The government does a very.... I'm trying to think of the best way to answer this." Then they cut away as if he never came up with an answer, when on video it looked like he had more to say. I would like to hear how he does come around to answering it, but it appeared ESPN was manipulating opinion to be against the bus company. This same kind of edit happens again when Holtzman asks, "Doesn't it take just one bad day to have a disaster?" The CEO answers saying, "It does. Maybe I should rephrase that." Then the story cuts away from the interview again, never letting the viewer hear how he would rephrase it. It just seems to be like ESPN is trying to build a case against the bus companies by not letting some of those sources even complete their thoughts.
I do like the use of hard facts and graphics to expand the impact of this story. Holtzman says that at least 85 out of more than 300 universities have hired bus companies that the DOT considers "high risk." This was being said as a map was being shown of the locations of the different universities that used "high risk" companies. This lets viewers see if a university they go to or live near has been involved. I immediately looked to see if a point would be added at the University of Missouri, although one did not show up.
I also like how ESPN follows the University of Hartford basketball team on a trip with Dattco, a bus company that has also received poor scores from the DOT. They interview players and one said they've "hit cars before." This makes the problem a little more humanized to see a player who actually rides the buses tell of what the experience can be like. During this particular ride, they also catch the bus driver eating while he is driving and Holtzman says both of the driver's hands "weren't always on the wheel."
Overall I think it's a good story, but I think ESPN did try to stretch it a bit because there still have been relatively few accidents. I would have like to have heard the percentage of crashes compared to total bus rides by NCAA teams. Holtzman mentions there have been at least five serious charter bus crashes involving sports teams since 2002. But I would like to see some context added to this number by relating it to the total number of rides. Again, it just seems like ESPN is taking a adversary stance towards the bus companies.
This week, I will finally start my VO Patrol shifts and next week I will start my reporting shifts. I'm very excited to get going. I feel like I'm back in touch with the news here in Mid-Missouri after spring break and I am ready to cover some important stories. I look forward to getting out into the community and getting some work on KOMU. It has been a little tough being away for a week, but I think I am refreshed and reenergized to cover stories around the area.
These companies are no Mo-X.
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