Focus of work
Roger has been reporting on transport for 35 years as part of his previous job as BBC Energy and Environment Analyst. Roger’s strong feeling is that pedestrians, cyclists and bus users get a raw deal in the media, especially compared with the regular stories on aviation (used by a minority of the travelling public), cars and trains. This mismatch is especially poignant now that we understand the benefits of more active transport on health, and as the government itself has expressed a determination to reduce the amount of car usage. Roger will interview transport correspondents and editors to find out their priorities for reporting, and speak to organisations hoping to be better represented in the media. He hopes to learn lessons that may help neglected forms of transport achieve better coverage, and aims to share his learning with practitioners and grantees, and to attempt to place an article in the national news based on this research.
Impact
Roger hopes that his interviews with journalists will provoke them into questioning their own story choices on transport, and that representatives of the “neglected” transport modes will gain an insight into the sort of stories needed to access the media better.