As a life-long railfan who worked in the railroad industry for eight years and who is now a journalist, I have had the rare opportunity to hear parties on all three sides of the fence air their grievances about railroad-related stories in the media and make a few observations in the process.

As a rule, unless the coverage is accurate and positive, railroads tend to avoid the media like the plague. And frankly, I can't blame them. No business wants bad press. Generally speaking, the only time the public hears about railroads is when a derailment, grade crossing accident, or fatality occurs. Rarely does a positive story appear extolling the capital money expended by the local railroad to upgrade track structure, install new signals, or improve customer service. Sometimes railroads get mixed up with government agencies running commuter service, which further confounds and already confusing situation.

As stated previously in this thread, most media outlets lack a transportation expert, so "extra board" reporters with little knowledge of the industry are often sent out for the story. This sad fact does not excuse a publication from making egregious errors in reporting ad infinitum. Certainly, there is room for improvement when it comes to knowledge about railroading and other arcane industries. And I would hope that newspapers in major railroad hubs like Chicago, Roseville, and Kansas City would get the stories right more often than the national average.

Railfans are an extremely knowledgable, valuable, and passionate bunch, but too few understand either the business and strategy side of railroading or how today's media works (operating with fewer staff and less funding, all the while making a tumultous and uncertain transition from newspapers, magazines, and television to websites and blogs). The tendency among them is to jump to conclusions or bash railroad management and reporters / editors without knowledge of all of the pertinent facts and forces at work. A polite and diplomatic phone call or e-mail to point out an error to a reporter or editor would be better received than a tirade. Railfans should help promote understanding of the industry rather than rub lack of knowledge in someone's face. The opportunity to continue one's education and meet countless interesting people in the process is one of the joys of being a journalist. Most reporters I know are open to new ideas and have a thirst for knowledge. Give 'em a chance, folks.

My $0.02, once again ... Chris Goepel