Here's a few examples of inconsiderate parking by drivers of expensive cars.
Best one has to be the 11-reg Roller taking up four spaces.
Tut tut - not that I imagine the owner will lose much sleep over it.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1391640/The-supercar-drivers-happy-dump-cars-double-yellow-lines-spaces-disabled-bays.html
|
Some of those look quite reasonable to me.
How do they know the "super-rich" owner of an 11 year old Porsche isn't disabled?
Moronic article. Quiet news day?
Last edited by: Manatee on Sun 29 May 11 at 09:21
|
...Moronic article...
Quite the reverse, it's a good talking point.
Every motorist will at some time have tutted about inconsiderate parking.
It's easy to fill a newspaper with longwinded, worthy articles about the economy, politics and other ever-so-important 'issues'.
Much harder to find stories that instantly strike a chord.
If you got off your high horse, you might find it's a lot of fun down here.
|
|
In my road it is quite hard to fit my moderately-sized Hyundai i30 into the parking slots. A neighbour's son got a ticket for parking one tyre-width across the line. The entire curbing was replaced not long ago and it is not surprising that it was soon covered with tyre scuff marks as drivers strove to get within limits. So I think the issue is important, especialy as all cars seem to be getting broader in the beam, demonstrated by comparing original and modern Minis, for example.
|
"Much harder to find stories that instantly strike a chord."
Well not too hard - just lifted from SWNS as betrayed by the copyright on the photos.
swns.com/
|
...Well not too hard - just lifted from SWNS as betrayed by the copyright on the photos...
The story has not been lifted from anywhere.
Either the Mail will have briefed SWNS to take the pics, or SWNS will have done them on spec and flogged them to the Mail.
The latter is more likely - agency photographers are keen, if they don't take/sell pics, they don't eat.
So no sitting around waiting for the next job to come in, get out there and try to find something that will make something.
|
|
Its a crap story. None of those car parks are busy, its been hyped up to be a rich v poor piece of garbage.
|
I replied on a similar thread on Pistonheads that if I saw bad parking like that I would deliberately park my car as close to them as possible.
I hate bad parking, I hate drivers who can't park straight in a supermarket car park and I hate drivers who think they should sit astride 2 spaces because their car is more special than anyone elses.
Fair enough, in a deserted car park at the furthest away point but if that car park then fills up and they have taken 4 spaces up then they won't get much sympathy from me!
|
>> I hate bad parking,
So do I. The disabled parking or mother and kids, i'd have no arguement with.
>> I hate drivers who can't park straight in a supermarket car park and I hate drivers >> who think they should sit astride 2 spaces because their car is more special than >>anyone elses.
I hate selfish people who don't give a monkey's for other people's property...more than I do people with a nice car who take up two spaces to prevent damge to their cars. Let's face it, modern parking spaces are simply too small, (modern home garages likewise).
If you drive something nice, why should you have to come back to it damaged just because you park in a public car park. Therefore there's a degree of common sense in straddling two spaces, minor selfishness in taking up an extra space..versus major selfishness of someone damaging your car.
Maybe the ire should be directed at the planners who build car parks that have spaces too small for modern cars.
As for that article...what a load of tosh.
|
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=768257&mid=251054&i=6240&nmt=The+BAD+PARKING+thread&mid=251054
^^^ The original thread, been reading that on and off for a couple of years i think.
On that page there's a nissan micra, and on the next or the one after, there's another micra abandoned the same way. Made me chuckle :-)
|
"SWNS will have done them on spec and flogged them to the Mail"
Exactly it a brainless no effort filler obtained from an agency which took a few minutes to complete and with no original thought whatsoever.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Sun 29 May 11 at 12:38
|
Wasn't it Michael Winner who said, "Sixty pounds to drive in a bus lane? Absolute bargain!"
|
...Exactly it a brainless no effort filler obtained from an agency which took a few minutes to complete and with no original thought whatsoever...
Quite the reverse - again.
It's hard to make something from nothing.
You see an inconsiderately parked car, the SWNS snapper sees a possible story.
That's where the brains - or rather news sense - come in.
The effort is traipsing around car parks to find other cars.
One badly parked expensive car is not a story, but half-a-dozen might be.
Sure, it's not going to win a Pulitzer Prize.
But have you read the stuff that does?
It would send a glass eye to sleep.
Any chance of getting back to a discussion on parking?
That was the only reason I posted the link.
|
>>The story has not been lifted from anywhere.
It's a crap story in a crap rag.
The 'story' was stolen from a Pistonheads thread and altered to make the emphasis on 'rich' drivers parking inconsiderately.
The actual thread contains photos of cars of ALL types. The guy who wrote the original article (and didn't pay any attention to copyright regarding the photos) even had the cheek to claim copyright.
The owners of Pistonheads are rightly outraged and have taken him to task. One particulat post sums it up:
"Not ensuring the article showed the balance and diversity of vehicles in this thread, focusing instead on the more expensive cars, would suggest that your article was at best sensationalist and at worst jealous plagiaristic rubbish."
|
...The 'story' was stolen from a Pistonheads...
No copyright on news, I'm afraid.
SWNS will have to sort out the copyright problem on the pics, if there is one.
A story about inconsiderate parking is hardly an original idea, so it cannot be 'owned' by anyone.
There were parking stories in newspapers long before the internet or Pisotonheads, so I don't know what the posters on there are bleating about.
I'd like to warn them there might be a story about a fast car in Auto Express this week.
|
>> I'd like to warn them there might be a story about a fast car in
>> Auto Express this week.
>>
The Daily Telegraph might have something about 3 to 10 year old cars breaking down next to an advert for WarrantyDirect who just so happened to pay the DT for some advertising. Ooops ! a week too late.
Lost my faith in the UK papers more than ten years ago when "journalists" just took the money to duplicate a press release...
|
...Lost my faith in the UK papers more than ten years ago when "journalists" just took the money to duplicate a press release...
Lots of stories are based on press releases, some re-written in the paper's house style, some not.
Other stories use a press release as a source of an idea, other stories have got nothing to do with press releases at all.
Not everything you write can cause a hurricane to blow through the corridors of power.
|
>> Not everything you write can cause a hurricane to blow through the corridors of power.
>>
True. Also, you don't have to eat everything you see...
|
|
Private Eye for journalism, Torygraph for the Sudoku, letters page, obits and the crossword.
|
...Torygraph for the Sudoku, letters page, obits and the crossword...
People buy newspapers for many different reasons - 'cat litter' is just as valid as any other.
|
>> People buy newspapers for many different reasons - 'cat litter' is just as valid as
>> any other.
>>
Is that a slogan Ford could use - cat litter puts a Ford on your drive ?
|
...Is that a slogan Ford could use - cat litter puts a Ford on your drive ?...
They could, but as fewer than a dozen people in the country would understand it, it wouldn't be very effective.
Ford and the Daily Mail have one thing in common - they are both very good at what they do.
|
>> Ford and the Daily Mail have one thing in common - they are both very
>> good at what they do.
So is McDonalds ;-)
|
|
Iffy, are you employed or do you receive payment in any form from the Daily Mail?
|
...Iffy, are you employed or do you receive payment in any form from the Daily Mail?...
No, although I have flogged them a story or two over the years on a freelance basis.
The nationals have very few staff in the provinces.
The Mail does have a man in County Durham, but his patch will cover most of the north of England.
I don't know where their next nearest staff reporter is, but it might be Manchester in one direction, and Scotland in the other.
The other nationals are in a similar position.
So the paper either relies on agencies/freelances, or if it's a big story, despatches someone from down south.
Easier communications and motorway travel have limited the opportunities for freelances.
A story to illustrate this:
In the 1962 there was a lifeboat disaster off the coast of Seaham, County Durham.
The Northern Echo's patch reporter at the time freely admitted his freelance earnings from that paid the deposit on his house.
These days, he might flog one or two stories, but within hours of the story breaking, the nationals would have their own people crawling all over it.
www.east-durham.co.uk/seaham/lifeboats.htm
|
...So is McDonalds ;-)...
Agreed.
By the way Manatee, if you like Sudoku, crosswords and puzzles, you could do worse than have a look at the Daily Mail.
I know crosswords are a very personal thing, but their coffee break section is nothing if not comprehensive, lots of quizzes, games and so on.
|
Iffy, this is a genuine question.
Where did all the real journalists go ?
All we see on Panorama these days are old blokes who's years are up and if they are sacked their pensions are safe.
Who are the real challengers to power these days ?
Where are the questions coming from who challenge those who chose to ride over everyone ?
|
...Iffy, this is a genuine question...Where did all the real journalists go ?...
gmac,
I'm bound to observe I've found your posts on this topic up to now needling and snidey, so in that respect I'm not sure if I can be bothered to answer.
But it's pointless holding grudges, particularly anonymous ones, your question is a fair one, and others may be interested in it
Not that I claim to have all the answers, but here goes:
There's a temptation to look back and think there was a golden age of journalism when every lunch was long and liquid, and every story was a scoop.
I don't think that's so, but there's no doubt proprietors these days are less inclined than ever to invest in journalists.
We are seen as a 'cost centre'.
The type of stories you speak of are very expensive to do, and for every one that turns out well, the reporter will have chased a dozen lost causes.
Even on a more basic level, if a newspaper has 20 journalists doing routine stories, there is a temptation for the proprietor to think the newsroom could manage with 18, then 15, then 12, then....
After all, the paper still comes out, which it does, although quality will inevitably suffer.
It's also true that some journalists have not done the cause any favours.
It's very hard to measure productivity and performance, so some have taken advantage of that over the years to skive.
There's a longstanding joke about the paper whose journalists were in a pay dispute and were threatening to work to rule.
They withdrew the threat when they realised it meant they would have to work harder.
|
>> ...Iffy, this is a genuine question...Where did all the real journalists go ?...
>>
>> gmac,
>>
>> I'm bound to observe I've found your posts on this topic up to now needling
>> and snidey, so in that respect I'm not sure if I can be bothered to
>> answer.
>>
Thank you for taking the time to put forward your comprehensive reply.
I did not mean to come across as neither needling, nor snidey.
The question still stands as to where the journalists went regardless, who the paymasters are. Who cares what the cost centre or overhead is ? Let's get to the bottom of the story.
Last edited by: gmac on Sun 29 May 11 at 23:30
|
...Who cares what the cost centre or overhead is ?...
The owners - often a plc.
And since it's their money, the resources are just not there.
They will not pay for a journalist to spend a week on what might be termed 'a good story', when in that same week the journalist could turn around dozens of press releases.
Quantity over quality.
An exception is the News of the World which is prepared to let the so-called fake sheikh - Mazher Mahmood - work 'off diary', that is do his own thing.
Sometimes even his editor doesn't hear from him for months.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazher_Mahmood
|
>> Quantity over quality.
>>
Blimey !
I thought never mind the quality feel the weight disappeared decades ago in Universities.
|
>> ...Who cares what the cost centre or overhead is ?...
>>
>> The owners - often a plc.
>>
>> And since it's their money, the resources are just not there.
>>
>> They will not pay for a journalist to spend a week on what might be
>> termed 'a good story', when in that same week the journalist could turn around dozens
>> of press releases.
>>
>> Quantity over quality.
>>
>> An exception is the News of the World which is prepared to let the so-called
>> fake sheikh - Mazher Mahmood - work 'off diary', that is do his own thing.
>>
>> Sometimes even his editor doesn't hear from him for months.
>>
>> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazher_Mahmood
>>
Hmmm... Who is "And since it's their money, the resources are just not there." THEIR?
Just who is bankrolling the media ? The truth...
|
...Just who is bankrolling the media ? The truth...
The term 'bankrolling' suggests there is something underhand.
There isn't.
Most media is owned by publicly quoted companies, so it's the shareholders.
They want a return on their investment, so pressure is put on directors to turn a big profit.
It seems to me the only way most directors know how to do that is to cut costs, which usually means getting rid of people.
That's the same in many industries, not just newspapers.
Exceptions will be The Guardian which is controlled, if not owned, by a trust.
And the BBC.
But they are under pressure to give value for money for the licence fee, so it comes to the same thing.
The Beeb's local news services have been cut back massively in recent years.
Last edited by: Iffy on Mon 30 May 11 at 00:10
|
Long winded way of saying nothing...
Who are/is "THEIR" ?
Last edited by: gmac on Mon 30 May 11 at 00:23
|
...Long winded way of saying nothing...Who are/is "THEIR" ?...
You've lost me.
The paper is owned by its shareholders, so it's their money.
Same as lots of other businesses.
Take the Daily Mail.
Its shares are traded on the open market.
Anyone can buy them, they are currently about £4.51 each.
www.lse.co.uk/SharePrice.asp?shareprice=DMGT
|
>> ...Who cares what the cost centre or overhead is ?...
>>
>> The owners - often a plc.
>>
The obvious question now is who are these plcs, who are the directors and what are the connections to Westminster?
Phew ! Thank goodness I don't have to dig down for these answers.
|
...The obvious question now is who are these plcs, who are the directors and what are the connections to Westminster?...
The plc is a legal entity.
The directors are listed somewhere - it's certainly no secret.
Couldn't tell you what each director's connection to Westminster is.
But if you imagine the directors have any influence on day-to-day stories, you are wrong.
They don't.
For that you would need to look at the editor and the reporters.
The Daily Mail's editor is Paul Dacre, supposedly one of the highest paid in Fleet Street - about £1.6m a year.
He gets that because he's credited with boosting the Mail's circulation.
Last edited by: Iffy on Mon 30 May 11 at 00:46
|
Iffy, you are a politician in the making if not already...
Lots of words but no answers...well done Sir! I salute you...
|
...Lots of words but no answers...well done Sir! I salute you...
There are plenty of answers.
The problem is they don't suit your conspiracy theory agenda.
And had you asked what seems to be your real question - Who sets the political stance of a newspaper? - we could have saved the trip around the Stock Exchange.
You are not alone - many people think every story is influenced by mysterious hidden forces.
It simply isn't so.
If you wanted to see for yourself, you could ask to visit a newspaper to see how it's put together.
But going back to the Mail, its political stance is hardly a secret - they print two million copies of it every day.
|
For the Rolls Royce my thoughts were:
- Probably longer than a normal bay so would cover two lengthways anyway
- Probably wider than a single bay so you'd not get in/out of the car if anyone parked alongside. In fact neither would they... so might as well park in the middle.
What they should be doing is driving smaller, more appropriate sized cars for where they are going. If you have a Ferrari or Rolls Royce you probably also have another car!
|
'The Daily Mail is good at what it does'
Yes, telling lies and just making it up! Many if not all newspapers do this, but the Wail is the absolute lowest of the low. An utter disgrace and those that work for it should hang their heads in shame. I have been at or have knowledge of incidents they claim to 'report' and their stories have absolutely no factual content at all. Nothing. They don't even try.
There are no journalists anymore. Just individuals who claim the title. They are about as accurate and honest as a Politician filling in an expenses claim.
|
Here we go again *yawn*
Pat
|
Nice car, shame about the parking - Manatee
