It's a position piece. They are written to look like legitimate news stories from mainstream media outlets, when in fact they are very one sided, and usually take some liberties with the facts and truth. Usually they are better written than this one. This one is kind of obvious, because its so poorly written.
A few keys to spot push/position pieces:
1. Its on a site no one has ever heard of. Even the credible blogs out there have some name-recognition to them.
2. The article seems to be alarmist in nature.
3. Other articles on the site seem to be just as alarmist in nature. All 'the sky is falling' and such. Real Yellow-journalism type stuff.
4. The story does not present both sides of the argument. In traditional journalism, the reporters speak with people representing both sides of an argument or debate. Even if one side wont cooperate, they include that information in the story.
5. Noticeable inaccuracies and errors of omission. For example, in this story they misspell 'Seguin'. There are proofers and copy editors at legitimate media outlets who catch things like this. Also, the article never mentions exactly which newspapers by name have allegedly been purchased. Texas and Oklahoma are both big places. Texas is 800+ miles across and 800+ miles from top to bottom. How close are these newspapers to the proposed TTC routes? If for example, it were revealed that one paper purchased was in El Paso, some 500 miles from the nearest TTC proposed route, then it kinda takes some of the punch out of the authors allegations.
6. Ask yourself 'what arent they telling me?' For instance, it could be possible that Rupert Murdoch's, News Corporation has purchased these papers as part of a larger media outlet buy across the country, and his financiers happen to be the same ones financing the toll construction projects. What might be a tenuous relationship at best becomes a smoking gun for authors trying to add substance to an already weak issue.
And that's just on the journalistic side of the issue. Best rule of thumb, even when it comes to the mainstream media, question what you read and hear. But be more suspicious of poorly written stories who's authors clearly seem to have an agenda to push. The signs listed above will usually give it away.
I would be interested to find out where the authors went to j-school.
Look, you all know I am pro-toll; cause I am selfish enough to want everything paved over between here and Houston if it can save me 10 minutes on the drive - and I'll gladly cough up the cash for the privilege, cause I can afford to do so. But I'll come right out and say so. Educate yourselves and don't fall for poorly-written push pieces as legitimate articles.
If I was a toll foe, I don't know if I'd want to use this crew as a source and an ally in this battle. A few of their other recent headlines/stories are "Rockefeller Admitted Elite Goal Of Microchipped Population;" "The 'Wipe Israel Off The Map' Hoax;" and my personal favorite, "Was 9/11 really that bad?"
Come on.
BTW, that whole, "the implementation of a toll that will be collected by means of GPS tracking devices installed in all vehicles" item is probably a reference to the electronic toll tags that have been in use for automated toll collection for over a decade now. (You fly through the sensor lanes instead of stopping and waiting in line to pay the toll). They use a decidedly different technology than GPS. Toll tags use RFI sensors. Banana Republic also sews RFI tags into your flat-front khakis (that they tell you to remove before washing). They do it to make sure they know when the pants leave the warehouse. BR certainly isnt tracking your whereabouts using GPS technology and satellites. (although this dude's website probably alleges that they do.)
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"We marched five leagues over a fine country with broad plains, the most beautiful in all of New Spain. We camped on the banks of an arroyo. This I called San Antonio de Padua, because we reached it on the day of his festival." - General Domingo Teran de los Rios, June 13, 1691, in a letter to the King of Spain on the occasion of the founding of San Antonio.
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