Why are the reports reporting “Porsche” and “Maserati” instead of “cars”? In the past, the car name “Prius” was also available! Why is the expression biased?
“Why is it reported in the press as “”Porsche”” and “”Maserati”” instead of “”automobile””? And once the car name “”Prius””! Why is there bias in the expression?
Imported cars tend to be reported by brand name
When we look at reports of incidents and accidents involving cars, we find that there is a certain trend in the way brand names and car model names are described.
Recently, the brand names of imported cars have been reported day after day, but what criteria are there?
Why were they called Prius Missile? Look at the black spec “”Prius,”” a normally cool car!
Why are brand names such as “”Porsche”” and “”Maserati”” reported in accident reports? A domestic car was once reported under the name “”Prius””..
On June 14, 2022, it was reported that a Porsche 911, apparently driven by an errant driver, plowed into the gate of a kindergarten in Miyagi Prefecture, but the major mass media that reported this accident did not seem to report the model name of the car, 911.
On the following day, the 15th, a stolen Maserati Ghibli in Chiba Prefecture ran out of control and plowed into a sidewalk in Tokyo.
While almost all of the major mass media outlets that reported this incident also used the brand name “”Maserati”” in their headlines, none of them even reported the model name “”Gibli.
In any case, there is no evidence that the car was driven wrongly because it was a Porsche, or stolen or driven out of control because it was a Maserati, and the name has become known in a way that Maserati and Porsche enthusiasts and others do not want it to.
On June 13, a few days before these accidents and incidents, two men and a woman in a stolen car fled the scene in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, crashing into a police car and a regular car.
The stolen car is believed to be a Toyota “”Land Cruiser Prado (150 series),”” but we could not find any cases in which the words “”Land Cruiser”” or “”Land Cruiser”” or “”Prado”” were used in the headlines among the major mass media that reported this incident.
Thus, while the brand names of imported cars are reported in full, domestic cars are generally described simply as “”cars”” or “”automobiles.
However, until a few years ago, there were cases where specific brand or model names were mentioned for domestic cars as well.
For example, in the Ikebukuro runaway accident that occurred in April 2019, the name of the Toyota “”Prius”” driven by the defendant was widely reported because the defendant claimed that the runaway was caused by a defect in the car.
At the time, there were also many reports of “”misstep accidents”” involving elderly people, and since many of the reports showed a Prius, some derided them as “”Prius missiles.
However, it seems that the large number of Prius cars sold and the fact that they were favored by a wide range of generations (especially the elderly) were more significant factors than any actual problems with the Prius itself.
Looking at reports of incidents and accidents involving cars in this way, it is clear that there is a certain trend in the use of brand names and model names.
As a general trend, imported cars are often described by brand names or by expressions that emphasize the fact that they are expensive imported cars, such as “”luxury imported cars”” or “”luxury sports cars.
On the other hand, for domestic cars, unless the car itself is involved in the root of the incident or accident, there are not so many cases where the brand or model name is reported.
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However, we believe that the statement entitled “”Our Views on Reporting Real Names”” released in March 2022 by the Japan Newspaper Publishers Association, which is comprised of newspapers, news agencies, and broadcasters nationwide, may be of help in understanding this issue. We believe that it may help to understand this issue.
This statement summarizes the Association’s position on the significance of reporting the real names of victims of incidents and accidents.
It states, “”We believe that names can create sympathy for the victims, make the incident seem like no one else’s business, and serve as a force to encourage discussion about improving the system to prevent recurrence, and there are many examples of such cases.
Although this is only a description of a person’s name, there are some points that should be common in the area of names.
In this context, it is also true that there are cases where brand names are reported and cases where they are not, as in the aforementioned examples.
In this regard, although the report states that “”news organizations do not absolutely insist on reporting the names of people by their real names,”” the final decision on whether or not to report the names of people by their real names is the responsibility of the news organization. In short, it seems that it is up to each media organization to make its own decision.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)”