What is news and what doesn't make the news

from w
The Herald Sun reported a story, but not the Geelong Advertiser though it was a Geelong bound train involved and five hundred passengers on board, mainly heading for our city. Okay, a garbage truck crashed into a train going at 60k an hour through a Melbourne suburb. No-one was badly injured. Our youngest son was on the train. We had wondered why he was three hours late getting home and missing the kava party.

'Oh, our train had a crash! They wouldn't let us leave the train and be bussed home. We all had our names taken by the police. Cameras were flashing through the windows. Everyone was on their mobile phones cancelling meetings etc. But I didn't have a phone. But as no one got killed, it's not a news story I suppose.'

Here is a bit of the story as reported in the Herald Sun.
Train hits garbage truckArticle from:
David Hastie
June 30, 2007 12:00am
A TRAIN and a garbage truck collided at a level crossing in Yarraville last night, with locals saying it was an accident waiting to happen. The Maribyrnong City Council vehicle was hit by a V-Line passenger train, heading to Geelong, about 5.50pm. The driver of the truck and his passenger were taken to the Alfred with minor injuries. No one on the train was hurt….

Joanna Panagoulopoulos, who has lived in Yarraville for 44 years, said it was just a matter of time before a vehicle was caught on the tracks. She said the road became bottlenecked at the Anderson St crossing and vehicles were often caught on the tracks. "All you need is the lights to start flashing, the booms to come down and you're in trouble," she said. "Because of all the traffic and parked cars, it's been a problem for ages. It's been a fear of mine for years."

Marty Sanders, who was on the train, said he feared for his life. "We were travelling normally and then the train started tooting its horn for what seemed like an eternity," Mr Sanders said. "When it hit, it hit hard and people where falling all over the place."

Police Senior Sergeant Greg Hewitt said both the boom gates and level crossing lights were operational at the time of the collision. "The truck seems to have got caught up and stopped on the track," Snr-Sgt Hewitt said. "It's still early stages and we will need to speak to the drivers of the train and the truck."

Greens member Colleen Hartland warned the State Government last week in Parliament of the danger posed by the Yarraville crossing. "During peak time, in any one day up to 126 people illegally crossed the train line," she said.

V/Line spokesman Daniel Moloney said the 5.29pm service from Melbourne to Geelong was its flagship service and would have had up to 520 passengers onboard when it hit. "These trains operate at very slow speeds through the suburbs and would not have been travelling any faster than 60km/h," he said. Mr Maloney said the train sustained only minor damage. Buses and additional train services were provided to carry the passengers home, he said.

(The last sentence not true. The passengers - many in suits as it was a workers' train had to wait three hours.)