Media Reporting Scorecard
An analysis of Cyprus media reporting on road collisions against the Road Collision Reporting Guidelines. This assesses the article LANGUAGE, not the outlets or journalists themselves, encouraging constructive improvement.
⚠️ Disclaimer & Legal Notice
The gradings, reviews, and suggestions published on this page represent opinion and commentary on public media reporting against published road safety reporting standards. This analysis is conducted in the public interest to promote safer road reporting practices. It does not constitute a legal accusation, character assessment, or formal audit of any news organization or individual journalist. This feature is currently pending final legal review before launch.
📘 Reporting Guidelines Reference Guide
Avoid using "accident" (ατύχημα) as it implies the event was unavoidable or an act of fate. Use "collision", "crash", or "impact" to recognize that traffic incidents are preventable systemic failures.
Focus on human agency rather than vehicles. Write "driver collided" instead of "car collided" or "vehicle struck pedestrian" to maintain accountability for operation.
Do not prematurely assign blame to vulnerable road users (e.g. "pedestrian was not wearing high-vis" or "crossed outside zebra crossing") before formal crash investigation findings are published.
Avoid sweeping labels that generalize road user groups. Use terms like "person walking" or "person riding a cycle" instead of labels like "cyclists" or "pedestrians" to maintain empathy.
Acknowledge that crashes are not isolated, freak incidents. Mention broader traffic safety statistics, local infrastructure factors, or repeating safety patterns.
Avoid graphic details, dramatic descriptions, or fate-based framing (e.g., "tragedy", "horror crash", "bloody collision") to ensure professional, informative reporting.
Overall reporting standards
Across every reviewed article from all monitored outlets. A higher compliance score means language that more often follows Safe System reporting guidance.
Most common issues
By outlet
Select an outlet to see its own breakdown.