Dog Attacks: Media Labels Other Breeds as Pit Bulls

RAW DEAL!
It's a Rottweiler Photo; Not a Pit Bull !
Media sensationalism leads to inaccuracy about dog attacks
by Rhonda Roland Shearer, StinkyJournalism.org
November 11,2008



[ABOVE: KRMG mistakenly used a Rottweiler dog to illustrate a story about a pit bull attack. Why does the press frequently misidentify non-pit bull dog breeds as "pit bulls"?]

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Other Breeds Identified as "Pit Bulls"

The KRMG Local News AP headline blares--“Woman mauled by large pit bull'-- in Tulsa, Oklahoma, October 30, 2008. A photo of a black and brown dog's head accompanied the story. The problem was, the dog that attacked was described by the shelter as white and brown? A further problem was that the dog depicted in the photo, wasn't a pit bull, but a Rottweiler. StinkyJournalism has previously reported on this ongoing media error . The media often sees "mean dogs" as all the same, despite their distinct breed differences .

Indeed, the media loves pit bull news stories. Whether the story is about pit bulls attacking, or on occasion, rescuing people, the pit bull hysteria creates lots of web traffic .

After I informed KRMG editors of their error, the Rottweiler photo quickly disappeared and a notification was posted without explanation: “Editor's Note: Story/picture edited from original post.” But what does this mean?

So was it a pit bull that attacked as the story claimed or was it a Rottweiler ?

Continue reading: It's a Rottweiler Photo; Not a Pit Bull !

by Rhonda Roland Shearer
source/image: It's a Rottweiler Photo; Not a Pit Bull !