I was just watching the local news here in Atlanta.They had a helecopter shot of a CSX freight with an SD80MAC(?) smoking something terrible - no flames but lots of smoke.The reporter said "this is not normal for a STEAM locomotive" !!!!!!!!!!!!< jeesh >

Huh. Not surprising for one of those broadcast bozos. :o) We in the print media usually do a little better, although the example Bob Yarger recently posted shows how clueless ANY reporter can be.Long before I joined the staff of a newspaper, I learned that it's essential to explain EVERYTHING to reporters in the most elementary terms possible. If there's a way to screw up the facts and make everyone involved look like idiots, a news reporter will find it! :o) Especially if the reporter in question is out of his/her element.Example: I had to do a story about a local couple who "adopted" the street corner across from their house and made it into a garden. I later found out that I messed up on the details of some of the plants pretty badly. Anyone with a minimum knowledge of gardening would know the difference. However, my knowledge of plants ends with mowing grass and running the bush hog at SCRM.Don't be too hard on reporters. We're all clueless about something!