The front page of today’s Examiner

We love the Examiner’s local reporters, but we sometimes question the newspaper’s editorial stances—often right-wing—and tabloid-like headlines. Today serves as a perfect example of the latter.

An article by transportation writer Liz Essley gets the front page bump, which is certainly an honor for any journalist. But Essley’s article—which is about the expected conflicts between cyclists and drivers on area roads as cycling becomes more widespread—appears on the front page under the banner headline, “Motorists fuming as bicyclists pack roads, everyone angry at clueless Bikeshare riders.”

A little hyperbolic, right? But to make that worse, the front page editors didn’t include a picture of a bicycle or a car, but rather of a gun-wielding protester standing in front of a fire. Sure, the picture is meant to accompany an article about anti-American protests outside of U.S. embassies in the Middle East, but from afar you’d be hard-pressed not to think that the Examiner is discretely trying to make another point. (A fair one, too. Last time I got caught behind a cyclist in my car I thought of lighting something on fire while prancing around with an automatic weapon, but that’s just me.)

In response, we think it only appropriate to offer up three alternate front page options.

Apropos of nothing, yesterday I saw one driver cut off an ambulance that was heading to the hospital and another follow the ambulance to get through traffic more quickly. Just sayin’. Oh, and this:

@dcexaminer I used your paper to wipe the dew off my @bikeshare seat this morning. Worked perfectly, thanks!

— chasick (@chasick) September 13, 2012

UPDATE, 10:45 a.m.: Man, oh man. Check this July 2011 Examiner front page out.