When tragedies make news, reporters frequently give us information on how to prevent them from happening again. Here's a case when the dailies omitted safety information that could save lives.

In their coverage of the car crash that killed John Parr, Sandra Widener and their daughter Chase Parr, the dailies described the incident and the subsequent mourning in detail.

But in five articles on the tragedy, the Rocky Mountain News never explained how drivers can avoid crashing on snowy highways.

In its six articles on the crash, including a front-page banner headline, The Denver Post didn't do much better than the Rocky.

It ran a vague quote from Wyoming Highway Patrol Sgt. Stephen Townsend, who advised people driving in bad weather either to get off the highway or to "drive within their limits, reduce their speed and increase their following distance."

I called Townsend and asked him if he had any other ideas for safe driving in snowy conditions, in addition to what he told the Post. For example:

* Check road conditions before your trip and don't drive at all if highways are expected to be bad.

* Don't stop on the highway.

* Don't get out of your car.

* Make sure your car has snow tires, good windshield wiper blades and sufficient windshield fluid.

Maybe this stuff seems incredibly obvious to you, but that shouldn't stop a reporter from listing it in an article.

Both dailies should have run articles on how to use different types of brakes on icy highways and how to try to control a sliding car. I grew up in Colorado, and I'm not sure how to use my anti-lock brakes on ice. Sgt. Townsend also wasn't sure.

It was reported that the three surviving drivers in the Parr crash were cited by troopers for "driving too fast" for road conditions. But neither newspaper explained what this means.

Townsend told me that anytime a driver cannot avoid hitting another driver, or even if a driver skids on or off the road in bad conditions, the driver can be ticketed for driving too fast for conditions.

The Carbon County attorney in Wyoming will determine whether Parr also was driving too fast for conditions, Townsend said. Her report will reveal how fast he and the other drivers were going.

When her report is released, the dailies should explain how similar accidents can be avoided.

Every time a tragedy makes big news, journalists should run information that might help prevent a similar incident from happening - even if it has been reported or seems obvious.

Harsanyi back. The dailies have changed so much over the past few years that editors shouldn't rock the boat unnecessarily.

Newspaper readers want some consistency, especially when it comes to metro columnists.

That's why it was a mistake to move Post metro columnist David Harsanyi to the op-ed page. There's already been too much upheaval among Post columnists, with Diane Carman resigning and Jim Spencer being laid off. Harsanyi's provocative column shouldn't have been pushed to the lower-profile op-ed page.

Coffman's surprise. If you've followed the controversy about electronic voting machines through the years, you know that the issue normally divides along partisan lines, with Democrats more likely to be critical of electronic machines than Republicans.

This makes Secretary of State Mike Coffman's decision to decertify many electronic machines and counters all the more startling.

Local reporters should explore why this issue has split along partisan lines in the past - and if Coffman's decision might lead to more bipartisan concern about electronic voting machines.

Dump Harvey. Here's an excellent New Year's resolution for KOA-AM (850) radio. Dump Paul Harvey's bizarre and unnecessary news feature.

Harvey's show is known for its odd news items, but we hear more than enough strange news on KOA.

And I'm not just talking about KOA talk shows. It's time to replace Harvey and his surrogates with more real news.

Troops lose. Members of the Colorado Associated Press don't think the Iraq war is one of the top 10 local stories in 2007.

The war is obviously a national story, but it's also a giant Colorado story as well.

About 3,800 troops from Fort Carson in Colorado Springs are deployed in Iraq, and 226 have died there, including 45 in 2007, a Fort Carson spokesperson said.

How in the world does the Iraq War rank below the Colorado Rockies' World Series run, which, believe it or not, was voted Colorado's top story of 2007? What kind of skewed journalistic priorities puts sports above war?

Jason Salzman, president of Cause Communications and board chairman of Rocky Mountain Media Watch, is the author of Making the News: A Guide for Activists and Nonprofits. Reach him at salzmanj@RockyMountainNews.com.