Someone needs to put an overlay on Google Maps with the declaration, “Torresdale and Torresdale Avenue are not the same.”

But given the nature of this mistake, we’re not sure it would help. Last month, five people were injured in a car accident at Harbison and Torresdale Avenues.

Ever the sly editors, Action News ran a story with a headline that said the crash happened in Torresdale and a story that said it happened in Frankford.

So where did the crash take place?  The answer is . . . neither! continue reading »

Action News, allow us to explain (again) the very simple rule for determining whether you’re in Wissinoming or Tacony.

Robbins Street is the dividing line. North of that is Tacony. South is Wissinoming. Ta-da!

continue reading »

Remember when someone (or someones) started slashing tires in Mayfair and all the TV news stations dug out their GPS devices and rushed to the Northeast? Of course you do. The slashing have slowed, but cars across the Northeast are still being vandalized.

As recently as April 1, tires were slashed on the 3500-block of Decatur Street. In Holmesburg. But the first slashing happened in Mayfair, and just because a crime pattern changes doesn’t mean the TV stations will react accordingly. continue reading »

Where is the Morrell Park Shop Rite? It’s in Torresdale if you ask Channels 6, 3 and 10.

When a car crashed into the store in late February, TV news vans rushed to the scene to get the scoop. But the scoop matters little if the reporters can’t actually figure out where they are. You’d think the habit of calling neighborhoods by street names would have at least worked in their favor this time – Morrell Avenue is right there.

We’ll let these screenshots speak for themselves. continue reading »

We’ve gotten lots of reader submissions from Northeast residents who spotted this Action News flub.

Fortunately, there were no injuries in the March 12 car crash in Wissinoming. So Action News stepped in to make sure everyone had something else to talk about. continue reading »

Action News must have a routine – make an error, correct it, but miss all the references so there is one obvious mistake hanging around in the story.

Not long after using Frankford and Wissinoming in a story, the news channel did the same with Mayfair and Holmesburg.

A man was shot in the early morning hours of Feb. 2 on the 3500-block of Arthur Street. That’s in Holmesburg, and that’s what the story says – except in the dateline, which says Mayfair. continue reading »

We did a little consulting before running this one, worried we’re being too hard on news outlets that appear not to own maps or computers.

But friends in the neighborhood and the local media told us to persevere. A mistake is a mistake, after all, and we’ve corrected this one multiple times.

It’s the curious case of Frankford, in which large media outlets apply their lack of neighborhood knowledge to news reports by calling places Frankford. continue reading »

Aside from the actual thing that went wrong Dec. 9 when a bus hit a teenage boy at Hunting Park and Kensington Avenue, the TV media outlets made sure some other things went wrong, too.

First, we know the crash happened on the other side of the Frankford Creek, meaning it didn’t occur in the Northeast. Strike one for Action News. continue reading »

It’s pretty clear at this point big media outlets aren’t putting in the work it takes to discern a neighborhood from a street.

So that non of us has to do work, may we suggest that the city just expand Frankford to include everything on Frankford Avenue?

The southern-most Frankford border along the avenue is at the Torresdale Avenue intersection — 3.3. miles away, you’ll find the 1500- and 1700- blocks of Frankford Avenue. continue reading »

There’s some argument over Frankford’s northern border. Some say it’s Cheltenham Avenue; others say Bridge Street. Regardless, the shootings that played out this past spring on the 2000-block of Bridge Street were in Frankford.

Yet, Wissinoming residents got a scare April 5 when Action News ran this headline: “Man and woman found shot in Wissinoming.” continue reading »