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Records: Man, 30, died after Disney ride in April
- Thread starter speck76
- Start date
KaliSplash
Well-Known Member
(sigh)
As another journalist, it's clear to me what happened here. An editor said I want records on every death that has the name Disney in it anywhere in the report and I want a story.
They found this one. They wrote a story. They may find more.
In recent years (last 25), journalists have moved away from covering every subcommittee of every government agency that ever spent a dime. They've been told to focus on matters that touch the heart and the wallet. These stories 'connect' better with readers/listners/viewers, consultants tell us.
Vacations are supposed to be a happy time. Stories about vacations that turn tragic for whatever reason 'touch the heart' (or in our case, 'touch the nerve.')
Orlando obviously relies on tourism for much of its economy. Things that affect tourism affect Orlando. Yet they can not sweep the stories under the rug, for someone else may find them and accuse them of hiding information that might make the city look bad. Therefore, the local media search them out, too.
Is it overblown? Yes. But then, would we ordinarily care about police shooting someone on a subway in London? No. But we do after the events of July 7.
We do it because it really does attract viewers/listeners/readers. Witness the number of comments on this site about incidents that have happened.
At least half of the comments are 'what happened?' and 'my thoughts and prayers are with the family.' The rest defend Disney or attack the media, but the simple fact is, it attracts attention.
This is why after shark attacks, you invariably get tips on how to avoid being bitten by a shark. After an abduction, you get tips on how to avoid having your loved one become a victim. After a fire death, you get tips on how to avoid being a fire victim, etc.
These things really do worry people and we really do provide 'solutions.'
Or rather, things that pad out the newscast or newspaper story.
As another journalist, it's clear to me what happened here. An editor said I want records on every death that has the name Disney in it anywhere in the report and I want a story.
They found this one. They wrote a story. They may find more.
In recent years (last 25), journalists have moved away from covering every subcommittee of every government agency that ever spent a dime. They've been told to focus on matters that touch the heart and the wallet. These stories 'connect' better with readers/listners/viewers, consultants tell us.
Vacations are supposed to be a happy time. Stories about vacations that turn tragic for whatever reason 'touch the heart' (or in our case, 'touch the nerve.')
Orlando obviously relies on tourism for much of its economy. Things that affect tourism affect Orlando. Yet they can not sweep the stories under the rug, for someone else may find them and accuse them of hiding information that might make the city look bad. Therefore, the local media search them out, too.
Is it overblown? Yes. But then, would we ordinarily care about police shooting someone on a subway in London? No. But we do after the events of July 7.
We do it because it really does attract viewers/listeners/readers. Witness the number of comments on this site about incidents that have happened.
At least half of the comments are 'what happened?' and 'my thoughts and prayers are with the family.' The rest defend Disney or attack the media, but the simple fact is, it attracts attention.
This is why after shark attacks, you invariably get tips on how to avoid being bitten by a shark. After an abduction, you get tips on how to avoid having your loved one become a victim. After a fire death, you get tips on how to avoid being a fire victim, etc.
These things really do worry people and we really do provide 'solutions.'
Or rather, things that pad out the newscast or newspaper story.
wdwishes2005
New Member
DisneyFreak1228 said:Media does it because they know everyone's already freaking out, what with the M:S thing, and now Tower last week.
It's funny, they talk about awful stuff like that, but they never mention funny and insane moments like the Brazillian Tour member who was arrested on Coaster last week, and how that same night, everything in the park was down except for Star Tours and Great Movie Ride.
Wow what happend?
diddy_mouse
Well-Known Member
I've heard of a slow news day, but digging up something that happened in April is kinda lame. It's almost like: "Oh, by the way....a 30 year old man died on a ride at Disney back in April...going to Disney this summer is hazardous to your health."
Having a degree in Comm. with a journalism concentration...its stories like this that make me HATE sensationalism. Such a low form of journalism if you ask me.
Having a degree in Comm. with a journalism concentration...its stories like this that make me HATE sensationalism. Such a low form of journalism if you ask me.
DisneyFreak1228
New Member
wdwishes2005 said:
Well from what I heard, she sat on the hood of the limo at load and refused to move. She's banned from property. LMA and Fantasmic! went down due to the weather, MuppetVision was struck by lightning, Tower's chicken elevator quit, and I dno what else happened.
KaliSplash said:
The Sentinel is a sham.....
Orlando is a divided city (for those that do not live here)
There are 2 major groups....
1. Those that live south of downtown (mostly recent transplants that work in the service industry)
2. Those that live north of downtown (rednecks, long-time locals, have little to do with the Orlando that MOST people know)
The Sentinel caters more to the people north of downtown, and I am not sure why. A few months ago, the Sentinel ran a series on how the Orange County Convention Center was a waste of money......the agenda behind the series was that the Orlando Magic want a new arena, and they Mr Scamway wants the taxpayers to pay for it......since the taxpayers won't even pass a sales tax increase to fund roads (and almost did not pass one to find schools) this is a lost cause. The Sentinel thinks it is a great idea to use part of the tourist tax (hotel room occupancy tax) to fund a new arena....so Mr Scamway can make more money, and the Magic will continue to have a losing record.
The people north of downtown care about the Magic.....the people south of downtown prefer the Knicks, Nets, Bulls, and Pistons.....
A few years back, the Sentinel was on a kick about how tourists are the root of every evil in the city
Ok.......call me dumb, but in a city that relies on tourism as its major revenue generator......this is probably not a good set of stories to run.
Behind the scenes, the Sentinel delivers, at no cost to the local hotels, the paper 7 days per week to all of the guests......this is done for no other reason than to boost the circulation numbers, and allow the newspaper to charge the advertisers more.
Since they began running these stories, Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Westin, and Sheraton all told the Sentinel to not bother delivering the papers.....the hotels' view was "our guests do not need to read about how bad they are for the city"
Within a day or two, the stories suddenly stopped.
The media is not about the news, it is about money.....whatever sells the most is what gets covered the most......the bad thing about this is that the vast majority of Americans are too dumb to realize this.......
Just because you read it, does not mean it is true.
patricia27
Member
Do we have records on any people who died on the way to their holiday at WDW--- car accident etc ?? !!
SpongeScott
Well-Known Member
excellent, Brad.speck76 said:
CAPTAIN HOOK
Well-Known Member
I'd like to point out that it is now over two years since I last rode TOT and Dinosaur AND I'm still alive - its the people NOT the rides.
Halfling418
New Member
Yeah, let's avoid well-established theme parks like Disney and Universal and stick to the safe, non-rickety fair rides. 