Another "Death at the Amusement Park" Story - WHY??

[Bill From PA]

Here's the lead paragraph of a new bit of CNN 'news'.

GURNEE, Illinois (AP) -- A 10-year-old girl with a history of heart trouble collapsed during a family outing at Six Flags Great America amusement park and died, police said.

Witnesses said the girl had just gotten off a ride in the Camp Cartoon Network area of the park Wednesday evening. She was running to rejoin her cousins and grandmother when she collapsed, Gurnee police said in a statement.

Here's the whole article:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/08/17/amusementpark.death.ap/index.html

Can somebody tell me why this is even considered 'news'? At least the previous scare stories about deaths at WDW lacked the info that the deceased had health issues, unknown at the time. That gave the media a few days to sell product off the story, until such time as the autopsy exonerated Disney and their terrible rides. Here, the poor girl HAD A CARDIAC CONDITION!! Yes, an unspeakable tragedy for friends and family, but National News? I don't think so. What's up, isn't the arrest of a JonBenet suspect enough?

Thank you for indulging me in my rant, now back to our regularly scheduled Pixie Dust.

Bill From PA

 

[mattsdragon]

Well, with the war in Lebanon over, and nothing new from Angelina, Brad or Paris, we need more filler.

Plus, I think the Ramsey killer is still on the loose, that guy is just a nutcase.

 

[javaonline]

Well, with the war in Lebanon over, and nothing new from Angelina, Brad or Paris, we need more filler.

Plus, I think the Ramsey killer is still on the loose, that guy is just a nutcase.

Some would say the Ramsey killer died back in June.

 

[kirbsam]

Some would say the Ramsey killer died back in June.

ouch!!!

 

[Best_Vacation_EVER!]

Tragic? Yes
News? No

Considering the millions that walk through the turnstiles at Disney there's so few incidents --- probably the same holds true for the various amusement parks out there.

In these litigious times it seems like someone is always looking for someone to be responsible --- unless of course it involves personal responsibility....

 

[welovedis]

I agree, when did this stuff become news?

I think they should do a story on the downhill slide of the Six Flags parks. We live about an hour away from one & have season passes there, they are shortening the park hours, closing a month early & have closed a roller coaster, thrill show, waterslides/lazy river and a water raft ride for the season.

Everytime we go, we say "Why can't we just go to WDW?", LOL!

 

[llp479]

Hey - at least it was someone other than WDW getting the bad press this time! Believe me, I live 2 miles from this place and this ain't news, compared to what really goes on there!

Last year they had a guy die of a heart attack in the water park and they couldn't find his family until the end of the day to ID him. Didn't have any ID on him since he was swimming.

 

[chigirl]

Some would say the Ramsey killer died back in June.

Tragedy PLUS TIME=comedy.

Unless you're not being sarcastic....

 

[Bill From PA]

Quote: "Some would say the Ramsey killer died back in June."

Ah, yes, "Some would say.." the current shield behind which talking heads hide to put forth the unsupportable. One can always find someone who will say anything, but they're never quoted on record. A favorite of Faux News, but increasingly used by other media outlets.

Quote: "Tragedy PLUS TIME=comedy." Thus sayeth the late, great Lenny Bruce. I'd love to hear his take on current events. All we've got is Stewart and Cobert.

Bill From PA

 

[eblack0409]

Some would say the Ramsey killer died back in June.

I agree with this.....the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey died in June....

 

[Robo]

I agree with this.....the murderer of JonBenet Ramsey died in June....

Maybe you should make a phone call.

 

[Max Rebo]

It is most certainly a news story.

Not necessarily a national, 72-point headline, "national crisis" kind of news story, mind you. But something that needs to be reported, nonetheless.

When tragedies occur in public settings, it's news. People deserve to know what happened, and why it happened. A news story is not intended as a way to point fingers or cast blame. A news story is intended as a way to report what happened. Sure, it might not always happen that way, but that is the intention.

Consider the bystanders who witnessed this event. Isn't it better to get the word out via a fact-based news story, rather than to rely on the word-of-mouth dissemination of information by people who are only guessing as to what really happened?

Accidents in theme parks are no different than accidents on the highway. The public deserves to know how and why they happen. Such knowledge can clear up misunderstandings, and potentially prevent further incidents down the road. The media can and should report such occurences.

 

[jjarman]

Some would say the Ramsey killer died back in June.

Glad to know I'm not the only one.

 

[jjarman]

Hey - at least it was someone other than WDW getting the bad press this time! Believe me, I live 2 miles from this place and this ain't news, compared to what really goes on there!

Last year they had a guy die of a heart attack in the water park and they couldn't find his family until the end of the day to ID him. Didn't have any ID on him since he was swimming.

How awful. Guess I'll have to put some kind of ID on my 16 year old when we go to BB in March.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Some would say the Ramsey killer died back in June.

Ain't that the truth

 

[JRawkSteady]

Tragedy PLUS TIME=comedy.

Unless you're not being sarcastic....

10 years isn't enough time?

 

[Devil_Dog99]

It is a news item. But because we live in a world now with 2 major 24 hour news stations (Fox and CNN), countless local and minor news outlets, and the internet, filler is needed. Stuff that wouldn't have even been considered 15 years ago gets mention now. Look at the Ramsey case. Everyone at first was 'oh my we caught him. Too bad Ppatsy isnt around to see this, blah blah blah'. Now it sounds like his story has more holes than the Disney golf courses. Everyone wants to be first with the scoop and how many times have we seen this stuff backfire?? I enjoy watching the news and trying to stay up to date. But these days it's tough to filter through all the fluff.

 

[Devil_Dog99]

And in regards to the OP - it's a news story because it plays well. Makes for good copy. Child dies from heart condition is a tragedy no matter where it happens but not worthy of a mention. Child dies from heart condition while at theme park is news because all they say is 'Child dies at theme park'. You have to read past the headline to find out about the heart condition. Look at the deaths at WDW - all tragic, but ultimately because of medical conditions (known or unknown). But all we heard at first was 'Child dies at WDW'. They later mumble or it is ignored they all had medical conditions. What plays is WDW is now a guest killer.

It's all about selling newspapers, watching a certain channel or clicking on a weblink. The news outlet needs to make money, so they need to attract people to their stuff. So child with terminal condition finally succumbs on final family vacation turns into child dies at theme park. You click the headline or stay to watch the news story. But CNN gets their ad revenue for having you click on the link to see more ads while you read the story online or from making you watch commercials before they air the story.

OK - off my soap box now.