I really hate the press sometimes....

I get the following spam in my mailbox today from Motley Fool:

Disney's Killer Ride - DISCUSS!

Amusement park rides sometimes reveal underlying medical problems, with serious results. Should you get a physical before you try a ride like "Mission: Space"?

And it's a link to become a premium member of their site.

It annoys me on several levels because:

1. It's blowing something completely out of proportion. And....

2. They are using THIS...of all things going on in the world...THIS is what they are using as bait to get people to join their site????

Based on this I will never, ever go to Motley Fool again...

--Robb "Can you tell I'm annoyed?" Alvey

Thats pretty lame. Im sick of hearing the media portray how 'deadly' this ride is, like it was designed by Dr. Kevorkian himself! Its funny when I ask people I know if they are going to ride M:S, they usually respond with something like "Are you kidding? You know how many people that thing has killed?" Thank you, Media!

Just venting with you. Its sad what the media will try to make people believe for the sake of gaining an audience.

You know that when it comes down to it, Myspace.com is the primary reason why this ride is killing people. You know the drill...blame myspace.com for everything as the media tends to do as well.

^ Myspace IS the cause of everything. From rapists to...rapists! Or if you really want to get technical, Online Predators.

But seriously, "Disney's Killer Ride" honestly WTF. They don't make coasters to kill people.

Wow...just wow. Media sensationalism at it's worst.

Heh. It's funny you mentioned this. I saw this in my RSS feeds this morning and despite my better judgment I clicked on it. I then saw the "Join our discussion...blah..blah..blah" and got pissed.

Did you really expect anything less from the media?

I personally don't even watch the news anymore! I mean when the economy is in the toilet and the drime rate is rising and gas is at an all time high- should their top story really be "Tom-Kate's Baby?!"

Even the few remaining "legitimate" newscasts have become tabloid-esque in nature!

And remember that idiot who was going on about how coasters were harmful, and supposedly had this whole study supporting it?

I swear, they're not gonna be happy until coasters everywhere in the US are bogged down by restrictions, like they seem to be in countries like England.

And every summer shows like 20/20 and 60 Minutes will run a show entitled "Are Theme Parks Dangerous?" or something like that and then proceed to show clips of major theme parks and then focusing on accidents at extremely small traveling carnivals! Never do they mention the actual statistics like for example that you are like what 1,000 times more likely to die in a car accident on your way to the park than you are to be even mildly injured within the park itself!

Nor do they mention that the vast majority of rides accidents are the guests' own fault! They figure themselves a way to work themselves out of their restraint and that is somehow the park's fault for not completely immobilizing their riders?! BS!

The media is bad. I learned that when I spent 4 years of my life being brainwashed into believing that people did not deserve privacy, all in the name of the public's right to know. It's a horrible horrible industry, and I am glad I have washed my hands of it.

-Julie

All the news is good for is the weather and watching police car chases live!! Other then that its all BS!! Even the weather forecasts are always mostly wrong.. so the news is all about just watching car chases live!

I love how sensationalism has become the way of EVERY newspaper over here now. Used to just be the tabloids, but now even the reputable broadsheets have taken to it. The Guardian report on the recent Mission: Space death stated something about the ride being so intense "motion sickness bags are required". For God's sake, YES, people get motion sickness sometimes, especially when they're on holiday in a climate they're not accustomed to and have been over-indulging on good food, etc etc, so the bags are there just in case. But hell, people get sick on planes because of the difference in pressure/forces/etc, but the media don't imply that people shouldn't fly. Just seems like the general attitude of most journalism these days is to exaggerate and cause social panic. Don't even get me STARTED on the bird-flu coverage...

^Yeah, Bird-Flu is like Man-Flu, but for girls.

A friend of mine found this the other day as well, from the Observer (UK Sunday Broadsheet). This one could be even worse! How many mistakes can you spot?

http://www.claydon-heights.com/martyn/Random/fuckup.jpg

I agree with virtually all of the posts here that the media are a bunch of washed-up old bags/baggets that have nothing to do with their time than to parlay superficial stories without regard to ethics, codes of conduct or truth.

Case in point 1-60 minutes and those other lame-a** shows. Dateline has recently been bashed by NASCAR for allegedly "creating" a story about how religion and NASCAR fans react towards each other at races. This incident was being filmed at Martinsville, VA and used Muslim as a religion to "create" a story....I would love to put those reporters on the track and have them run over..lol..

Case#2-I recall back when I was working the LNM at BGE and a tree (from storm) fell onto the track injuring riders as well as damaging the train and the track....while we all followed procedures (standard at most parks) in allowing Marketing dept's handle the press releases.....damned if a reporter stated that 4 passengers were KILLED on the ride....Come on Please!....not only was NO ONE killed, but the ride opened THE NEXT DAY! I remember that because I worked through the nite as well as enginneers from ARROW, inspectors and so on worked through the nite...

>..Even when an accident (coaster or other ride-related) occurs, the media outlets (especially CNN and other major newsgroups) portray the parks as irresponsible, and lame ducks in providing guests with safe rides, when in fact when an "Amusement Industry Official" poses the question of safety records (facts from the CPSC)...the news groups happen to "go to a commercial"!...I wish Congress (cough) or some law would be enforced about how factual and ethical conduct in reporting news should be utmost priority...the accident rate is so rare, that it often makes HEADLINES on major networks (aka-Mission Space incident).

On a note that I am sure will leave people backlashing here, but I believe we, as a society in general, have changed in our perception in news reporting that we actually "like" hearing bad news all the time now...or perhaps become sublimed to it and just take it as another day. Look back at past decades (80's, 90's, and present) on how news reporting has changed overall. When the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster exploded (w/ teacher-onboard)....the reporting was fairly accurate and objective, albeit blasting NASA for mis-management. Nowadays, news reporting appears to focus not on fact, but on OPINION (their own) and it sells!! Its becoming a greedy business to sell newspapers and media (commercials) in order to make a profit. Greed and Media....the Ying & Yang of how dysfunctional our society is becoming...lol

When I went on Mission Space this past week, this 4 - 5 year old went on it, and when she came off, she was perfectly fine and happy.

Anyways, the reason why I think so many people have gotten hurt on this ride and why 2 people have died on it in the past year is because everybody automatically assumes that since this ride is made by Disney, its ok for them to ride. Unlike a roller coaster with loops, and a 100+ foot drop that scares half of the riders away. SO basically more people go onto this ride that generally wouldn't go on another ride of this nautre.

But I also do reserve the right to be wrong and/or partially correct so don't quote me on this unless you got something else to add or change to the theory ect.

Nice post, Robb. The media pisses me off so much these days that I really cant stand to read/watch anything news related anymore. Everything has to be spun its pathetic. Sadly, its that way because thats what people are drawn to. Sensationalism is what sells.

I totally agree with Robb and the others that the sensationalism surrounding all of the recent Disney incidents has been crazy. It's as if the media is hell-bent on smearing Disney's "good name".

I also agree (and posted the same on the other M:S thread) that people make an automatic assumption that if it is a ride/attraction on Disney property, it is safe for all ages and physical conditions.

I personally will bypass M:S on my August trip. Not because I think it is a "KILLER RIDE", but because, with a pre-exisiting condition, I don't think it is in my best interest to tempt fate. I have read of many people basically feeling like crap after they have rode it, and the reality is I don't want to risk that when I have waited five years to get back to WDW.

Shari

I did a report about this a few years ago for school and how Theme Parks were one of the safest forms of recreation. And how accidents at parks are very rare and I used statistics about certain rides.

My teacher, who was not a theme park person, was like you report is not persuasive enough. You should have used more accurate statistics about ride accidents. I told her were I got my sources and that they were true and she said, "well with all of the deaths on the news about dangerous rides killing people all the time, it was hard to beleive your information." I was so pissed, and because she though my info was fake, I got a freaking "C-"

I did a report about this a few years ago for school and how Theme Parks were one of the safest forms of recreation. And how accidents at parks are very rare and I used statistics about certain rides.

 

My teacher, who was not a theme park person, was like you report is not persuasive enough. You should have used more accurate statistics about ride accidents. I told her were I got my sources and that they were true and she said, "well with all of the deaths on the news about dangerous rides killing people all the time, it was hard to beleive your information." I was so pissed, and because she though my info was fake, I got a freaking "C-"

Sure you don't live in Lenexa, Kansas. A girl there threatened to kill her teacher over a grade, on what is thought to be a "private" journal, that's on the internet. Wow...oxymoron.

At Worlds of Fun (my home park) everyone was like "Didn't some girl get flung out of her seat on this?" while in line for Timber Wolf. I was like "Yes, only after she decided to climb to the seat in front of her on the lift."

Then you've got ride ops, who are just as bad as the media when it comes to rumors about accidents.

"Orient Express was taken down because it derailed and killed people."

Even though it was 4 years AFTER the derailment, and people where only injured.

I haven't read motley in a long time, because of their tabloid-tactics. Heck, if I remember correctly, it was a coaster story a couple seasons ago that turned me off the site.

This topic has me thinking that perhaps what we need is some sort of national intensity rating (since every other form of entertainment is rated these days.) Every ride in the US could be graded with a number between 1 and 10 and this number would be displayed somewhere at each attraction. This would help especially with attractions where the ride system itself isn't a visible threat of its own. Over time as people become more used to the numbers they would be able to judge new rides off of experiences with previous ones. For example: "The Tilt a Whirl rates a six and that was too much for me, so I'll sit out Mission Space since it also gets a six."

What do you guys think?

Sorry for another post, but that last post gave me an idea...I believe WE (general public) should rate the NEWS people/journalists and grade THEM. At the end of the month, the one with the lowest score gets fired (and placed in a shark tank along with all of the lawyers to see who survives...who would pay to see that?..I would).

In terms of ethical conduct/codes I mentioned on previous post: the FCC (cough*damn gov't*cough) should place a set of standards on what CAN be reported...come on...look at the way stations are being looked at since the Janet-I had a wardrobe malfunction-Jackson from the Super Bowl incident.

We should now monitor what NEWS should be shown...For example, those who have children on this site-voice your opinion, but look at those stupid Hollywood shows that show (sexual innuendo's) and sex-related topics regarding the celebrities and other shows (Jerry Springer) that portray sexual-controversial topics. NOW, some of these shows are not even on in PRIMETIME ...they are on around 4-6pm (in Hawaii they are). Now, do we want our children exposed to that?

The same information should be reported on rollercoaster/amusement park incidents. It should be reported by fact (not opinion).

http://amusementbusiness.com/amusementbusiness/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002461971

It's about time someone in the media takes responsibility for their actions and ethics on reporting "correct" information..lol

This topic has me thinking that perhaps what we need is some sort of national intensity rating (since every other form of entertainment is rated these days.) Every ride in the US could be graded with a number between 1 and 10 and this number would be displayed somewhere at each attraction.

I know Hershey Park had a system like this on their park maps last year.