Yesterday will be a day 14-yr.old Lydia Ward will never forget: it was the day she fought off a shark at Southland's Oreti Beach with her bodyboard. 
She described the shark as about 1.5m/5ft. long and, within several hours, the Dept.of Conservation (DOC) said it was probably a broad-nosed sevengill shark, a species that grows to up to 3m./10ft.long and has been responsible for attacks at that beach before. We'll never know for sure... but that is the expert opinion.
So why the hell did several major on-line news agencies use an image of a GREAT WHITE SHARK...?!!! And is that a MAKO used by TV3 and NZ Herald?
Ahhh, because this sort of emotive coverage sells better! Never let the facts get in the way of a good story! Has journalistic integrity gone permanently through the editorial paper shredder? *sigh*
1 comment:
They want to get a reaction and they probably will. Don't get me wrong, I feel for the girl because that would be terrifying! But they are also making the shark (whether its a great white, sevengill or Mako... geez) look like a terrible monster. They want to pull heart strings so they have to exaggerate for the numbed down audiences. Man, that girl is tough, though. I might have lost my mind if I were attacked by a shark! Kudos to her!
Post a Comment