You have to love the news

You have to love the news. Many people have probably read this story about Vic Kleman riding the Jack Rabbit. But, if you looked at the picture, you'd be amazed at how the Jack Rabbit has changed since you last rode it...

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/national/Copy_of_pa.-man,-78,-rides-ro...1975066785

Walt S said:
You have to love the news. Many people have probably read this story about Vic Kleman riding the Jack Rabbit. But, if you looked at the picture, you'd be amazed at how the Jack Rabbit has changed since you last rode it...

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/national/Copy_of_pa.-man,-78,-rides-ro...1975066785

To be fair, at least the photo was not IDENTIFIED as being of the Racer. I know, don't jump on me...putting the picture next to the article IMPLIES that it's the coaster mentioned in the article. It may be the only stock photo of a coaster the editor could find at the time. And I've seen several articles recently where coasters were mis-identified. Hell, a lady friend of mine has an El Toro t-shirt with the ride's statistics bought on our visit last season. The stats printed on the shirt do not belong to El Toro. They belong to Steel Force! Sooo...wrong ride, wrong park, WRONG CHAIN!!!! Mistakes happen. If they didn't we wouldn't be human.

Oh come on Mike.... there are lots of wood coaster stock pictures. They make a pretty good description of the ride in the article, and then couldn't be bothered finding a good pictures. Umm... search... rollercoaster.... that'll do.

If I was in the situation writing and/or posting or laying that particular story down on the page (which is what I do at work) , if I could not find a suitable photo, none would be provided. That photo does absolutely nothing to enhance the story.

It's apparent that he didn't spend much time on the story.

That's because it was just the same article that got printed on 300 other sites. It originated on one of the local TV stations websites, and if you every try and visit those for news, you know how horrible the journalism is.

Look at this article.

• The wrong name is given for ACE.
• Vic is from Knoxville, Pittsburgh -- not Tennessee
• It was not a spur-of-the-moment decision to ride the Jack Rabbit
  
• The double dip is only about 70 feet, not 85 (it seems all the articles have this wrong)
• Describing it as having two dips is not the same as saying it features a double dip.
  
• WRONG JACK RABBIT!!!!!
  

Are/were all the "Jack Rabbits" the same desigin?

I rode the one on Marine West (Nickel's Pier) later called Dracula's Screem Machine, and the one at Clementon Park as a youth, ad I seem to remember them being similar.. just curious if anyone knew.

So is this one of those things that anal retentive enthusiasts get pissy about while the GP doesn't care? Or is it shoddy careless reporting in the digital age when information can be obtained in a fraction of a second?

The first one.

And the second one.

It doesn't get me indignant that a news source uses a picture that anyone who's anyone should know isn't a 90 year old wooden roller coaster. It does bother me, that they could easily get a picture of said coaster from the park's website or other sources if permission is obtained of course, and decide not to do so.

It just makes me wonder, if I know they're way off on this one, how credible is the news they're giving me in areas I know little about?

I think in the case of both stories the photo is meant as nothing but an afterthough illustration. I don't believe either claims the coaster in the photo is the coaster in the story. It's merely a roller coaster picture to accompany the roller coaster story.

As far as the stats and stuff - I wouldn't have known they were wrong if it hadn't been for this thread.

Have to go back to the old claim of the disconnect between enthusiasts and the rest of the public. It's a throwaway, filler piece. No one cares about the details. Oh, some old dude rode a coaster a whole bunch. The gist is there. It's quickly forgotten. No one really gives a crap.

I'm thinking people (should they find out about the error) would care more than you think. They will just care for different reasons. They aren't going to be shocked that someone would mistake one coaster for another or that the description wasn't quite right. (e.g. Most people would probably describe the double down as two dips themselves, so no harm there.)

But the fact that they reported things in error would likely upset a lot of people. An article like this should not be held to a lesser standard than a report on the fatal multi-car pile up that occurred this morning on the interstate. Reporting there were 10 fatalities when there were actually 15 would upset people. Then again, misreporting like that does happen all of the time. Yikes.

Am I the only one that thinks this whole thing is funny?

New credit at Kennywood! ;)

Obviously the writer should of done a little more research, but this isn't the first time this has happened.

-Tina