Monday, February 01, 2010

Word of the year: exasterbate

Footage of two police cars skidding on a schoolground within metres of a children's bouncy castle has "made a mockery" of the Government's safe-driving message, a parent says.

The five-minute clip, uploaded online to YouTube on Thursday, was shot at a fundraising event at Auckland's Target Rd Primary School.
Ohmygod thisisanoutrage whenwillitend whowillthinkofthechildren somethingmustbedone...
The event, a school fundraiser, took place in November 2008.

Mr MacGregor had not posted the footage online until his phone memory filled up and he learned how to upload it to YouTube.
Oh, I see. I think there is a lesson for us all here, but especially for the people who make newspapers. An event which happened over two years ago is not much of a news story. There is another lesson: it is difficult to maintain a serious tone when your story involves a bouncy castle.

Of course, the traditional pyramid construction of a story anticipates that half the readership disappears with each paragraph, so most readers will not learn that the incident happened in 2008. However, they might watch the video, which shows tens of children not running away in terror. But then, as a youngish person comments, "
posting such a video on you tube is only exasterbating [sic] the irresponsible message."


1 comment:

Robin Johnson's Economics Web Page said...

Ah, Mark E Smith and The Fall! Great band. It takes me back to their concert at the Victoria Union Hall in...1986? Good times.