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Media Coverage of Alton Towers

Craig said:
OK folks can we stick to the topic of media coverage rather than this topic descending into an argument about who finds what funny. Personal opinions on the subject matter of a news report are fine - but keep it sensible and constructive please!
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I ask yet again, this topic is to discuss media coverage not the rights and wrongs of what people choose to find funny. I think people have had more than enough opportunity now to make their own opinions clear, and there's nothing to be gained by arguing each side in here. So, let's draw a line under the last news story and get back on topic. Thanks.
 
Don't click on the Daily mail link, I've already copy and pasted the story below

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ly-hour-Spinball-Wizard-ride-breaks-down.html

Alton Towers thrillseekers are trapped on rollercoaster for nearly an hour when 56ft-high Spinball Wizard ride is halted in theme park's THIRD incident in just over a year
  • Six people had to be rescued from ride that reaches speeds of 37mph
  • Spinball Whizzer shut down as customers were rescued from a stuck car
  • Alton Towers fined £5m over Smiler crash that cost two people their legs


Thrillseekers were left stranded on a 50ft-high Alton Towers rollercoaster for almost an hour today after it came to a sudden halt.

Six trapped riders - including one young girl - had to be rescued from the Spinball Whizzer by emergency workers after one of the cars got stuck on a steep descent.

It came just over one year after the horror crash on the park's Smiler ride which saw five people seriously injured – with two teenagers needing leg amputations.

Alton Towers confirmed the Spinball Whizzer - which rotates 360 degrees at high speed - was stopped at 1pm today after a guest entered a 'strictly prohibited' area.


'We can confirm Spinball Whizzer was routinely stopped at 13.05 today after a guest accessed a strictly prohibited ride area,' the spokesman said.

'In order to restart the ride, an assisted exit of the guests on board was necessary.

'The safety of our guests remains our upmost priority and at no point was the wellbeing of our guests compromised.'

Emergency workers with ropes had to help the victims down from the 50ft-high ride one-by-one.

Dozens of disgruntled visitors took to Twitter today to complain about the broken down rides.

Sam van Deventer, who asked for a refund, wrote: 'We've been here for hours and have not been on a single ride, all faulty!'

Another wrote: 'Not worth the money today. Sort your rides out. Scarefest? More like queue for broken rides fest. #altontowers #scarefest.'

One visitor said: '@AltonTowers having an absolute shocker today, if you're thinking of coming don't bother as rides breaking down all day #altontowers.'

It is the latest in a series of incidents to blight the theme park in Staffordshire.


The Smiler rollercoaster broke down and left passengers trapped in the air for more than an hour on September 1.

Footage showed more than a dozen riders stuck on the 14 multi-loop ride, with their carriages stationary on the track.

This came just weeks before the operator of the park, Merlin Attractions, was found to be at fault for the horror crash on June 2 last year.


An investigation found human error caused the crash and the operator was fined £5million.

Judge Michael Chambers QC, passing sentence at Stafford Crown Court, called the accident a 'catastrophic failure' by the company involving basic health and safety measures.

Dancer Vicky Balch and student Leah Washington underwent leg amputations after their carriage collided with a stationary car on the track.
 
Here are two Daily Mirror stories from today, again I've copied and pasted it below, so don't click on the link

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/new-terror-alton-towers-riders-9145845

New terror at Alton Towers as thrillseekers stuck 50ft up Spinball Whizzer ride 'for almost an hour'
The adrenalin junkies were strapped into cars that spin 360 degrees while racing around a 1,540ft track

Thrillseekers were stuck on spinning rollercoaster ride at Alton Towers for nearly an hour after it came to a sudden halt.

Riders were stranded on the 56ft tall Spinball Whizzer after it was shut down due to a guest's actions.

The adrenalin junkies were strapped into four-seat cars that spin 360 degrees while racing around a 1,540ft track.

According to Alton Towers the dizzying ride is designed to make thrillseekers feel like a pinball being catapulted at speeds of up to 60km/h (37mph).

A photographer said six riders were stuck on the rollercoaster and rescued by staff.

An Alton Towers spokesperson said: "The Spinball Whizzer was temporarily stopped due to guest action.

"This was a procedural stop and nobody was at risk at any time.

"Guests were removed from the ride in line with our safety policy, and the ride restarted 45 minutes later."

Opened in 2004, the Spinball Whizzer - formerly known as Sonic Spinball - is located in the Adventure Land section of the theme park in Staffordshire.

Last month Merlin was fined £5m for the horrific Smiler rollercoaster crash which resulted in two girls having their legs amputated.

A court heard how Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd, the amusement park's operator, was solely to blame for the crash last year.

Investigators found safety failings led to the incident where two girls each lost a leg and 14 others were injured.

Judge Michael Chambers QC said thousands of young people were at risk of death or serious harm since the ride opened in 2013.

He said the accident was "foreseeable" and described the crash as a “catastrophic failure” of safety by Merlin.

He said those on the ride were fortunate to have not been killed.

Second story from the ITV this morning program, reported by the Mirror

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/mornings-alison-hammond-recommends-tena-9144387

This Morning's Alison Hammond recommends TENA Lady to Ferne McCann after she wets herself in scary maze

When she was on TOWIE, Ferne McCann was always criticised for not being able to control her mouth, well it turns out there's another part of her that she has trouble controlling too.

The Essex native was unable to stop herself from wetting her pants as she became so scared that she lost control of her bodily functions during an appearance on This Morning.

Joined by the bubbly Alison Hammond, Ferne was seen running and at times cowering in fear as the pair were chased and taunted around a fright-night amusement adventure at Alton Towers.

Hopefully, her little accident won't affect her love life as currently single Ferne is looking for Mr Right.

“I’m only 26. Of course I’ll meet a man,” she recently told New magazine . "When you’re younger, you think you’re going to do this and that by a certain age. But I don’t feel ready to settle down.”

And Ferne says she’s not yet found Mr Right, but is keeping an eye out in case he appears.

“You’ve got to keep your options open if you’re not 100 per cent sure,” she explains. “Like I said, I’m all or nothing. But I’m single and keeping my options open, I’ve not found Mr Right.

“I’ve been on a couple of dates with someone but he’s not Mr Right. He’s Mr Right Now. I like guys who really stimulate my mind - it’s not just about the bedroom. But that’s important too!"

 
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Absolutely disgusting, making up non stories, slandering people who are doing their best to operate an attraction safely, and putting jobs and investment at risk at a time when both are sorely needed.

I'm with Diogoj42 on this. It's time Merlin stopped the Mr Nice Guy Routine and got their lawyers to open up a six pack of whoopass on these misfortune exploiters.

How the hell can it be Towers Fault if a guest has entered a restricted area. Stand by for yet more unsightly fences, though I can't blame Towers for mitigating the risk

I bet more kids have been injured (and probably killed), in accidents delivering these unethical septic rags than at every Merlin Theme Park put together.
 
the unfortunate thing is, newspaper edit stories so they stay just the right side of the law. I am sure they have a media lawyer looking at these non stories.
 
Hey guys,

I have just posted this on Coasterforce........

I recommend that any incorrect articles are complained against.

This is the link to the UK press complaints commission.

This story is about someone going into the restricted area of the ride and should be complained against. Come on guys, we all know this is wrong, lets complain when it is

https://www.ipso.co.uk/make-a-complaint/#WhatCanIComplainAbout

My comment was....

Dear Sir / Madam.

This article indicates that a major incident occurred at the park and indeed they have stated the "THIRD in just over a year".

Further on down the article an Alton Towers spokesperson states....

"Alton Towers confirmed the Spinball Whizzer - which rotates 360 degrees at high speed - was stopped at 1pm today after a guest entered a 'strictly prohibited' area"

Therefore the cause of the problem was not mechanical, but a "guest" of the park who had entered a restricted area.

Therefore this news story suggests that Alton Towers is unsafe, whereas this new article is actually about a guest of the park who broke safety rules and entered an area they shouldn't have and therefore the operators shut down the ride as they saw this guest who had entered a restricted area (even though there are signs saying do not enter).

This is therefore a misleading story and the Daily Mail should offer a retraction due to the damaging nature of this story against Alton Towers.
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Many of you may not like this, but the Mirror article is pretty standard stuff from them and isn't really factually inaccurate. Yes it's still written in the usual suggestive way, linking a standard safety stoppage with the same copy and paste about the Smiler they use in every article in an attempt to get the readers imagination to believe safety was comprised, but not it's not really libelous. It's basically just last gasp click bate of a dying story.

I think we should all stop choosing to get upset about it and ignore it. It's getting boring now. People may be clicking, but looking at how they don't even bother to write these articles anymore (more like just quickly type a couple of paragraphs over the last one) suggests that they're just trying to keep the story alive in case someone breaks a little toe getting off blade or something. I don't think anyone is really listening anymore.

So, the Daily hate Mail decide to take a different approach. In true style from this hate filled publication, it has decided to try and create the story instead. I wouldn't worry about this too much as the only people taking notice of this trash are either click fodder idiots who aren't worth trying to converse with anyway or the hate Mails core readership base of snobby racists, homophobes and deluded wannabe aristocrats.

But from a libel point of view, I think they've over stepped the mark here. This isn't lazy journalism or gung ho reporting, it's a carefully constructed article with obviously provocative errors. I think a letter from the Merlin Lawyers is appropriate now. It may look like all they'll achieve is a tiny small footnote in the corrections section of page 72 but it could possibly stop these articles appearing in the future.
 
I do agree there's no need to get upset about it, it's just surprising that it's still a fairly regular thing. And whilst nothing in the articles is factually inaccurate, I doubt any of the people stuck were "terrified" and fearing for their lives.
 
It needs on of the riders that was on the e stopped carriage to complain to the PCC that it is inaccurate as they terrified or in fear of their life.
 
Judging by the recent ride times, it looks like people are not being put off by these stories. At the end of the day, if you don't like rides, these stories will just reinforce your belief in not riding them. If like me you are a ride junkie, then then nothing including these over the top stories will put you off.

I think the park cuts and potential future cuts is more likely to put people off visiting the park as oppose to these so call horror stories.
 
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Seems this girl is desperate to do anything to stay in the limelight. Just get on with your life and let other people get on with theirs.

I'm very sorry for the fact that this happened to her, but she will be well compensated, unlike our brave armed forces people maimed and injured in the service of their country, who will receive a pittance of a payout in comparison.

Trying to effect the livelihoods of thousands of people who depend on the park and it's suppliers is not a commendable thing to do.

She wants The smiler demolished, but appeared on that tattoo programme having her leg extensively inked. Surprised she doesn't think that all tattoos should be banned in respect to all of those people who have died of blood poisoning.

It's a slippery slope. If we ban everything that has ever caused harm, non of would be here. Enjoy your life and let other people enjoy theirs, but enough of this selective, inconsistent and illogical morality.

Still to come... VB on Big Brother, Vicki gets pregnant against the odds,etc.

Have a great life Vicki, but have with dignity and in private.
 
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Fair play to her that she feels confident in her skin, but hasn't she done this exact thing before, only in lingerie? It's just coming across as desperate now, which is a shame. Even rags like the Mirror aren't that interested in her anymore, so this is obviously a paid for article orchestrated by those representing her.

I mean, I totally get the need to turn a hideous situation into a positive, and it's great that she's in a good place now, but I think she'd be so much better off in the long term not carrying on down the media route. It's so temporary, and it'll be all the harder to deal with when the interest completely runs out.
 
Alton Towers are have shared an article the Mirror has written about the Cbeebies hotel. Is this a start of a beautiful friendship between the two? 2-4-1 in The Mirror this year?
 
I've removed a few posts that are off topic and not adding to the subject of the thread, i.e. media coverage of Alton Towers.

Thanks.

:)
 
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