Media fail!

http://www.wtvr.com/wtvr-secondhand-...,5529203.story

boa constrictor?:weirdface: really? :disbelief

ugh, people annoy me :tricho:

Why isn't the "snake expert" telling them it's just a ball python that could never eat a dog or cat?

Lol in anger!:taz:

If they are going to report on a story the media have to get the facts 100 % right, many people will not know the difference between a python and a boa.

Reporting on a boa constrictor that got loose conjures up alot more fear in people than reporting correctly on a 3 foot harmless ball python.

And people who did not watch the video and just read the news story could not even see for themselves so they would have been led right down a complete false story.

There must be researchers and proof readers in the dept before the story goes out, surely :O

Hmm lets see,

Stuck shed on snake, sand as a substrate, no hides, everyone including the snake expert seems to think it is a boa. They think it might be a danger to not only cats and dogs but his child.

Yup - everyone involved is an idiot.


dr del

sounds about right for reporters to get it wrong.
I really hate the news for these reasons...
I mean jeez I expected her to say "poisonous snake" too...but she said vemon...that surprised me!

the only danger to the young child is their fail parents and friends. Wow, absolutely pathetic.

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Originally Posted by babyknees

Why isn't the "snake expert" telling them it's just a ball python that could never eat a dog or cat?

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You have no idea what parts of that interview didn't "make the cut."

If you think they air every second that they talked to the guy for, you'd be very mistaken. News production doesn't work that way and never has.

Get him talking about how important it is to secure the top of the tank, then cut to something else that isn't really news like the results of the latest dancing with the stars episode, cut to commercial, repeat.

Here boa, nice snake, lol.

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Originally Posted by sgath92

You have no idea what parts of that interview didn't "make the cut."

If you think they air every second that they talked to the guy for, you'd be very mistaken. News production doesn't work that way and never has.

Get him talking about how important it is to secure the top of the tank, then cut to something else that isn't really news like the results of the latest dancing with the stars episode, cut to commercial, repeat.

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I agree, I think it's more likely though that the "snake expert" is a pet store employee who happens to work in the reptile department.

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hmm lets see,

Stuck shed on snake, sand as a substrate, no hides, everyone including the snake expert seems to think it is a boa. They think it might be a danger to not only cats and dogs but his child.

Yup - everyone involved is an idiot.


dr del

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Not to defend this story in any way, but I'm pretty sure he was on a towel not sand and that's more than likely not the cage he's usually kept in (there wasn't even a water bowl). I'm sure the media found it better to film him in an empty cage. I do think everyone involved is an idiot, especially the owner who apparently doesn't even know what kind of snake he owns.

Yay for fear mongering!
:taz:
I swear some people are just so ignorant. This not only gives snakes a bad name but it also creates more senseless fear. Ball pythons are completely harmless and do not contain venom. For god sakes, the poor thing was probably scared to death. So much for the so called "snake expert" even before I knew anything about snakes I at least knew the diffrence between a boa and a bp. Pathetic.

911 really?, really? i guess it's the next logical step after the grown man yells for his mommy lol.:rolleyes: after looking at that snake i'm thinking it was probably out of it's cage on the hunt for some water. as for the news crews just remember that the medias job is to SELL RATINGS, NEWS PAPERS, and what have you. and then report the news; in that order. for the most part even simple fact checking is sadly a thing of the past.:(

Man that's a crazy looking Boa!

But seriously, BIG kudos to the guy who discovered the BP (who obviously didn't know what it was or if it was dangerous) for calling the police instead of trying to kill the little guy. To me he seems like the only one in the story with some common sense, no snake knowledge, but common sense.

:OAnyone else find this odd that the media labeled this a boa, when the boa conscritor is on the ban list coming up?

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Originally Posted by Mft62485

:OAnyone else find this odd that the media labeled this a boa, when the boa conscritor is on the ban list coming up?

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I think this made the news because the escaped cobra at the bronx zoo. CNN had a whole page of "crazy" snake stories, two of which where about the cobra and this one. It probably would have stayed as a local story if it wasn't for the cobra.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sgath92

You have no idea what parts of that interview didn't "make the cut."

If you think they air every second that they talked to the guy for, you'd be very mistaken. News production doesn't work that way and never has.

Get him talking about how important it is to secure the top of the tank, then cut to something else that isn't really news like the results of the latest dancing with the stars episode, cut to commercial, repeat.

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I know that. My comment was about the fact that no one involved in the production of this news story realized that this is a python and not a boa. Not the reporter, not their fact checkers, not the random hump they interviewed. This is a very sad comment on our new media - as if we didn't realize already that they're incompetent.

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Originally Posted by babyknees

I know that. My comment was about the fact that no one involved in the production of this news story realized that this is a python and not a boa. Not the reporter, not their fact checkers, not the random hump they interviewed. This is a very sad comment on our new media - as if we didn't realize already that they're incompetent.

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They might not have even showed the guy they interviewed what the snake looked like. They probably found some poor pet store clerk like someone suggested earlier, told him the story about an escaped boa and he responded based on the false information.

It is a sad commentary on how bad our news media is, but it speaks worse for the general public who will not just believe anything they see on TV but actually enjoy the spectacle. Was it George Carlin who said that if you find someone of average intelligence in public, you know half the population is even dumber than that? :( If dumbed down journalism wasn't appealing they wouldn't get the ratings or the sponsors and would be out of business. Its bad enough that our newspapers won't write anything beyond sixth grade level English because they know a huge part of our society can't read any better than that; but they then take that sixth grade level of English and destroy it with grammatical errors and spelling errors that make you think the stories were actually written by sixth graders.

****sigh****:rolleyes:

I hate how the media portrays these animals. Ignorance is the main cause. I am thinking about presenting a presentation in front of our city counsel to change their ordinances ref vicious animals. Because they have constricting snakes listed but it does not specify. I think if people were better informed they would be less scared of Balls. I am also thinking of putting together a gig where I will travel to schools and other locations to do presentations on these animals so they are better respected in communities. Has anyone done this before if so tips are welcome. I love animals and if I can provide information to others on what kind of animals they really are it might make it a little easier for the Balls future.

WARNING!!! There is a virus spreading among the media! Scientific name Stupidious Idioticus, commonly referred to as De De DEEEE. I :cens0r: hate stupid uninformed people who jump to conclusions at every turn. Boa constrictor MY A:cens0r:! Try a ball python :cens0r:. Put it next to the smallest Chihuahua you can find and see who wins the fight smart a:cens0r:. The reptile world already has enough of a bad rap without you puking up bogus stories about "killer 3 foot snakes." Any one of my ball pythons is smarter than your whole news crew put together. :cens0r: hate people. Never trust the news. Idiot.

-end rant-

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Originally Posted by sgath92

They might not have even showed the guy they interviewed what the snake looked like. They probably found some poor pet store clerk like someone suggested earlier, told him the story about an escaped boa and he responded based on the false information.

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I don't completely buy that. He was holding a ball python during the interview and that's too much of a coincidence for me.

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Originally Posted by SpottedBOA

I hate how the media portrays these animals. Ignorance is the main cause. I am thinking about presenting a presentation in front of our city counsel to change their ordinances ref vicious animals. Because they have constricting snakes listed but it does not specify. I think if people were better informed they would be less scared of Balls. I am also thinking of putting together a gig where I will travel to schools and other locations to do presentations on these animals so they are better respected in communities. Has anyone done this before if so tips are welcome. I love animals and if I can provide information to others on what kind of animals they really are it might make it a little easier for the Balls future.

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Every urban municipality near me has a generic "no constrictors" ordnance. Though it is only enforced against large constrictors, and no one seems to care that pet shops in city limits carry both constricting Colubrids and balls. It all started when one large suburb enacted an animal ordnance on exotic pets that was then copy and pasted into the law books in major municipality after municipality in the region. Hasn't hit the more rural communities yet. Thankfully there are loop holes for educators and entertainers, but it forces the average pet owner to either break the law or move to a moral rural location. Local governments don't seem to care if "no constrictors" is broad enough to outlaw local garters. The response is basically "Why can't you just own a cat or a dog like anyone else?"

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Originally Posted by sgath92

Every urban municipality near me has a generic "no constrictors" ordnance. Though it is only enforced against large constrictors, and no one seems to care that pet shops in city limits carry both constricting Colubrids and balls. It all started when one large suburb enacted an animal ordnance on exotic pets that was then copy and pasted into the law books in major municipality after municipality in the region. Hasn't hit the more rural communities yet. Thankfully there are loop holes for educators and entertainers, but it forces the average pet owner to either break the law or move to a moral rural location. Local governments don't seem to care if "no constrictors" is broad enough to outlaw local garters. The response is basically "Why can't you just own a cat or a dog like anyone else?"

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Our ordinance was made because we had an exotic pet store move into our city and they had two big burms in the front window and they wanted them out of the city.

Are people really this retarded?? :rolleye2:

Lance

Yes sadly people are this retarded. I had absolutely no experience with snakes 1 year ago and I saw a girl walking with a snake around her neck. I stopped to admire it and talk to her some and she told me it was a red tail boa. This did not look right to me at all but I was not certain so i didn't say anything. I noticed it was a little over 3 ft long so I asked her how old it was and she said it was 8 years old. I said don't boa's get a lot bigger than that. She said she kept it in a small cage so it would not get big and that is when I knew she was crazy and I excused myself and walked away. I know now she had a ball python but how does someone have a pet for 8 years and not know what it is.

You guys are going to love this. I e-mailed the studio manager expressing my concern that they had no clue what they were talking about, and that I was angered they portrayed the snake as some big monster when in fact it was not.

Here is their response:

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The police, the snake’s owner, the finder, and a pet store snake expert all identified the snake as a boa.

The snake that was being held in the interview with the pet store expert was a python. Not the snake involved in the incident.

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Are you kidding me? Is anyone seeing a repeat of the interview that fireballs did with fox? What should I say back?

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

You guys are going to love this. I e-mailed the studio manager expressing my concern that they had no clue what they were talking about, and that I was angered they portrayed the snake as some big monster when in fact it was not.

Here is their response:

Are you kidding me? Is anyone seeing a repeat of the interview that fireballs did with fox? What should I say back?

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Explain to them that yes, the snake the "expert" is holding is a ball python, but the snake in the tank that they are calling a boa is a ball python as well. Politely tell them that no where in the report is a boa constrictor shown.

Here was my response:

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Then you really need to print that. You are talking about apples and oranges. There is a major difference in a Boa Constrictor and a Ball Python. “The finder” states in the interview he didn’t know what kind of snake it was.

And, the ball python that was videoed is in terrible shape, leading me to believe it was the snake found. You can see it has stuck shed, and dented eye caps, which discredits your “pet store expert.”

Snakes make amazing pets, and are under scrutiny all the time. I just wish you would care more about the animals involved than ratings.

Melissa

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So, I might have not been so nice, but I'm trying really hard :oops:

His response makes the whole thing even more infuriating. Is everyone really that dumb? I'm sort of in shock right now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stratus_020202

You guys are going to love this. I e-mailed the studio manager expressing my concern that they had no clue what they were talking about, and that I was angered they portrayed the snake as some big monster when in fact it was not.

Here is their response:

Are you kidding me? Is anyone seeing a repeat of the interview that fireballs did with fox? What should I say back?

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That is such a lie. This news coverage of the same story says "this snake" while holding the ball python. They called it a boa constrictor in this too. Funny but sad.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...59288#42459288

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Originally Posted by SpiffyYoshi

That is such a lie. This news coverage of the same story says "this snake" while holding the ball python. They called it a boa constrictor in this too. Funny but sad.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...59288#42459288

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The more places this story pops up the more it pisses me off. Someone should have caught on to the fact that people are leaving comments that they identified the snake incorrectly. All this story is doing is spreading fear. The MSNBC new cast is by far the worst so far. :rage:

It's interesting that the snake grew a foot from the time of the CNN clip to the MSNBC one. It goes from a ball python to a boa, and then from 3 ft. to 4 ft. I would have just gone with 6 ft. in the report -- that sounds much more impressive!!! :D

Funny thing...I was watching the video, and my 5 year old son came into the room and said, "Hey Dad -- that looks like a ball python!!".

You know, I think we as a snake loving community should film a series of our own interviews and news pieces about the joys of snake keeping and how dangerous common pets like cats and dogs are as compared to most snakes.

Then we need to find some serious computer tech people who can hack into news cast computers and such and viralize their so-called snake news pieces.

I can see it now, " Up next, a 9 ft boa was discovered today in a local man's home, neighbors fear for their lives." Cut to a clip of laughing 6 year olds playing with a pet ball python.

That sure looks like a deadly snake to me, dunnit you ?

Gale

Every 1 else has covered how dumb this is but its terrible how many people are so closed minded to the beuty that snake hold and the media is just pulling that away from peolple and making snakes look like terrible animals that are death machines that kill ever thing in in there path all i can say is wow just wow.

I just want to cry because of how ignorant people are :tears::tears::tears:

Wow, the last time I saw such a strange looking Boa Constrictor was when I made the mistake of watching Boa Vs Python...

With the money I'm assuming CBS has, surely they could get someone to identify a snake correctly???

This makes you wonder what else the media is mis-reporting. :rolleyes:

It's like they say...Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.