Media fail!

[Dante's_Girl]

Yay for fear mongering!

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.

[jason_ladouceur]

911 really?, really? i guess it's the next logical step after the grown man yells for his mommy lol. 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.

[Adam Chandler]

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.

[Mft62485]

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

[Kinra]

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

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.

[babyknees]

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.

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.

[sgath92]

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.

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.

[Chocolate Muffin's]

****sigh****

[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.

[EvergladesExotics]

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-