Staff Blog
File Under: That’s not funny, people
A worker at a Camden facility owned by Lyons and Sons has apparently died after falling into a vat of chocolate.
While this is unfortunate for the very obvious reason that a man is dead, it's also unfortunate for the barely contained mix of tragedy and glee imbedded in the reports.
Look at the smile that cracks on 6ABC's Sarah Bloomquists's face as she sets up Dan Cuellar's report. Or Cuellar's Willie Wonka-esque description: "… there's a device up there in the vat that swirls the chocolate around and around." You get the feeling that his repeated insistence that this is a "terrible day" is to remind himself rather than the viewer.
And just why is it that everyone is running out and getting video of this? Thanks, NBC10, for showing some restraint and only running a stock photo of some luscious, luscious chocolate. I mean, really, when's the last time you saw news coverage of a murder in Camden? Is the new formula "If it bleeds — and is coated in rich, creamy, milk chocolate — it leads"?
Not that I don't think that a tragic human death is newsworthy, but something seems off about the coverage here. Does "Death + Chocolate" fall on some ridiculously delicious overlap on the TV news demographic Venn diagram?
I see no "death by chocolate" hits on Google news. But the day is young.
I suspect that some Snickering (oops!) is coming from those old enough to remember the Smothers Brothers singing “I fell into a vat of chocolate.” You see, they were comedians who managed to make such an event sound funny. (Just in case you are youthful enough to have missed it, I can only say “You had to be there.”) I must confess that–despite the tragedy of the 22-year-old’s death–my initial reaction was to giggle. Then I sobered myself up with a reminder that any untimely death, wherever it happens around the globe, is not funny. Afterwards, I had to rationalize my giggling with the rhetorical question, Of all things, if this young man were to die, why did he have to do it in the exact manner that conjured up the Smothers Brothers? If you’ve stayed with me this far, you might understand some of the reactions you commented on in your “Clog” …
I can’t help but imagine rescue workers wielding giant fondue forks trying to get that poor guy out.
When this broke around 11:30, the article’s comments on Philly.com started filling up with nonsense like “Death by Chocolate!” and “Where’s Willy Wonka?” etc.
Eventually one reader questioned why the hell comments were even enabled on this story. And the next time the article was updated, they were all removed.
Then again, it’s currently being illustrated by a zoom lens photo of an unidentified worker in a chocolate-stained shirt - obviously not the guy who died, not even a guy clearly related to the incident.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20090708_Worker_falls_into_chocolate_vat__dies.html
It’s not exactly the glee you speak of, Brian. But something about it doesn’t sit right.
Ugh, what a horrific death!
I just Googled “Death by Chocolate” and found this article.
That wasn’t Sarah Bloomquist, it was Lisa Thomas-Laury. And She wasn’t smiling at all.
The earlier broadcast was Sarah Bloomquist.
@Richard The public’s reaction need not be as metered as the media’s reaction. We can make jokes about it, and think its funny, because we are people. Mean people, maybe, but we are people. I am someone who honestly believes there is humor in anything, and its okay to laugh about something like this, even while acknowledging it is sad.
But we are not professionals. And neither, apparently, are those covering this story. Being a professional means treating something differently then the public gets to. TV News isn’t a late night talk show, you don’t get to joke about someone dying.
If I make jokes about this, it is unlikely that this guy’s family and friends will be offended, because they will probably never hear them. TV News is different because it is the medium that will deliver that terrible news to many of the people that know the man.
AUGUSTUS NO!!! This chocolate is to die for. Did they distribute the chocolate after the dude fell in it?