Lawnmower warning story travels wide
I wrote earlier this month about the lawnmower story. The story has “travelled” and even come to international attention.
I never published it on The Border Watch website, largely because I didn’t want to fuel a negative perception of the town.
Someone scanned the story from the paper and started an email chain which is continuing to grow.
In terms of Mount Gambier’s image, this story could have happened anywhere but needed some journalistic skill to fully capitalise.
I discussed the introduction with reporter Anelia Blackie and she took my advice. Admittedly there were several ways the story could have started.
I overheard some people talking about the article on Saturday at the hockey, eight days after it appeared.
“The paper must have been hard up for news,” they were saying.
The fact they’re still talking about it … I rest my case.
Some of the online references to the story:
It’s quite a wrap for an editor to be told it’s “one of the best opening paragraphs ever written”.
Tags: journalism, media, Mount Gambier, newspapers
Not long ago The Mythbusters suggested a cigarette does not get hot enough to ignite gasoline unless it is actually being drawn on when it touches the gas.
Perhaps gasoline vapor is a different story. She was in an enclosed space, after all.
I’ve seen pictures of Australia on TV and in books. It looks like a whole lot of it is outdoors. Had she considered using that part of the country to clean her mower?
(I expect non-Americans to do smarter things than Americans typically do.)
delmer;
You’re a bigot. I expect everyone, American or not, to do smarter things than this.
Michael;
Great article. I’ve forwarded it around the world and my friends and family love it. Everyone wishes there was more deadpan, straight forward fact reporting like this…
“…although she had been convicted of arson before…” Har!
this made my day.
Have labelled my lawnmower accordingly and am looking into funding a contraception awareness campaign in Mt Gambier
I probably should have said “I expect the rest of the world to do smarter things than ‘we’ Americans do.”
As a former resident of Mount Gambier (my family still lives there), I have to say, this piece made my day. Perversely, it also made me feel strangely nostaglic. The only way to write this story was the way it has been written; there’s nothing like a left-of-centre TBW yarn… Kudos!
Emails of this story are circulating around the world, so I’ve had cause to read it a few times.
I like the photo. It shows her hair is singed, you can see the vacuum cleaner is burnt and there are fire marks behind the screen door. The story wouldn’t have been as strong without the photo.
A few people have asked me if this story is true. I don’t think you could possibly make it up.
Personally, I like the quote from the fire brigade bloke, who “echoed her warning” not to clean lawnmowers inside houses.
Hi Michael,
I am doing some work up in Laverton -and faithfully listening to ABC radio while cruising through the bush – and two days ago this story was the centrepiece of Glynn Greensmith’s statewide afternoon program. He read out the story at the start, then called for related songs he could play as part of his ‘Topical Tune Teaser’. There was a massive response – a conflagration, one might say – but in the end I think the winner was ‘Great Balls of Fire’.
So the story is still going around!
Ciao for now,
Michael O.
PS. I hear your call about being nostalgic for Kalgoorlie at this time of year. It’s beautiful up here in Laverton, and I’m coming back up for Kal Cup. You may have heard, but Kambalda knocked Railways out in a preliminary final to make their first GF (vs Mines) sine 1993. A shame for the mighty Pathers, but good on Kambalda!
Thanks for the footy update Michael, it hasn’t been on the Miner website yet. It’s good for the league if Kambalda is successful.
That lawnmower story is our Frankenstein.