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Sunday, February 04, 2007
The Enquirer: Use Armless and Legless Boy To Promote Web Traffic!
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
The Enquirer has reached a new low today, using a legless and armless high school student to drive traffic to their online blog network as a way to increase revenue. See for yourself. Today’s paper includes this fluff piece about Dustin Carter—another in a long series of “human-interest” stories capitalizing on this kid’s physical disability to sell advertisements.
The latest is just one in a long series of articles about Dustin Carter—all written as uplifting feel-good stories. Here is a partial history of The Enquirer writing about this kid:
*Wrestler’s story inspires hope, invitations (Feb. 14, 2006)
*If you think he’s different, you don’t know Dustin (Feb. 12, 2006)
*All Heart (Feb. 12, 2006)
*Good sports: Wrestler driven by determination (Feb. 29, 2004)
For whatever reason, The Enquirer loves writing about Dustin Carter in February, but last year they got all kinds of ink and positive responses. So they have tried it again, correlating their latest fluff piece with the Dustin Carter blog.
If the first post is any indication, the Dustin Carter blog won’t last long:
Just a normal Saturday
I’m about to eat and head over to watch the junior high wrestle their league meet. Maybe coach ‘em a little...show ‘em some new things and eat some more in the hospitality room. The biggest mistake the athletic directer made was to let a bunch of wrestlers in a room full of food. Then after the tournament is finished we have practice. So that’s what my day is going to be like.
I think the “interest” readers believe they are taking in this kid’s life will disappear after a few encounters with reality. Dustin Carter is just a high school kid, who happens to have no arms or legs. His blog will not be the kind of feel-good propaganda written by The Enquirer staff, so the illusion will get broken and interest will fade. But in the process, they will sell some online advertising clicks, and maybe a few surfers will find other Enquirer blogs for the first time.
There is nothing wrong, on the one hand, with stories like this—if they are designed to show how people with disabilities can be capable and normal members of society. But I don’t think that’s the point. The Enquirer saw a marketing opportunity in the response they got to initial Dustin Carter coverage, so they keep going back. If the former was their intent, why not interview other people? Show other stories of success? Dustin Carter is not the only person fighting against the odds in our region.
I’d love to get a hold of Dustin Carter myself, to see how he would respond to my theory of how he is being used by The Enquirer. But then again, maybe he already knows. Maybe the paycheck makes it worthwhile. But if this kid is blogging for free, he is being abused in the worst way.
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04 Feb 2007 at 09:25 am | #
That’s atrocious, but so is this: We’ve got a serious 11th hour snag here in TIF negotiations between Norwood Schools and the developer of the proposed $100 million Linden Pointe development, already under construction, with the Norwood Schools Superintendent writing a letter to our Mayor asking the City to sweeten the deal by deeding the schools 3 city properties, and Enquirer reporter Steve Kemme, assigned to cover local government here, ignores that story in favor of one about a local restaurateur getting a complaint about his pizza oven! Go figure.
04 Feb 2007 at 11:04 am | #
Article by professor who researches “illness” and “disability” journalism:
Confusing Disability and Tragedy by Beth Haller, Baltimore Sun, 4-29-01
Prof. Haller’s website here.
04 Feb 2007 at 12:08 pm | #
Check out the first comment left at the Enquirer blog for this kid:
It sounds like a plant to me—someone trying to motivate the kid to keep posting. Let’s see if they validate the comment I left.
It’s unbelievable, from my perspective, to think that anyone would comment something like the thing above. Calling someone awesome, then acting that interested in someone’s diet is unrealistic. I mean, this does not sound like one high school wrestler talking to another. And since when would a high school wrestler be qualified to give diet advice for those “doing athletic training”? Why would anyone care to follow this kid’s advice?
This whole thing is absurd.
04 Feb 2007 at 12:10 pm | #
BTW, the February fixation strikes me as meaningful. Just like how Groundhog’s day is in Februrary.
The point of groundhog’s day is to get people looking forward again to the Spring. It’s a cultural/psychological ploy to keep people feeling uplifted at the coldest point of the Winter.
So in February, The Enquirer keeps running these silly “feel-good” stories.
February is probably the best market for this kind of crap.
04 Feb 2007 at 02:23 pm | #
Just when you think the Enquirer couldn’t sink any lower, they trot out this young man a blog for no reason other than his disability.
Okay, how about some suggestions for other potential Enquirer blogs?
04 Feb 2007 at 03:35 pm | #
Let the kid have his day in the sun.
04 Feb 2007 at 03:59 pm | #
He’s had several days in the sun. Any more, he’ll get burnt.
04 Feb 2007 at 04:41 pm | #
Now THAT is quality journalism.
05 Feb 2007 at 05:58 am | #
The quality of Dustin’s blog writing has gone downhill since the first post. Someone must have helped him edit at first.
I do imagine typing must be difficult for this kid—since he has no hands. I guess he has some kind of pointy prosthetic device for hitting the keys.
So why is The Enquirer requiring him to type for his blog? Why not let him talk into Odeo, turning the blog into an audio blog that people can podcast?
05 Feb 2007 at 10:07 am | #
I had these same thoughts when I first saw the piece. Seems like the Enquirer has rolled out more than their normal share of these “human interest” stories lately. It’s pretty annoying.
As for him, I wouldn’t say he’s being abused. He probably likes it. And he’s probably not typing anything. He’s probably using some sort of speech recognition software to translate voice into text.
06 Feb 2007 at 06:54 am | #
Because that would cost MONEY!!!