The Off Topic Topic

[grumbler]

Super wealthy people go thrill seeking at a mass grave... Too bad about the crew of the submersible and I really hope that it's an electrical failure rather than a mechanical and that they are either on their way up or already bobbing on the surface somewhere.

That's not actually what they were doing, but I won't ruin your sneer with the truth since you seem to enjoy it.

I agree with your hopes, however.

[grumbler]

Also a top bbc story. Global monkey torture ring
Wtf is wrong with people.

Someone should be shot.

[mongers]

I'm unclear why outlets like the BBC are running this as a top story, live. We all get to participate in a death watch?

Yeah I'm not sure it should be as prominent as it is - but I think it's basically the same the Thais kids in a cave or the Chilean miners.

If they can be saved it will be a triumph of human ingenuity. If not I suppose it's a tragic human interest story.

With a group that is numerically smaller and less intrinsically sympathetic.

Yes and it a sad contrast with the deaths of perhaps 500 migrants in the Greek trawler boat disaster; maybe we could send recover the wreck for the benefit of the relatives?

[mongers]

I never got the popularity of the Titanic in general.

This.

It's like there's a self-perpetuating  industry based on it.

[Threviel]

Super wealthy people go thrill seeking at a mass grave... Too bad about the crew of the submersible and I really hope that it's an electrical failure rather than a mechanical and that they are either on their way up or already bobbing on the surface somewhere.

That's not actually what they were doing, but I won't ruin your sneer with the truth since you seem to enjoy it.

I agree with your hopes, however.

I actually have no idea as to what a bunch of super-rich folks were doing down there, do please enlighten me.

[Tamas]

Youtube's "breaking news" recommendations consisted of 4 videos:
Titanic submarine
Titanic submarine
Titanic submarine
Titanic submarine

[Sheilbh]

Just spoken to someone at work and they said it's by miles the most popular story in terms of engagement and gets global interest, so that'll be why it's a top story.

From what I've read, you could not pay me enough to get me stepping into that vessel

[garbon]

Just spoken to someone at work and they said it's by miles the most popular story in terms of engagement and gets global interest, so that'll be why it's a top story.

From what I've read, you could not pay me enough to get me stepping into that vessel

Sure but they also created said engagement by choosing to put it at the top of websites.

[mongers]

Just spoken to someone at work and they said it's by miles the most popular story in terms of engagement and gets global interest, so that'll be why it's a top story.

From what I've read, you could not pay me enough to get me stepping into that vessel

Sure but they also created said engagement by choosing to put it at the top of websites.

Exactly.

[Sheilbh]

Sure but they also created said engagement by choosing to put it at the top of websites.

Not really.

It'd be amazing if just by putting a story at the top of your front page you could create engagement. It helps, but it's not enough. If people aren't interested or don't care then they go somewhere else. It's always a balance of trying to get people to read what you think they should/what you think is important v what's popular.

It's just a human interest story people are really engaged in. Papers have put those stories on the front page for as long as they've existed and, for just as long, people have sneered about why other people aren't reading something more improving instead.

With this type of story my suspicion is that newsrooms saw the response to the breaking news story and on social media. So realised that they needed to get the liveblogs, the experts in and the explainers on it all.

[Barrister]

I never got the popularity of the Titanic in general.

This.

It's like there's a self-perpetuating  industry based on it.

My kids have been super into the Titanic story at points.

Come on - it's a good story, with lots of angles you can work with.  The fact the ship sank on its maiden voyage.  The fact it seemed so preventable (slow down / carry more liferafts).  The sinking itself happened very slowly, so you had all kinds of human drama going on about who would or would not survive.  Captain going down with the ship.  The musicians playing on right until the end in order to sooth people's nerves.

And that's all before you consider that one of the most popular movies of all time was made about it.

[celedhring]

Even before the movie the story was always there. In Spanish school we read one English book every course as part of our English classes (usually simplified versions of English classics for language learners). One year we had a "A night to remember".

[Sheilbh]

I think the unsinkableness also makes people interested - especially in that we're still in that age of technological progress and hubris.

Edit: Also I just think people find sunken ships kind of cool. I feel like updates on the Mary Rose were regular on Newsround when I was a kid.

[Maladict]

Super wealthy people go thrill seeking at a mass grave... Too bad about the crew of the submersible and I really hope that it's an electrical failure rather than a mechanical and that they are either on their way up or already bobbing on the surface somewhere.

They'll still die if not found soon. It can only be opened from the outside apparently.

[Threviel]

Super wealthy people go thrill seeking at a mass grave... Too bad about the crew of the submersible and I really hope that it's an electrical failure rather than a mechanical and that they are either on their way up or already bobbing on the surface somewhere.

They'll still die if not found soon. It can only be opened from the outside apparently.

I feel that would be the worst way to go, bobbing on the surface with oxygen slowly running out.