The freedom to write about something that intrigues you may seem
easy, although considering the amount of interesting topics currently making the news headlines makes it quite
difficult to single out just one media story to discuss. This is the task given
to all JN1001 JCU students, in addition to a second blog post which must relate
back to our lecture content. The most unusual story that has caught my eye
recently was the seven-tonne big mango story that was reportedly stolen from my
home town of Bowen in North Queensland.
The Big Mango has been a tourism monument for over a decade now,
attracting new people from far and wide to the area. The fiberglass attraction
was completed on May 25th, 2002 at a price of $90,000, which was
$60,000 over the council's budget. Now,
12 years later, events that you never thought would happen, have occurred. On
February 24th, Bowen's very own Big Mango was stolen from its
Tourism Center.
© http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RckSNp0d1ik
From a town of 11,000 people you would imagine that someone must have
seen this 10m fruit like object. This event sparked a lot of anger within the
tight knit community, as Bowen had just lost something the town was renowned for. Some believed this would decrease tourist attraction to the area, I
believed the amount of media coverage the story received would spark an
increase in tourism which is exactly why I thought it was all a hoax or
publicity stunt. I mean, you know it's true when it makes it on the news...
"cough".
A couple of hours later, footage was released from the Tourism
Attraction's security camera showing about 10-15 people with two cranes
carefully maneuvering the large mango from its steel frame. However, police were
not notified to investigate as tourism authorities were accused of staging an
elaborate publicity stunt.
 |
| © http://www.campaignbrief.com/2014/03/nandos-recent-mango-stealing-s.html |
Nando's is a fast food chain who claimed to be responsible for
"borrowing" the mango to promote their new flavours. I believe
that Nando's has gone a little too far with trying to get their name out there
not only with local news, but international headlines as well. Although, after all the
fussing around about the Big Mango's location, a local Bowen man by the name of Bob found the Big Mango behind
the tourism center amongst trees and shrubs just meters from its original position. I am surprised that the staff of
the tourism center don't go out the back or look around close, for it would be
pretty difficult to move a seven-tonne object a long distance. Photos have
released that the mango is back where it belongs, however looks as though there
may be some damages - which in my opinion, Nando's should be responsible for!
No comments:
Post a Comment