April 29, 2012
Fallout from the falling bear
If you haven’t seen the falling bear by now, you’re one of the few. Not only has this bear gone viral, but it’s the subject of a Tumblr log. There’s an example at right.
What’s so a amazing about a bear falling out of a tree after being hit by a tranquillizer dart? Nothing, really. The photographer caught the bear in mid-air, striking a pose you don’t normally associate with bears.
In a week or two, the picture will join Kony2012 in the mists of time. It’s just another example of how the Internet has shortened our attention spans to the point where they have become almost microscopic.
The bear has now been released into the wild, but the story is not over yet. Photographer Andy Duann is looking at suing the newspaper that originally published the photo because he wasn’t paid for it. You can read more about his plight at the Poynter website, and see the picture itself, which Poynter has reproduced with Duann’s permission.
My prediction is that the picture will be long forgotten before the case ever gets to court, and that not a single reporter will bother covering it.