It took only seconds after tragedy tore through South by Southwest this morning that news broke on Twitter. Within hours, bloggers, and reporters had confirmed that an apparently intoxicated driver, after blowing a police checkpoint, smashed into a crowd on Red River Street in Austin, killing two and injuring in excess of 20 others.
Considering that there are literally thousands of amateur and pro journalists in town for the festivities, for better or worse, coverage of the mess will most likely be endless. With respect to the friends and families of those caught in the middle of this mess, here’s how Media Farm suspects we’ll see this epic nightmare play out over the following few days.
- As videos and photos continue to surface, a debate will rage over whether people should hand their evidence over to authorities.
- Television reporters will endlessly remind us how a week of hedonistic fun can turn into a nightmare on a dime.
- When the perp’s identity surfaces, reporters will engage in their ritual haranguing, which in this case will be more than warranted. We’ll also find out about his last moves of the evening, and attempt to figure out how his lethal ride could have been prevented.
- There will be unnecessarily accusatory articles about the band that he was partying with before engaging in the most selfish act imaginable.
- A Texas politician or two will argue that this singular act indicates that the cultural extravaganza has grown out of control.
- There will be an embarrassing amount of back-patting and gushing over celebrities who pay tribute to the victims.
- Expect a highly anticipated and heartfelt interview with Tyler the Creator, who was reportedly performing at the Mohawk while this all unfolded on the street outside.
- More than a few music blogs will respectfully lament the shows that will inevitably be canceled and postponed.
- Justin Bieber drunk-driving jokes. There will be lots of them.
- By Saturday, there will be a flurry of stories about how fans and artists didn’t let the accident take away from all the fun they had down there.