WKMG-Local 6 scored a significant scoop when it obtained — and gained an exclusive license — for video showing the immediate aftermath of Disney World’s deadly monorail train crash. The compelling video from early Sunday morning was shot just after one monorail train plowed into another at the resort, killing a 21-year-old park employee.
But obtaining the video may have been the easy part for WKMG. Keeping others from using it was the tougher task. Versions of the video popped up on YouTube, Wikipedia and competitors’ stations and Web sites. That prompted WKMG ND Steve Hyvonen to send the following email to O-Town media outlets, including WFTV, WESH, WOFL, Central Florida News 13, WDBO radio and the Orlando Sentinel:
It appears most complied. (BTW, the Sentinel obtained permission from WKMG to use stills from the video on its site and in the newspaper.)
WKMG devoted a good portion of its Sunday morning show to the Disney accident, replaying the video and talking with a former monorail train driver. Whether the big scoop will translate into a ratings spike for WKMG remains to be seen.
Click here to see the monorail crash footage obtained by WKMG.