University Daily Kansan 1911 Fail

1) 1911 is flipped horizontally so ejection is on the wrong side
2) The lettering is all backwards too
3) Classy 2nd trigger photoshopped in
4) Must be spring operated because it apparently shoots both complete cartridge
5) The cartridge appears to be 9mm ( 1911’s are obviously .45 )
6) Is that a muzzle blast flame? or a pee stain
7) Not only is the gun shooting COMPLETE cartridges that are 9mm, but its also somehow ejecting what appears to be .38 special

And to summarize the article ( also filled with fail ) the university does not think there is a chance of a shooting happening there, so they are not really prepared for one.  They set up a txt messaging system shortly after the VA Tech incident, but it seems pretty useless as well considering by the time the messages make their way to the students ( in approximately 30 minutes as it says in the article) the threat will likely be over and the casualties already sustained.

1911Kansas

University of Kansas archived paper HERE


Comments

3 responses to “University Daily Kansan 1911 Fail”

  1. I worked at the Kansan as a reporter when this article (and horrifying picture) ran. Jessica Wicks is a friend of mine, and I remember very well this front page.

    Let me outline what happened.

    The editors wanted a story about guns and campus after the other campus shooting in Illinois. Jessica Wicks was assigned it, and wrote a fair article.

    The way the Kansan (and most newspapers) run is that the reporter turns the story in to the system, where it sits until designers plug it into a layout program like InDesign. If art needs to run with it, designers insert it accordingly. Sometimes it’s photos taken by the photo staff, sometimes it’s clipart, sometimes it’s graphics.

    Since this was a time-sensitive and highly timely article, they decided to run it front page, above the fold, with some eye-catching art.

    Here’s where we get dicey. The horrible pictures are a DESIGNER’s fault (who was yelled at the day this ran; I witnessed it), who went against the editor’s and the reporter’s wish and created this monstrosity.

    The editors were pissed because of the hilariously bad graphic with such a serious story, the reporter was pissed that her story now looked like crap, and people who knew about guns were pissed that some idiot designer pissed all over the front page with his bad photoshop skillz. Believe me, this was on the Wall of Shame for a long time.

    1. Admin (Mike) Avatar
      Admin (Mike)

      Thanks for the back story Caleb. I can definitely see how that could have happened when there is so many people involved in the process.

      1. Indeed. It wasn’t so much the five or so people that it had to go through, though, as much as it was (and remains) a rabid dislike of anything firearm-related at KU. There’s a reason they call KU the Berkeley of the Midwest.