Although Arbogast was immediately pulled out the water by an unidentified bystander, the severe blood loss he suffered caused damage to his organs and brain, complicating his recovery.
[6] In the following weeks, Arbogast's spectacular rescue and survival received extensive coverage in the 24-hour news cycle, which was renewed (and then redoubled) with each subsequent report of a shark incident.
The Summer of the Shark came to a quick end following the September 11 terrorist attacks, as the media had shifted attention to the destruction at the Pentagon, lower Manhattan and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Investigative journalist John Stossel explains the media's shark fixation in his book Give Me a Break, stating: Instead of putting risks in proportion, we [reporters] hype interesting ones.
[9]In terms of absolute minutes of television coverage on the three major broadcast networks—ABC, CBS, and NBC—shark attacks were 2001's third "most important" news story prior to September 11, behind the western United States forest fires, and the political scandal resulting from the Chandra Levy missing persons case.