Austin Appelbee made international headlines after swimming for four hours to save his mum, sister and brother. (ABC News: Briana Shepherd)

It was, on balance, a story that invited some double-checking when it landed.

A 13-year-old boy paddles and swims for hours through rough swells to mount a rescue for his family after they were swept out to sea.

He was forced to abandon his kayak and life jacket halfway through.

He used everything from his girlfriend to Thomas the Tank Engine to motivate his marathon effort, his 4-kilometre swim labelled superhuman by rescuers.

He acknowledged prayer, faith and belief in god all played a role in keeping him positive as he battled exhaustion and overcame fear on his mission to save his family.

And he did this at the behest of his mum, who, having dispatched her son to raise the alarm, was doing her best to keep her remaining children from slipping into the sea and drowning.

Austin (right) raised the alarm after he and his brother Beau, mother Joanne and sister Grace (left to right) were swept out to sea. (ABC News: Briana Shepherd)

And, just to top it off, it turns out the young fella’s swimming instructors recently failed him for his supposed inability to swim more than 350 metres.

There are six or seven points there which would give the most open-minded Hollywood screenwriter pause, let alone a sceptical editor.

But it turned out to be a remarkable good news story and has swept across the globe, generating headlines at the BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post and other mastheads whose thoughts don’t often turn Australia’s way.

Why has this story resonated?

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How Austin Appelbee saved his family in a miracle ocean rescue.

As the remarkable details of the Appelbee family’s experience came to light, it triggered a significant emotional response from readers, viewers and listeners.

“I had goosebumps,” media researcher and lecturer Glynn Greensmith told ABC Regional Drive this week.

As an academic specialising in how the media covers and influences mass shootings, Dr Greensmith said the spread of comparatively good news was unsurprising.

“The news cycle is a never-ending sewer of terrible, and we risk becoming subsumed by that,” he said.

“Something genuinely miraculous has happened.

“That’s not to be sniffed at; we all need that.”

Volunteers point out the location of the rescue in Geographe Bay. (ABC South West WA: Madigan Landry)

Miracles do happen

Regional Western Australia has seen its fair share of similarly miraculous stories in recent years.

A four-year-old girl survived almost three weeks in captivity at the hands of a kidnapper.

A German backpacker walked out of remote bushland after 11 freezing nights with little food or water.

But even those incredible happy endings had their downsides.

Carolina Wilga’s remarkable survival is one of several happy stories to emerge from regional WA in recent years. (Supplied: WA Police)

To call Cleo Smith’s safe return a miracle almost doesn’t do justice to the exceptional police work which underpinned it, while the monstrous nature of Terence Kelly’s crime also casts a pall over the story.

And the remarkable recovery of Carolina Wilga prompted questions, uncomfortable for many, over why her story drew so much attention, compared to hundreds of other missing persons cases across the nation.

Austin and his family’s story comes with no comparable sharp edges, in a news cycle dominated almost uniformly by bad news.

“The right time, from the right place, with the right outcome,” Dr Greensmith said.

“We needed it.”

Parent’s worst nightmare

It’s no coincidence that those who experienced a significant emotional response to the family’s story have children of their own.

Geographe Bay, where the family was swept out to sea, attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, the majority of those in the summer holidays.

But even for those without an intimate connection to WA’s South West, the Appelbees’ experience rings true — a family holiday along the coast, trying to wrangle the children and ensure they stay out of trouble.

The worst could have easily happened. This time last year, authorities were responding to a string of drownings along Western Australia’s southern coastline.

A holiday along the coast is a summer trandition for tens of thousands of Australians. (ABC News: Bridget McArthur)

“All of us are trying to catch our breath, and imagine what Austin and Joanne went through,” Dr Greensmith said.

“It’s caught us with its magnitude, its heroism and its bonkers, insane human interest.”

It’s where the focus shifts to just how remarkable Joanne Applebee’s response and conduct was, earning high praise for her ability to keep both a cool head and her children safe in a potentially disastrous situation.

It draws your mind to just how you would, or could, react faced with a similar crisis.

Busselton Mayor Phil Cronin, for instance, had his own tale to tell from Preston Beach, further up the coast.

Phil Cronin says he is in awe of what Austin Appelbee managed to do. (ABC News: Bridget McArthur)

“A friend’s flotation device for their kids went off,” he told the ABC this week, reflecting on the unusual story that had emerged from his city.

“I decided to be the hero and swim after it.

“I was only a few hundred metres out and I remember swimming against those waves and the wind.

“It’s not easy, so I’m absolutely in awe of what he did.”

The Appelbee family met with local volunteers who helped with their rescue. (Supplied)

In defence of a good news story

Which brings us to the bread and circuses aspect of all of this — the idea that a positive story crowds out the serious business of reporting and holding the powerful to account.

There’s good news in that regard: journalism isn’t a zero-sum game; the serious coverage is still rolling on.

While the Applelbees’ remarkable story has unfolded, we’ve seen a spotlight shone on the serious pressure facing children with disabilities and their families outside of Perth.

There’s the result of a months-long investigation into the alleged underpayment of tourist workers at Ningaloo Reef.

And there have been pleas for information from two heartbroken families seeking the whereabouts of missing relatives in remote parts of WA.

It’s incredibly easy for the media to reflect the absolute worst of society, and there’s been no shortage of opportunity to do it in recent months.

So when there’s a chance to shine a light on the best of us, newsrooms shouldn’t shy away from the chance to do so.

And judging by the audience reaction to this remarkable story, punters seem to agree.