Thursday, April 19, 2007
tapes sent to NBC
Weren’t those tapes sent to NBC chilling? What would have happened if the killer had gotten the zip code correct? Would the mail have been delivered early Tuesday morning instead of on Wednesday? Would it have spared us some graphic new coverage and the repeated airing of the video from the phone camera that was played on a loop almost continuously since the incident?
Now the press is being pressured to back off from the sensational coverage because it could inspire copycat killings, just as Cho was inspired by the Columbine killers. Maybe it takes something like this and it’s overboard coverage to make the press realize that they sensationalize and lionize the shooters. Maybe this will bring news coverage to a sensible level and make them realize that human suffering isn’t what ratings are all about. But I doubt it.
Now the press is being pressured to back off from the sensational coverage because it could inspire copycat killings, just as Cho was inspired by the Columbine killers. Maybe it takes something like this and it’s overboard coverage to make the press realize that they sensationalize and lionize the shooters. Maybe this will bring news coverage to a sensible level and make them realize that human suffering isn’t what ratings are all about. But I doubt it.
