Friday, April 20

Here's Some News for the Newscasters

To ABC,CBS,NBC, FOX, CNN and any others who report the news:

CEASE AND DESIST! We are sick unto death of hearing about every gory detail of the killings in Blacksburg. We don't want to see the videos over and over. Please don't give a forum to the killer any more.

Please do us, the victims and their families the honor of allowing us to grieve at our own pace. Quit pounding us with every aspect of that guy's life and psychological quirks. There will be time for that later; preferably in print media. Children should not see it, if it can be helped.

Each of you wants to be the "first with the most" to report and your machinations resemble the shark's feeding frenzies. Every detail, no matter how minute is shown, talked about,examined, autopsied and left unburied.

I want you all to know that I quit watching any news after I had seen about 30 minutes of it. It sickens me......and you sicken me even more. You should ALL be ashamed of yourselves.

28 comments:

Biff Spiffy said...

Yes, I agree. Wholeheartedly.

Like you, I quit watching/ listening once I grasped what happened.

NBC is the chief bottom-feeder this week. The networks fight for that honor.

/Here via Michele this time

David Edward said...

amen!
my least favorite NBC quote' "we gave a lot of thought before we aired the video"
Yeah right, these people never though for a second about NOT showing the crazy guy!

Paul Nichols said...

You are 100% right! Their coverage is just about as awful as the event itself.

Kristi said...

Amen, sister. I shamefully admit I watched NBC News on Wednesday to see what they would air, but now I'm sick of it, and I can only imagine what the families are going through.

Karen said...

CEASE AND DESIST!

hear, hear!

{clap, clap}

Anna said...

I agree...totally.

Joan said...

I absolutely agree with you...enough is enough.

To all broadcast and cable news executives: Please let the families and the Virginia Tech community grieve privately and allow them to travel the long road to recovery without your incessant intrusions.

AC said...

I quit watching too. Not even my favorite channel, barely even our local news. Just the weather.

Karen said...

MSM's coverage of today's memorial was appropriate.

Mahala said...

Tell it girl!!!

Beverly said...

I agree, Judy.

Joy Des Jardins said...

Yep, I'm done. Enough already. Please have some compassion for the families of these poor victims. I could care less about finding more about the sad and sick mind of the killer. No more hurt, no more sensationalism....it's time to let people mourn in their own private way....and heal.

Anonymous said...

I agree. They have to always tell thier opinion. What ever happened to just reporting?

rosemary said...

You are right on...this has turned into toilet news. I don't watch the news much anyway except for the weather...between the TV, the newspaper and MSN/AOL/Yahoo...I am saturated and sick of the news in general. Add this horrible act to the mix and enough.

The picture is lovely as I expected...thank you, Judy.

Anonymous said...

Yes, they need to stop! That is it.

I feel incredible sympathy for the parents of the kids. I just can not imagine what it would be like to lose a child. I hope I will never find out.

Anonymous said...

All too true, I hate it too. I have seen first hand how it is hurting friends & family of a couple of the victims & it was heartbreaking.
Here from Micheles.

utenzi said...

Amen to that, Judy. Earlier in the year I was avoiding the news due to Anna Nicole Smith and now I'm avoiding hearing about UVA over and over again. Once is enough for news like that. The news folk don't seem to realize when they hit the point of overkill.

Anonymous said...

I made a conscious decision not to watch the coverage for more than a half hour. I have to say, it was a very good decision.

Michael K. Althouse said...

As you know I wrote a post regarding the decision of NBC to air this maniac's ramblings and I still defend the responsibility of the media to report such material. At the same time I do agree that enough is enough. Unfortunately there is far more at work here than just market driven decisions. It's become some kind of sick feeding frenzy.

It's nothing new and everyone wants a piece of it. It has happened after every major tragedy, yet when it comes to the thousands of soldiers killed in Iraq - they garner only an honorable mention at the end of some newscasts.

Michele sent me tonight,

Mike

brendalove@gmail.com said...

I haven't been watching it at all. I have a sadness threshold.

Gretchen said...

Amen and thank you, Judy!! I couldn't believe the way CNN "performed" during that entire awful period. Their latest "anchor" was enjoying every minute of his commentary. Since when does news coverage have to be entertainment.

BTW, I am one of your avid followers in Floyd, VA!!

Greg said...

Yes. NBC has lost me. I sent an email to Constance Parten, a Nightly News producer, for an estimate of how many copycats she made by showing the video. I said, "Report it, but don't show it." For some reason, I didn't hear back from Connie.

MaR said...

I totally agree with you although I cannot receive these news reporters over here but the locals acted similarly after the terrorist attack in Madrid...

carmilevy said...

Well said, Judy. Having worked in media early in my career, I understand all too well the feeding frenzy that goes on when a major story breaks. Reporters and editors don't think when massive stories hit; rather, they put their noses to the grindstone and crank out coverage. Analysis and forethought seem to be shunted aside in the process.

I was in the newsroom of my radio station on the night of the Politechnique massacre in Montreal. I remember what it was like to the on the other side of the coverage fence. The media industry's response at the time sickens me to this day.

kenju said...

Gretchen, Thanks for the visit and comment. I didn't know I had avid followers in Floyd, but it makes me happy to know it! Come back soon, please.

Shephard said...

Couldn't agree more.
~S

Anonymous said...

We can't just cease and desist because the news is bad. We are there to cover what happens. And that IS the state of our world today.

What we CAN do is cover it with taste, with tact, and without overkill. The national organizations and networks failed. My organization attempted to do so, and I feel we teetered on the edge of the public trust, but brought ourselves back quite quickly. However, life is a matter of perception and should you perceive it otherwise, I apologize,

kenju said...

Stephanie, I thank you for reading and commenting. Since you didn't provide a link - or tell me what organization you represent - I cannot say if you did it with taste. What I objected to was the hour after hour coverage, day after day. I didn't want newcasters to stop reporting, but to minimize the gore and horror, which they seemd to take glee in reporting, ad nauseum.