Professional discussion of coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings

[Johnny Dangerously]

Those of you who wish to discuss the topic without the ancillary feuding and hot-button issues can do so here.

Are you watching CNN? MSNBC? Fox? Reading Web sites?

Which?

Thoughts about the pros and cons and limitations of instant coverage in the instant-information-and-misinformation age?

 

[fmrsped]

At work, so I'm following here, or I was, at least, until fnords infiltrated that thread.

There were a lot of folks on different stations, reporting lots of stuff. I'm glad it was there; we seem to have more stuff here than any other one place.

 

[sportschick]

I'm watching MSNBC. Death toll's up to 31, fmrsped.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

When I worked in Miami, there was a weekly newsroom-wide critique that went beyond the usual self-applause and pointed out what we learned the hard way from covering a type of story that might be useful to remember next time. I remember one was to be careful of using specific numbers in death tolls while it was still being sorted out -- say "at least 20 dead," not 23 dead. This is even more important in the Internet age. I see some Web sites hedging, others being prematurely specific.

 

[Willie-Butch]

I've heard there's video from inside the classroom via cell phone or something? Is this true? And which news channel has it?

 

[Inky_Wretch]

CNN has phone video from just outside one of the buildings. You can hear shots and what sounds like an explosion (perhaps a shotgun blast or flash-bang grenade from a SWAT team).

 

[sportschick]

I've seen cell video on MSNBC and CNN. Haven't seen any from inside the class room though.

 

[Jeff_Albertson]

timesdispatch.com and roanoke.com both shut down my Internet browser. Made me wonder how news organizations suddenly deal with that kind of traffic. I haven't ventured back to either site for fear of being shut down again, but when the story first started breaking, both sites were down.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

I've heard there's video from inside the classroom via cell phone or something? Is this true? And which news channel has it?

Richmond Times-Dispatch links to two videos:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Everything's on video these days.
A nation of Zapruders.

 

[Willie-Butch]

MSNBC talking to a kid that was in the classroom. "Blood pretty much everywhere. Competely unreal."

The kid said the shooter came in, shot for about a minute, left and tried to get back in. This kid and another were on the floor holding the door closed with their feet. Kid said the shooter tried to shoot through the door to get back in, but failed and went away.

Wow.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Everything's on video these days.
A nation of Zapruders.

I don't think that's a good thing either.

 

[Willie-Butch]

Did this kid kill himself? Anyone have details about that?

 

[sportschick]

I haven't heard how the shooter died.

 

[kingcreole]

CNN has phone video from just outside one of the buildings. You can hear shots and what sounds like an explosion (perhaps a shotgun blast or flash-bang grenade from a SWAT team).

I could have swore I saw a flash in an upper floor window, right by a tree.

 

[Armchair_QB]

Willie's post raises a point I will probably fail miserably trying to make, but here it goes.

How long will it be before CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc. find a "hero" and beat us to death with his or her story?

I'm not trying to make light of the situation but trying to point out the shallowness of TV coverage of events like this. Every tragedy HAS to have a hero. It just HAS to as far as cable news is concerned.

That bothers me for some reason. It's not CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc's job to make us feel good in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Report the story.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

Washington Post will have a live Q&A at 3 p.m. local time.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

 

[John]

Washington Post will have a live Q&A at 3 p.m. local time.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Can there be many As to all the Qs at this point?

 

[sportschick]

Willie's post raises a point I will probably fail miserably trying to make, but here it goes.

How long will it be before CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc. find a "hero" and beat us to death with his or her story?

I'm not trying to make light of the situation but trying to point out the shallowness of TV coverage of events like this. Every tragedy HAS to have a hero. It just HAS to as far as cable news is concerned.

That bothers me for some reason. It's not CNN, MSNBC, Fox, etc's job to make us feel good in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Report the story.

They've probably got their heros in the kids who held the door shut while the killer was shooting at it trying to get back in.

 

[Willie-Butch]

Probably not. The WaPost seems to be a little quick on the trigger with this.