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Should the media now leave Newtown?

M

Mark Giardina

Just curious what others think.

This community has gone through hell the residents of Newtown should now have the time to rebuild their shattered lives without some reporter asking questions.

I was especially upset with some reporters asking questions of the chidren who survived this massacre. Ask the parents, but leave the little ones alone.

Do you agree with me or not?
 
I found it pretty uncomfortable with the media asking the children questions...the few I saw, kept it together, however. I have a nine year-old son, and my girlfriend's son is roughly the same age as the little ones that sadly lost their lives in this very senseless tragedy; everytime I hear of things like this, I immediately think of their safety and well-being at school, even moreso than I normally would. I'm at the point now where I can't watch or listen to too much of this situation, it's extremely saddening.

I noticed that when I was watching the local Fox morning newscast today, there were numerous newsvans flooding the community, including CTV and WDIV Detroit.
 
I think that the State Police Lt. that held the news briefings more or less suggested that to the media this morning. He told them today was the last news conference unless something really important came up, and he didn't expect that to happen.
 
I wouldn't let the media tape me! I saw Noah Pozner's (one of the six year olds killed) aunt on TV last night. Unbelievable! I'd get out of the way of the cameras, and not let them record me if I was a parent or guardian of these kids!

-crainbebo
 
The media would do better by the victims of this massacre by focusing on how to prevent this from happening again, rather than focusing on what has already happened and can't be changed. I know that if I were a murder victim, I wouldn't want media attention, I'd want the media to be used to do good for others for the future. Aside from the first of the funerals having been held today, nothing has changed about the tragedy since Friday - the same number are dead and the killer is dead. The media should leave these people alone, aside from reporting on the facts of the funerals taking place.

I don't understand what obsessing over and over about the deaths and the killer accomplishes, other than driving ratings and providing increased returns for advertisers right before Christmas.
 
part of me thinks the people want the publicity i mean come on why are the pictures of these poor kids plastered everywhere i mean personal family photos!! come on its sad and all but i would be staying far from a camera and concentrating on grieving!!
 
ShawnHill1 said:
... there were numerous newsvans flooding the community, including CTV and WDIV Detroit.
Click to expand...

Even a station from Washington was there - no, not one of the O&O's, but Albritton's WJLA.
 
I was actually told by a future reporter from Northeastern University, a major in broadcast journalism and reporter for NUTV that they're not usually supposed to put kids on the news at all, even though most do anyway. Sometimes the kid will ask if they can be on the news since they'll think it's really cool. I have a friend who recently took a trip to New Orleans and had never been there before, but a plane had taken an emergency landing in New Orleans and all the stations were reporting on it, and they went around asking people's opinions and my friend made it on the news! I was once interviewed by a Boston station asking about the Superbowl but they never aired my clip. I wonder how ey choose which ones to use.
 
The residents of Newtown are spending the week before Christmas burying their dead. It is time for the media to pack up their equipment and reporters and just leave these folks in peace. And especially no more interviews with children who survived the massacre.
 
Though not specifically talking about Newtown, I found this blog entry somewhat relevant to this discussion:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ and scroll to the headline "Utility vs. entertainment"

Two of my favorite quotes:

"...is an endless, shallow, pundit-filled examination of politics or disasters actually producing value?"

"The media-industrial complex, of course, wants to turn everything into a profitable show. Is that what we want? "
 
The story should never have been covered as intensely as it was, and the reporters can't leave soon enough.
 
Yes, let these kids rest in peace and move on to other stories, especially stations that aren't even based out of the northeast.
 
Have you seen all of the pictures that the media has taken of the kids inside school buses looking out the window? That is DISGUSTING! Leave these poor kids alone, news channels! The entire city of Newtown has been stressed out to death due to this!
What's next-a camera poking into a family's dinner conversation about the killings? Give me a break.

-crainbebo
 
Let me tell you about how I covered a tragedy involving a child in the mid-1980s, when I was a reporter for a small-market station.

A boy riding his bike on a highway with a friend was struck and killed.
The news director sent me to cover it.
I did not take any pictures of the friend, who was in tears and appeared to be in shock.
I did not interview the friend. I talked to the authorities, shot non-graphic video of the scene, and left as soon as I could.

The next day, we followed up with a story on bicycle safety. We did not attempt to interview the family or neighbors in the days after.

A few months later, I showed the news consultant my follow-up story... and he showed me the door.
A month after that, I was working in one of the country's largest markets.

So before you think all reporters are vultures, let the record show MY approach to the news.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
The story should never have been covered as intensely as it was, and the reporters can't leave soon enough.
Click to expand...
This is EXACTLY what the crazies in the radical right & the NRA WANT the media to do

Well I say NOT THIS TIME

In fact I say it's time we take the same IN YOUR FACE approach which has worked well with prisons & jails (Yes that's argumentative too but that's for another subject which we can take outside :D ) in their efforts to deter juveniles from a life of crime by CONTINUING TO SHOW THESE IMAGES & TELLING THESE STORIES in an effort to get the crazies & the radical right to WAKE UP & REALIZE THEY DO NOT NEED MAGAZINES CAPABLE OF FIRING 30 RPM (RPM - ROUNDS Per Minute)

As far as I'm concerned, journalists can stay there as long as they want

JMO.....

Cheers & 73 :D
 
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