Dedication3

Media coverage of the memorial dedication ceremony on August 19, 2007.

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0</a>.

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Original Source: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1174168223&context=set-72157601548585076&size=o">http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1174168223&context=set-72157601548585076&size=o</a>

null

2007-09-09

Haeyong Chung

eng

News Worthiness

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Since releasing the excerpts from the package sent by Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui, NBC News has received more than just a little criticism. Indeed, this story is so big that every little nuance... anything remotely connected to the story is being put under a microscope and reported on <i>ad nauseam</i>. Ironically enough, the decision to air the material delivered to NBC News has become itself a news story.

If not for the "gift" left by Cho, the media would be filling all of that airtime and every available inch with anything and everything it could discover about this "seriously disturbed individual." Cho saved the media a huge amount of legwork and opened insights about what drove him. Did he get what he wanted? Some are saying that by airing this "manifesto," Cho has ultimately won.

But think about how ridiculous that sounds. Cho is dead - and he&#39;s not getting any better. Last I checked, to get any enjoyment or satisfaction from an act, one must be alive to experience it. Furthermore, even if Cho could somehow relish his media spotlight from the grave, he would soon realize that no one agrees that he was any kind of victim. He would be crestfallen in the discovery that he is being regarded - at best - as "a seriously disturbed young man." Mostly he&#39;s being viewed as some kind of homicidal whacko.

For those with a religious leaning, I&#39;m guessing that Cho&#39;s last act earned him a one-way ticket straight to Hell. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Yet he is somehow enjoying the last laugh? I don&#39;t think so. Does this coverage intensify the pain of the community, the survivors and the victims&#39; families? Undoubtedly, but surely they would understand that news of this magnitude must be reported. Even without Cho&#39;s help, there would be extensive coverage of Cho - a disproportionate amount.

But even without considering the civic responsibility of the news business, let us remember that it is a business. If no one tuned into this stuff, no one would report it. People want to know, despite how much they say they don&#39;t. The numbers don&#39;t lie. Did NBC and others overdo it? Was there more coverage of Cho&#39;s package than "necessary?" That&#39;s a matter of opinion and judgment. But to say that NBC had a responsibility to quash this information is nonsense. They have a responsibility to report it.

It&#39;s a tough job, but someone&#39;s got to do it.

Posted by Mr. Althouse at 5:30 PM

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Original Source: <a href="http://25yearplan.blogspot.com/2007/04/news-worthiness.html">http://25yearplan.blogspot.com/2007/04/news-worthiness.html</a>

Licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5</a>.

Michael Althouse

2007-06-02

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5

eng

Now You Have Blood On Your Hands That Will Never Come Off

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old senior majoring in English at Virginia <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/virginia+tech">Tech</a>, has completed his transformation from Clark Kent to, well, Rambo. Having killed and maimed over thirty people, in a calculated and merciless way, he has shown another facet of evil and pain to the world. Alone, bitter, unhappy and insane, his sad story reverberates on several levels.

Is it better to have stricter gun control, or have more guns in the hands of law abiding people to protect themselves? Have privacy laws and rights for the mentaly disabled gone too far, or should involuntary committment for treatment be easier to order? Has community and the support of family been destroyed by the cheapening of our culture, or has the stigma of needing help become so great that those most in need shun it?

There were heros at Virgina Tech - Professor Lucinda Roy, who tried so hard to get Mr. Cho the help he so badly needed; another Professor, Liviu Librescu, a 76 year old Holocaust survivor who gave his life offering his body as a shield for his students; during the aftermath the poet, Nikki Giovanni, leading students in a cheer to affirm that they will survive and be stronger - &#39;We are HOKIES!&#39;.

<i>But there is one party who will not be a hero during all this</i>, and that is the National Broadcasting Company news organization. After Mr. <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/cho">Cho</a> shot his first two victims in his dormitory, he made a rambling videotape with his jeremiad on debauched rich students and how they had driven him to this action, shortly before he entered a classroom, chained the doors shut and killed thirty more people. This insane person took the time to film and mail his video between murders, and <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/nbc">NBC</a> chose to make it public.

Poor Dylan Klebold - he never thought of making videos before killing his classmates at Columbine High School. Now, Mr. Cho has created a new item in the iconography of mass murder, one that we will surely see again. We have come a long way from the days when shooting Ronald Reagan to impress Jodie Foster was a ticket to fifteen minutes of fame and becoming an answer on a Trivial Pursuit card. Now we present a news network with 27 videos, 43 photographs and an 1,800-word narration described as "multimedia manifesto" from a "uniquely sick mind." NBC was quick to turn the package over to the FBI, right after making copies for itself.

Mr. Cho could be speaking to NBC when he observes, "You had 100 billion chances and ways to have avoided today, but you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now, you have blood on your hands that will never wash off." By choosing to give this presentation the validation of a platform, NBC has sent our nation and our heritage just one more step down a dank and violent road.

Update: From &#39;Below the Beltway&#39;, an informative tribute by Doug Mataconis about <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/librescu">Prof.</a> <a href="http://belowthebeltway.com/2007/04/20/a-hero-laid-to-rest/">Liviu Librescu</a>

posted by Peter Porcupine at 9:07 PM

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Original Source: <a href="http://capecodporcupine.blogspot.com/2007/04/now-you-have-blood-on-your-hands-that.html">http://capecodporcupine.blogspot.com/2007/04/now-you-have-blood-on-your-hands-that.html</a>

Licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.5/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License</a>.

Peter Porcupine

2007-06-02

Brent Jesiek

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License

eng