The Media’s Handling of the Virginia Tech Tragedy
Watch & Learn - Nikki Giovanni’s “We are Virginia Tech”
Some family members and friends of the victims killed at Virginia Tech University in April were appalled at the way the media handled the incident. I don’t blame them. The campus massacre that left 33 students and faculty dead was the most horrendous news to come out of the nation since 9/11. I got that. When I learned a gunman, later to be identified as Seung-Hui Cho, went on a deadly rampage, I sat on my bed horrified and unable to steer my eyes away from the TV screen. But on day three when the networks continued to cover the story non-stop, and mostly regurgitating the same information, I wondered what the moms and dads, the classmates and roommates, the boyfriends and girlfriends of the victims must be thinking.
The students in Blacksburg, Va. eventually started an anti-media campaign, and it’s no wonder. While they mourned at prayer vigils, the media hovered and continued to feed the monster, turning the disturbed gunman into a famous martyr. Worst case in point: The video Cho mailed to NBC that was eventually aired on all the major networks in bits and pieces. Images of Cho pointing guns at a camera brought to mind images of what he probably looked like as he pumped bullets into innocent people. I’m a member of the media, and I don’t know a soul who died, but I resent the decision the networks made to choose sensationalism over compassion for a community. Seems they knew they were wrong too, as several networks decided later to stop showing the video. Duh?
Now I would be remiss if I didn’t say the media did its job by reporting the facts and sharing the news with the world. Yes, it helped bring forth discussions about gun laws and university procedures for such situations. And yes, it did a fantastic job of highlighting some of the victims, particularly RA Ryan Clark, one of the first to be murdered. But at some point, too early on, a line was crossed. Not sure if it was when the news reported how retail stores were selling out of Hokie paraphernalia like we were hyped up for the Superbowl or if it was Cho’s menacing face showed over and over and over, perhaps to satisfy our “You Tube”-obsessed generation. But an exploitation of a community definitely happened. The university is quite aware, too. A student-created flier for the anti-media campaign reads in part: “Leave us to heal. Leave us to ourselves.” We owe them that.
