Vtech Media
Below is a letter isubmitted to the editors of the Hamilton Spectator. Let's see what happens.
RE: Professor Saved his students
To the Editors,
Over the past couple of days, the tragedy at Virginia Tech has dominated the news and the pages of the Spectator. Throughout this I have been very disappointed in how the Spectator has chosen to cover and report on the incident.
On the front page of Wednesday’s Spectator, the headline read “A Deadly Enigma – America’s worst killer was clearly on the edge – but nobody acted” with a photo of the shooter beside it. This headline, especially because it was above the fold, is blatantly sensational. In addition to being sensational, it is incorrect.
This is a fact recognizable by anyone who read the article. The article sates that the shooter was under psychiatric care. The same paragraph also states that one of his professors referred him to counseling on the basis of work submitted for a class. Clearly, some people acted, it was just too little too late.
The second thing that has been disappointing is the coverage of the shooter. The Spectator has shown itself to be like every other news agency by making the shooter into a posthumous celebrity. By continually showing images of the shooter and the frequent use of the shooter’s name, the identity of the shooter is quickly being etched into our society’s collective consciousness.
This is reinforced by the front page of Thursday’s Spectator which shows 6 different images of the shooter brandishing a gun. The headline also displays a portion of the shooter’s message and rationale.
Not only has this given the shooter instant fame, albeit infamy, it also presents the message that committing heinous crimes is a means of getting oneself heard. The shooter wanted people to hear a certain message. This is why a package was sent to NBC. The media, including the Spectator, has fulfilled the wishes of shooter – a criminal.
Throughout all of this, the Spectator could have risen above the fray and not helped to increase the fame of the shooter.
It can choose to substitute “the shooter” for the name of the shooter in its reporting.
It can refrain from printing images of the shooter, a concise description may suffice.
It can refrain from publicizing the ideas of the shooter.
It can publicize stories like that of Liviu Librescu. Mr. Librescu’s story was told on page A6. He was a professor who assisted his students in escaping from the shooter. Ultimately he ended up giving up his own life in the process. People and stories like this need to be given much more coverage than the words of a mass murderer and the contributing to the fame of a killer.
RE: Professor Saved his students
To the Editors,
Over the past couple of days, the tragedy at Virginia Tech has dominated the news and the pages of the Spectator. Throughout this I have been very disappointed in how the Spectator has chosen to cover and report on the incident.
On the front page of Wednesday’s Spectator, the headline read “A Deadly Enigma – America’s worst killer was clearly on the edge – but nobody acted” with a photo of the shooter beside it. This headline, especially because it was above the fold, is blatantly sensational. In addition to being sensational, it is incorrect.
This is a fact recognizable by anyone who read the article. The article sates that the shooter was under psychiatric care. The same paragraph also states that one of his professors referred him to counseling on the basis of work submitted for a class. Clearly, some people acted, it was just too little too late.
The second thing that has been disappointing is the coverage of the shooter. The Spectator has shown itself to be like every other news agency by making the shooter into a posthumous celebrity. By continually showing images of the shooter and the frequent use of the shooter’s name, the identity of the shooter is quickly being etched into our society’s collective consciousness.
This is reinforced by the front page of Thursday’s Spectator which shows 6 different images of the shooter brandishing a gun. The headline also displays a portion of the shooter’s message and rationale.
Not only has this given the shooter instant fame, albeit infamy, it also presents the message that committing heinous crimes is a means of getting oneself heard. The shooter wanted people to hear a certain message. This is why a package was sent to NBC. The media, including the Spectator, has fulfilled the wishes of shooter – a criminal.
Throughout all of this, the Spectator could have risen above the fray and not helped to increase the fame of the shooter.
It can choose to substitute “the shooter” for the name of the shooter in its reporting.
It can refrain from printing images of the shooter, a concise description may suffice.
It can refrain from publicizing the ideas of the shooter.
It can publicize stories like that of Liviu Librescu. Mr. Librescu’s story was told on page A6. He was a professor who assisted his students in escaping from the shooter. Ultimately he ended up giving up his own life in the process. People and stories like this need to be given much more coverage than the words of a mass murderer and the contributing to the fame of a killer.
posted by The Avatar | 9:40 a.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home