in the news

What is the difference between fiction and reality?
Fiction has to make sense.

Wednesday evening, I flicked on the TV to catch up on the news I had been hearing earlier in the day that a package had been sent to NBC from Cho Seung-Hui. I turned on CNN first since it wasn't time yet for the "Nightly News" program and found myself watching and listening to none other than Wolf Blitzer, Mr. Drama Guy, who was "hosting" a panel of journalists who were sitting in a field somewhere on the campus of Virginia Tech. CNN, of course, already had all the graphics in place as well as the "theme" music for this tragedy, and Wolf was doing his very best to make the horrendous story of mass murder even more dramatic......if that was possible.

At the beginning and ending of each panel segment, Blitzer launched into his segue, using phrases like "biggest EVER in the HISTORY of America" which to tell you the truth left me feeling nauseas. I got this sick pit feeling that he was lapping this story up........ his emphasis on certain words felt too much like a promotional advertisement for something "New and Improved..." He couched the panel conversation by stating that they (the media/journalists) had been on campus for several days, that information about the event was only trickling in, etc........ completely oblivious to the fact that this tragedy had only taken place a little more than 48 hours before and that the world had been emotionally inundated with the reality of Cho's murdering spree.

It seems to me that CNN, like many other stations, has the power to turn reality into the surreal. Their over the top journalism comes across as dramatic, disrespectful and desensitizing all at the same time. They are notorious for this approach to journalism. Albeit there are some journalists with CNN who hold onto their integrity (and following) by allowing the story to be the lead and not have their personality swamp it, the attention grabbers.....the ones whose personalities grow bigger than the story seem to be the ones who end up hosting their own news show.

Can I just add here..................oh yes I can..........that Larry King has got to be the worst interviewer in the land of interviewing? He interupts, he ad libs, he asks the doofiest questions, and yet..........you're frigging nobody unless you get to sit across the desk from Mr. Suspender guy? His inability to allow for any pauses or any deep breaths by the interviewee leads me to think that this man is not comfortable whatsoever with silence. Quite frankly, I think he's rude.

Gee......I started out wanting to write about media coverage in general and have somehow found myself going down the rant road lambasting CNN........

Let me get back on track.........

What has stunned me more than anything this week is the locomotive pace this world seems to have when it comes to grieving, and to learning the details of a story even before it has unfolded. Our collective impatience and attention span feeds the mainstream media (and visa versa) to go into overdrive. Granted, as soon as new information is available, it is the responsibility of the media to share it (it is our responsibility to choose to view it or not). But, the inundation of graphic information and heart wrenching details coupled with the eye-blinking roll out of a memorial less than 24 hours after the murderous event that seemed to veer close to feeling like a bizarre rally, a candlelight service, a thousand intrusive interviews with families in shock.......it's like this whole thing has been scripted.

Are we supposed to be at a point in absorbing the magnitude of this killing spree and the horrendous loss of precious life where we are reflecting already? Yesterday's big headline wasn't about the loss of life.......or the heroic actions of beautiful people who saved others.......it wasn't about the devastation felt by the families.........the headline grabber was about the media itself over whether or not they should've shown the video clips of Cho.

Life is not a movie.......... but OMG, I'm sure someone is out there salivating over the rights to the story and WHO is going to play the role of the key players..............is this not SICK?

I believe the public reacted partially to the heinous video clips because they simply weren't prepared to see them. It was too soon. It was thrown into the "script" too early. And the public reacted. Too much reality.............and not enough time to respectfully acknowledge the families and friends of the victims.......to let the story sink in........or something like that. Who really knows?

Last night, I caught the editorial commentary of a coiffed talking head whom I had never seen before on one of the Canadian news channels throwing her 2 cents into the debate on whether or not the media should've disclosed the pictures and video clips of Cho Seung-Hui. She began by providing a "textbook" theory of how events like the Virginia Tech tragedy unfold with the public as a way to rationalize the decisions made by the media.

• On the first day, we are in shock and denial
• On the second day, we turn our anger on and point fingers at the administration
• On the third day, we turn our anger on the media.

According to the "talking head" we are responding "according to plan....."

Wow! Did you know we are so programmed? Her thoughtless editorial fed my disdain towards the media. But then, that was predictable, wasn't it?

(oh, and btw? I do believe we would be angry at the media if they hadn't shown the clips because then we would be shouting at their authoritarian censorship practises............)

Wolf Blitzer was right. It is the worst killing spree in the history of the United States of America. HOWEVER, there is no script. We are in unknown territory. It needs to be felt and absorbed and reflected upon. Does this need to be rushed out in "dailies?" Do we really need theme music and graphics already? No. We need to surrender to the fact that we are in unknown territory, realizing there are no clear cut answers to this senseless awful event. And then, we grieve and feel for the families, friends and colleagues directly affected by the horrible acts of one very very sick man.