NBC Cho VT & 'tragedy porn'

Thursday, April 19, 2007

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It's hard to disagree with the Virginia police department assessment that NBC News's decision to transmit Cho's hate-fuelled gun-toting multi-media video rants, which have aired all over the planet, "added little" to their investigation. Steve Capus, the network's news chief, said on the Today show "I'm not sure we'll ever fully understand why this happened, but I do think this is as close as we'll come to having a glimpse inside the mind of a killer." Hmm. The footage is of course 'good' TV, and amounts to little more 'tragedy porn' - the vile ravings of a deeply disturbed mind. However, although the editorial justification may be flimsy, one thing's certain. Few TV networks - or indeed newspapers - would have taken a different decision if the material had landed in their laps. Whatever we hacks might like to think, news is part of the entertainment biz and consequently a battle for numbers and eyeballs. By the end of today, virtually everyone with access to a TV or the Web will have watched the NBC-branded material...while complaining about 'the media' of course...

Posted by James Silver - On Thursday, April 19, 2007

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