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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

It's Been Bugging Me

I've been stewing over this ever since the terrible tragedy happened at the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut.  As horrible as this loss of life of the little children and their teachers is, I find it absolutely irresponsible the way the news media has descended on this town like vultures to turn over every stone to try and get the most disgusting details out in print and on TV.

The town has been invaded by reporters all looking to get a "scoop" on some tidbit that gives them a better byline.  Of course, some of the information reported is news that alerts other school systems, law  enforcement as well as parents and teachers that much more can be done to protect innocent children from the insanity of sick individuals.

This is my point:  All the attention given to the individual who committed this heinous crime is dangerous.  You can't go to any newspaper, website or TV news show without seeing his face displayed.  This can and does encourage other sick individuals (and they are out there) to seek the same kind of "fame" and plan to commit copy cat crimes like what has just happened.   Already three people have been arrested for planning and threatening to do the same thing.  Thank heaven that some law enforcement agencies have been on the ball and took action, preventing another senseless tragedy.

I'm not about to open a debate on guns, the Second Amendment rights, or how to track people who might be capable of another terrible crime like this.  I just feel that the media needs to get away from the "If it bleeds, it leads" mentality and show some restraint and common sense in their reporting.  Some things are truly not newsworthy and are better left unsaid.

Sorry for the rant, I had to get it off my chest.  Now back to our regularly scheduled RV blogging.

18 comments:

  1. Paul, I can't agree more. I remember a few years ago when baseball was having attention seekers (streakers) interrupting games. A decision was made not to put them on camera and the problem has now mostly gone away. Wouldn't it be nice if the medial would self discipline themselves in shootings too?

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  2. Paul I am so in agreement with you about our sensationalistic news media. It's as if they are all the National Enquirer any more. And that's exactly why I don't watch and I don't read. And it's for the very reason you state. We fuel their frenzy with our support. Leave these poor people alone to grieve.

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  3. I turned it all off. We need to know, but we do not need 24/7 coverage.

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  4. Well said! The 24 hour news cycle is not a good thing.

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  5. Paul, the media coverage isn't my biggest concern. My concern is that we could be having a coffee in a shopping mall when a nut walks in with a Bushmaster 'assault rifle' he just bought at Walmart.

    Get rid of the assault rifles and the 100 bullet ammo clips and maybe there'd be no slaughters of innocents to cover. This is what really concerns me - these are not deer hunting guns but rather people hunting guns.

    Good blog though, Paul. I appreciate reading your thoughts on this terrible tragedy. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. I fully agree. Our son is part of the media and even he says this one is going overboard. It's all about ratings and he knows that, but not much can be done, The bosses "above him" have the last say on what they report.

    Very good blog.

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  7. excellent blog Paul....you expressed our thoughts exactly....way overboard to say the least...

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  8. I agree and have used the change channel button.

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  9. I agree. Did not (could not) watch the "continuing live coverage" of such a tragedy. Let folks grieve in private. Merikay has a very interesting take on the event on her blog tonight.

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  10. Whole heartily agree ... the "reality TV" aspect of journalism has gotten out of hand.

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  11. I agree with every word you wrote Paul. We have not watched the endless coverage and wish others would change the channel so those blood smearing media outlets would move on and let these folks grieve in peace.

    I am a Canadian so have no right to comment on the Constitution of another country, especially one that welcomes me for a large part of the year and is our closest neighbour, but I really don't think it is about the guns at all, it is the attitude towards them that is the problem. Luckily I feel no need whether I am here at Dogpound South or back in Canada to arm myself for safety. Maybe I am wrong but I think there are a lot more good folks around than people think.

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  12. Were you listening in on the conversation we had at dinner tonight? Almost everything you said in your blog about the media and what they have done is exactly what we were discussing. We've even turned TV off.

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  13. I've found one of the good parts of full-timing is the lack of news and TV. We've missed a lot of the 'headline' news because we've been too busy. We wish we would have missed this latest horrible tragedy.

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  14. Jim and I also talked about this and off went the TV. I am so disgusted with the news media and their endless sensationalism.

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  15. We can blame the news media and their actions are reprehensible.

    A more tragic reality is that for all the public outcry over how they behave the american public feeds on such garbage. Scandal sheets have made money on this stuff for decades. And at the same time we descry the shooting, more people are going out to buy guns because of it.

    If Capitalism is such a great way to live then it shouldn't be surprising when Capitalists choose to capitalize on what people will pay for. It's easy to be outraged, but expecting people to behave our of their own character is a guaranteed frustration.

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  16. Absolutely agree! We turn the TV off.

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  17. You're preaching to the choir here. It's just crazy.

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  18. HOWDY MARTI & PAUL,

    WE GOT TIRED OF ALL OF THE NONSENSE ON TV AND GOT RID OF OURS; HAVEN'T MISSED ANYTHING, YET!!!

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