I can understand if they release it later after some time when all of the publicity from this tragedy has subsided but for them to release it in the midst of this just seems like a huge mistake that is truthfully very very questionable considering there are photos of the shooter pointing a handgun straight at the viewer as if he is shooting you. When a kid happens to get on the internet and sees this...what is he or she to think about the world? They should not have released this..especially for the grieving families, who I'm sure don't want to see this right now. It would just add to the pain and make them have to realize the amount of terror that their loved ones had to encounter. This is disgusting to me and I think there should be a public outcry about this. I'm not for political correctness but this is abominable!!
2007-04-18 18:46:31 · 25 answers · asked by Anonymous in News & Events ➔ Current Events
I agree. Anyone else that does - please join our petition and boycott at http://newsboycott.com/
2007-04-20 05:52:48 · answer #1 · answered by Nick G 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I will boycott until they they fire the NBS News exec, Brian Willams and any of the producers that "voted" for the dangerous trash they put on air. And they should publically apologize. I will also notify and boycott the advertisers. What they did is like someone (NBS news dept and anyone above them who knew or failed to take action) yelling fire in a crowded theater. It is not news, it is dangerous speech. And it is both harmful and illegal.
Who doen't know that there are psychos who live among us? I am sorry for their sad lives. But they have always been and will always be here. No amount of understanding why, when, how,... will change that. The only thing worth anyones time is to increase our protection against them. NBC's segment did not do that.
What has changed, by NBC's action, is the enticement of anti-hero notoriety to these nuts. Some guy who is going to kill his wife and then himself, is going to think how he can get his sorry excuse out to the world, if he can just kill a few more. Or anyone feeling suicidal and who blames others for his problems. Dangerous, dangerous speech.
Did anyone miss the irony that NBC demonstrated Cho was right in claiming the media was perverted.
2007-04-21 16:40:45 · answer #2 · answered by Sami 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that the media is always in such a race to get news to their broadcasts or media sites before anybody else, they don't consider the ramifications this video and the pictures would have on the families. The tragedy is too too fresh and it seems inappropriate to expose so soon to those who were touched so closely by this massacre. This is a decision by the broadcast industry leaders in which they could have exercised more discretion, and held onto to, at least for several more weeks. What would have been best is to never show it and thus not giving this killer, even in his death, any publicity or glorification.
2007-04-18 19:30:33 · answer #3 · answered by Inquisitive 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
you bet. That's why I signed the newsboycott.com petition.
from newsboycott site
In showing the videos and pictures as they did, in spite of this being obviously the principal “payoff” that Cho wanted from his crime and an encouragement to other sick and evil people like Cho, the mainstream TV networks gave one more clear signal that they in fact serve not the public interest, but the interests of themselves and their advertisers alone. Their decision (which should never had even arisen, had NBC turned over the package to the FBI unopened) shows their only concern is to make a quick buck by augmenting audience numbers through sensationalism. Of no concern to them is the long-term cost to the public, whose airwaves are entrusted to them. The networks have tipped their hand regarding their treatment of wars, US foreign policy and diplomacy, and public policy in general: if the mainstream networks display such a set of priorities in the relatively straightforward Cho case, shouldn’t one assume that their loyalties and priorities are suspect when covering any of these other more complex matters?
2007-04-22 13:19:38 · answer #4 · answered by eb 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that the video of the gunman definately shouldnt have been released. He ended 32 lives on Monday Morning and the media should focus more on the 32 lives he took. I personally think they should have never shown the video . The Virginia Tech Tragedy happened on monday and Wednesday they were showing the gunman's video. The families definately did not need that at all. They are trying to cope with their loss of their loved ones and NBC starts showing clips of the gunmans video. Definately Wrong. I am so upset with NBC over this. Those families have had to deal with enough this week they didnt need that on top of all their pain. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims of Virginia Tech.
2007-04-20 04:30:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
i agree with u in the sense that, his picture is being put on tv and the net, yahoo homepage constantly. Pretty soon, there will be websites made by kids who can relate to Cho, and forums where they talk about how cool he was because he became so public for what he did. So these delinquent kids are going to see Cho become a part of history forever, and that urges them even more to copy cat this. Ex. Columbine -- there is a game out, no1 forgets about those guys, and no1 will forget Cho. Screwed up kids like Cho will want all the attention that they see their "idol" is getting right now. Media sucks in that sense. They shud realize these things.
2007-04-18 19:17:42 · answer #6 · answered by MixyP 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I agree 100%. There should be more public outcry about this. I suspect the reason we haven't heard about more criticism is the media doesn't like to broadcast too many criticisms of the media...
Boycott NBC!
2007-04-22 10:55:47 · answer #7 · answered by afta6789 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it form of sounds like i'm seeing greater with regard to the killer than the sufferers of this adverse tragedy. Giving the killer all this interest has already spark off over many copycat threats around the country. Our concentration top now could be a million)how a tragedy like that is prevented sooner or later and a pair of)the families of the sufferers
2016-10-12 22:07:27 · answer #8 · answered by quellette 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't boycott NBC on the basis of them airing the footage. We can say that they are exploiting it for ratings but so are its competitors. However, it is the opposite of what you are using as the basis for your reason for boycotting that would provide a better reason for boycotting. It is not the airing of the footage, it is NBC not airing or distributing the footage in its entirety.
To say that NBC shouldn't air it is wrong. It is the biggest news story right now and people want to know about it. On balance, there are far more people who want to know than don't. Those who want to know aren't voyeurs. They just want to have as much information as possible. Therefore, NBC airing the footage is in the public's interest, and of course, in NBC's as well.
But, NBC is only serving its interests by not releasing all of the footage online or on its cable stations. There is no good reason why they are doing this except to serve NBC and the ratings machine. After all, it is a news organization and to use the rationale, which I am sure they are doing, that the public wants to know and they are informing the public doesn't jibe with NBC keeping that very information away from the public, releasing it in dribs and drabs so that they can get people to tune in to Today in the morning and MSNBC at night. In this sense, they are exploiting the video.
If they want to say they are going to give the information to the public, they should do that. But, to do that by say streaming it all online would also allow there competitors to get access to that information. So, NBC hordes it.
There is no real good way to reconcile the two policies of saying information needs to be given to the public, which sounds magnimous and high-minded, and holding back with that information for no other reason than it serves NBC's interest.
So, if you want to be outraged, it shouldn't be on the release of the footage since almost any other news organization would have released it. You should be outraged on NBC treating it as primarily a ratings booster by parceling out the information over successive days and over other NBC properties.
So, yes, NBC is primarily looking out for NBC while probably wrapping itself in the high-minded notions of the Fourth Estate.
But, I wouldn't boycott them on that. I'd still watch NBC shows. I don't watch NBC News, anyway. Regarding the cable news station, MSNBC is in dead last, so not many Americans watch it, either.
That said, I wouldn't begrudge people boycotting NBC because of this. After all, I've given reasons why NBC is, indeed, exploiting the shootings.
As for there being possible copycatters, I don't think that is the responsibility of NBC. I don't believe there would be many copycatters and those who do are seriously troubled and/or evil to begin with. I don't think they need any push by seeing this video. There may very well be copycatters without airing it. Does that mean we shouldn't report it? I don't think so, so report away.
If we had to worry about all the copycatters, then we shouldn't report on anything negative.
2007-04-18 19:22:13 · answer #9 · answered by nyc_1oo14 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
A boycott has been started on http://newsboycott.com
They have an online petition which asks NBC News for an apology.
2007-04-20 05:53:37 · answer #10 · answered by rajoohay 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Remember that NBC is owned by General Electric and boycott their products as well.
2007-04-20 02:51:41 · answer #11 · answered by Babs 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋