I have "consciously uncoupled" from the news as much as possible. I stopped watching Daily Show and Colbert Report, two shows I love, because even comedic criticism of the news is more news than I can stand. But when I saw there had been a shooting in Seattle, I decided to take a look at the live feeds to see what's what. Big mistake.
I chose KIRO 7, the CBS affiliate, partly because I recall they had the quirkiest of newscasts when I went to college up there*, but also because I know several people who work at the station. It is, I suppose, a given that all news outlets have to release the name of a shooter when it becomes available, but I thought it was common practice not to do much more than that because "experts" have stated that future would-be shooters are extra-motivated when they see such publicity, and because the people and names we ought to be remembering are those of the victims. Given all of that, I was stunned when KIRO not only said his name out loud, and not only put up a graphic with his name (keeping it up for at least an hour), but then started showing still photos and video of the shooter taken from his social media. I was so taken aback that I sent Tweets to KIRO asking them to cease. Two minutes later, one of the reporters I Tweeted (not someone I know personally) said live on air that posts have been made on social media critical of KIRO's overcoverage of the shooter, and that they are aware that using the name and showing images isn't something generally done, but (and I'm not making this up) he then told the viewers they had no choice since they hadn't yet learned the names of the victims. Really? In the midst of a town grieving, multiple press conferences from mayors and doctors and police officials, the ONLY thing suitable for air was the shooter? If I still lived in the Pacific Northwest, I'd have tracked down that reporter and punch him in the face. And that is why I don't watch the news anymore. * KIRO was the first to attempt the out-of-the-box newscast, where anchors no longer sat behind desks but roamed the newsroom or stood next to things... they eventually calmed down and found a desk for the anchors, but the effect on local newscasts everywhere is still evident today -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
