Local, national media play different roles in tragedies
By MK LUTHER
AEJMC Reporter
When a local tragedy becomes a national news spectacle – like the April 16 shooting spree at Virginia Tech – sensitivities for those directly affected can get lost in the stampede for ratings, Hot Topic panelists said Friday.
National news coverage of the fatal shootings on the Virginia Tech campus spawned public outcries. The mainstream media was chastised for reporting that was sensational and over-the-top. The crux of the matter, according to the panel, is journalists’ behavior.
On the other hand, local coverage, one panelist said, was aimed at soothing the immediate community.
Saira Haider, news editor of Virginia Tech’s newspaper the Collegiate Times, said the media onslaught after the shootings scared the students and sent some into exile.
“The reason a lot of the students who didn’t want to leave town left town was because there was just a labyrinth of journalists on the field,†Haider said.
When student journalists faced the daunting task of covering a major news event on their front lawn, Haider said, the tone of the newspaper changed.
“Our paper became about sympathizing and reaching out to the community,†said Haider.
The tight-knit college community in Blacksburg, Va., passed judgment on the mainstream media for not following suit.
“There are Facebook clubs, like hundreds of them, devoted to how bad some of the media coverage was, so I think the general sense is that they were too insensitive,†Haider said.
The increasingly competitive market of today’s news business can result in sensationalism, said NBC News correspondent and panelist Kevin Corke, one of the first network reporters on the scene.
Desperate to stay one step ahead of bloggers on the Internet and civic journalists on YouTube, the pressure to be the first, the best, and the boldest has escalated to the point that some of the sense of how to handle tragic news events is lost.
Corke said that one of his personal regrets was using the term “madman†in reference to the killer Seung-Hui Cho on-air.
“That one I would like to have back,†said Corke.
In contrast, Haider said there is nothing she regrets about the Collegiate Times’ coverage. “I’m happy to say that I am completely proud of everything we printed.â€
Panelist Mark Morrison, New River Valley bureau chief for the Roanoke Times, explained a different facet of major news events for local media — the potential for future stories. The aftereffects of these events will be followed briefly, if at all, by the national media.“For us, it is a marathon, not a sprint,†said Morrison.
Jan Leach, professor at Kent State University, said there is one lesson to be learned for all journalists from the Virginia Tech shootings.“If you are a small paper, act big. If you are a big paper — act human, act responsibly.â€