The problem with mainstream media is they act fast without thinking of consequences. I’t am thoroughly disgusted with NBC at this point, not only falling prey to the exact wishes the psychopath of VT by airing his message, but continue to do so after the public has already said enough. Examples: Entertainment Tonight making a comparison of killer to movie star (click show is off, NBC is off, debating whether to watch NBC again)! GO to MSNBC and the page dedicated to memories of those slain is cut in half by ads to show the killers video (utmost in tasteless)! THERE SHOULD BE NO REFERENCE TO CHO AT ALL ON THE MEMORIAL PAGE! Thoroughly disgusted with NBC at this time and I hope the advertisers take notice, you support that mindset, I will not support your products.

Not only does NBC continue to mangle the name of my alma mater, the departments that employed the faculty members, and many other facts about this horrible, horrible tragedy, they continue to add to the infamy of someone that I will NEVER speak the name of. There were thrity-two victims and one criminal in this tragedy. Showing pictures of corpses in Iraq and video of a psychopath does not complete the story; it is just too much.

The media needs to get out of Blacksburg and let all of us heal.

I agree with Mark Jones. Is there a way media can focus solely on the heinous atrocity itself, without any coverage of the perpetrator, his character? Impossible.
If there is a story to be told, it has to be told in its entirety. Though the treatment differs from editor to editor, reporter to reporter, etc.
However, when I write this, I am not really thinking about the grieving families…am I? So easy for me (and so many others) to write…so difficult for them to grieve and come to terms with their loss…tragic….

NBC is a great network. I’m glad it disclosed everything they are allowed to show as we don’t need censorship. If you want censorship on a wide scale, you can go to Communist or dictatorship countries. MSNBC has my full support and if you support censorship, then move to those countries where theres very little freedom and lots of propaganda by their governments.

I believe that all reported information about an event should be complete. In the VT mass killing story, the public needs to know all the relevant information including the killer’s. Otherwise, people won’t be able to judge for themselves who this killer really is.

It is unbelievable that NBC would air this video of the killer, besides poor taste they have now indicated to every sick individual or group that they should go out and commit a heinous crime and make a tape because they will get air-time. This is an act of greed and in addition a juvenile expression of a right the we hold dear, the managers/editors should all go home and never work at broadcasting news again. They should all be ashamed of themselves. NBC is the lowest level of journalism in the world right now!

In the long run I hope that the national TV networks will spend much time on coverage of the healing, analysis, victim and survivor stories than on Cho. (so long as VT and Blacksburg residents accept the media’s presence)

This feels like the media equivalent of rubber-necking at a car accident. Most of us condemn it, but most of us slow down to take a look…

I am upset about this incident but no matter what the media did someone would critisize no matter what choice was made. I believe the video should have been shown, maybe if someone else starts showing behavior like this the “trained” professionals will take notice and not let the ball drop.
Also, if he had not been awarded citizenship he may have been in his own country and this incident would never have taken place.
So congress and Mr. Bush when thinking about granting amnesty to all the foreign lawbreakers
think about VT. More caution needs to be taken before accepting aliens to our country. Think about American citizens FIRST. That is their job to PROTECT our borders from INVADERS not reward them for breaking our laws to suit their purpose.
As Americans we have the right and the government has the duty to protect our borders. No more invaders, let their own country do what they are demanding of ours, that is where they have rights to march and demand in their own country not the U. S.

We may want to stick our heads in the sand because the images and what they represent offend our sensibilities. I understand that many are in excruciating pain from the loss of loved ones and cannot bear the thought of looking at the person who inflicted this heartache. On the surface this appears to be a clear case of a mentally disturbed individual venting his rage on innocent lives and therefore, our habit is to dismiss it in our minds as an abnormality, a deviation from the norm, but in actuality this is indicative of a very complex phenomenon exemplifying the direction we are going in as a country and ultimately, a species. Our modern culture has seen an over abundance of violent TV shows & movies, violent lyrics in music, cruel and angry reality shows, portrayal of mean-ness as the ultimate form of entertainment. There is a preoccupation with body image, physical appearance, money and so on… look at us, we worship the likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan whose lives are a series of partying, drugs and sex…. Our children are excessively exposed to these themes, images and messages at a very young age. Psychology 101: Children live what they learn. When the predominance of the information children receive from society is of this nature, it then becomes their sense of reality. They believe that these are the things that constitute our experience and existence as human beings. where is the over abundance of images depicting love, compassion, kindness? We are creating a generation of superficial, plastic, selfish people where the great search in life is about excess and trying to appease an inexhaustible craving for physical pleasure. Our greatest error is thinking that each thing is separate unto itself. For every action there is a reaction and everything is connected, so we are sadly misguided in thinking that what we portray in the name of entertainment does not have a tremendous impact on our children’s psyche and present the foundation of their beliefs….. There is no one thing that causes an individual to reach breaking point, instead it is the culmination of everything he has ever experienced in his life and the impressions left upon his psyche, lest we forget all those children who endure physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse. These experiences are assimilated and ultimately create a toxic fusion of energies and emotions. Children today are feeling more alienated and dis-jointed than ever, as parents are caught up in the “fight for survival” spending more time and energy at work ultimately leaving less and less time for raising their children in a balanced and harmonious manner. Whilst in the mind of the parent what they are doing is in the best interest of the child as they can provide more material things…. the truth is, a child would much rather a sincere hug and the attention of a parent than the latest barby doll or video game…. Do you not think that the 4-6 hours they spend playing bloody video games or watching television shows that depict screaming, cruel and out of control people are laying the foundation of their belief system? Needless to say, the horse is already out the gate and it will take awareness from the majority to recognize it is heading in the wrong direction. I pray that we wake up before many more are unnecessarily slaughtered by these mostly affected minds who in the midst of their darkness, are screaming for us to heed the call….

Hi,
I think nbc was quite right, letting the wide audience to know what was “behind” the event, what kind of a person was the killer, as he revealed himself in these tapes. Nothing dangerous here to know and to understand that he was a mentally sick person. Hiding the information that’s what might be harmful. The news broadcast was appropriate and timely as a lot of people wondered what has happened and who is responsible. And that’s what the news are all about: fast, and as much as possible information. But there was one thing I was also offended: the picture of a killer on nbc10 website for sale! That was disgusting. To earn money on his picture??? To let other psycos to buy it and to convert it to a martyr! That was unacceptable! I was also stunned by the fact how it is still easy here to go and to buy guns! Why you guys are not screaming and yelling at this fact??? Why you are not angry how the system is handling the mentally sick people? That’s what is obvious! You guys put the cameras on the parking lots and you don’t have them in the corridors of the schools or universities. Why? After having Colombine I was sure masures like this has to be taken. Probably showing the killer on the news will push the official to take real actions in preventing these tragedies. And finally, don’t put all the blame on the killer, look what caused the event alongside his sickness. This must be a final lesson to learn to prevent, before it’s again too late. My deepest sympathy goes to the families who lost their loved ones. Why always the innocent are the targets? How many innocent victims have to die so that the officials will take their portion of responsibility and do everything to prevent any other psyco from doing the same? Why not to push to prohibit forever the free sale of guns?
Nataliya

I do not sympathise with the medias but I do agree with the struggles that the editor is facing with regards to what to report and when the reports become too much.

What happened in Virginia Tech School was a sad tragedy.

Cho Seung Hui was a frustrated young man who was emotionally disturbed but got little or no attention from his family or friends.

Instead his so called friends worked hard to make him feel that he never belonged and that he was weirdo.

If they had helped introduced him to a few girls, perhaps, instead of alienating him as they did, this sad tragedy might have been avoided and the 32 students he killed would still be alive.

And it is disturbing how some of the mass media are always in a rush to stereotype a whole continent of people.

What is the point in stressing that he was Asian?

Do some of these journalists know anything about geography?

There are many countries in Asia.

Asia is not a country but a continent.

And what is the point in stressing his race?
No matter his race, he lived and committed the crime in America and not in his native country. May be his problem was his life in America!

Most Journalists are always in the habit of chasing after and focusing upon the fruits of the problems of society instead of the root causes.

Most Journalists seem to always be part of the problem instead of the solution: twisting stories, stoking and fanning racial emotions in order to generate publicity and make money peddling stories of human tragedies.

Ikey Benney

I was looking for a place to make a comment regarding Cindy Sheehan and her quest for peace. I feel for her. She realizes that America is not what she thought. I have also realized this. We are a country driven by money. The reasons for this war are so many it boggles the mind. We are at war for corporations/business to continue to make a profit. We are at war for President Bush’s quest to continue profitting from oil production in the middle east, and he hopes to provide places out there for his buddies and his family to continue to profit since America’s oil supply is dwindling. America has no time to go out and protest a war when we are barely able to make ends meet with our low salaries and very little leave time to do so. I wish there were corporations out there that would sponsor an end to the war. Perhaps we can then stop work and life to go out and protest. I wish politics did not play a part in Politics. Unfortunately, it does. I was also highly crazed to see that the democrats had to buckle under President Bush’s threats of veto. MY BIG QUESTIONS ARE THESE: WHY HASN’T THIS MAN BEEN IMPEACHED FOR WAR CRIMES, AND HAS ANYONE REALIZED PRESIDENT BUSH’S CONFLICT OF INTEREST, OIL, AS BEING THE REASON FOR THIS WAR? I want to screem at the top of my lungs about American problems. We have lots of social issues, and America has been lulled into a false sense of democracy and freedom. We are not free, we are slaves to the American military and the American Tax system.