Monday, April 14, 2008

Tragedy week approaches

We are beginning one of those weeks that creates a bloody time machine for most newsrooms. Here are the week's anniversaries:

April 16th Virginia Tech Shootings (2007)
April 19th Waco massacre (1993)
April 19th Oklahoma City (1995)
April 20th Columbine (1999)

Again, it's all ahead for this week.

Which story or stories get the most air time? Which ones get the least? Which are are worth revisiting our local connections? and which are better left to just airing some of the national coverage?

The VT shooting will most certainly get top billing as it was the most recent .. and as it was such a shock to the country. But weren't the others as well?

Can't you remember how the country was gripped in tears watching Columbine unfold on live TV? or how we were all at a loss for words when the first video hit the air from OKC? Will any of us ever forget the mammoth blaze we saw at Waco?

Yet .. in the TV news business ... finding the right balance of video to show for anniversary stories is always tricky. Some viewers feel we're wasting our time on old news when other issues that affect today's world need told. Yet, other viewers feel like we do a disservice to the impact of these tragedies by glossing over them between the latest political sniping and weather.

So .. I'm all ears ... which ones deserve the most media attention and it what form?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go back even farther in time (Titanic, start of the Civil War,etc) those were all this week also!! My birthday is April 19th and most of the 90s I actually dreaded the week......waiting for the 'other shoe to drop'!!

Anonymous said...

Tell the current news!!
The past is told on the HISTORY CHANNEL

Ben said...

Of the 4 you listed, it seems OKC is the one that gets the least attention for whatever reason, even though it was the most deadly.

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