News Should Treat On-Air Murders Equally: Show It All
One of the pervasive side-stories to the shocking on-air murders of WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward has been the decisions news organizations have made about how to treat video and images of the actual murders. The killings, committed by former WDBJ reporter Bryce Williams (his onscreen moniker; the shooter’s real name was Vester Lee Flanagan), occurred during a live news shot, and were captured by one of the victims. What viewers of WDBJ saw at 6:45 Wednesday morning was as shocking and horrifying as anything you’re ever likely to see, but if you want to see it, here it is…READ MORE
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Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Tommy Christopher
Tommy Christopher is The Daily Banter's White House Correspondent and Political Analyst. He's been a political reporter and liberal commentator since 2007, and has covered the White House since the beginning of the Obama administration, first for PoliticsDaily, and then for Mediaite. Christopher is a frequent guest on a variety of television, radio, and online programs, and was the villain in the documentaries The Audacity of Democracy and Hating Breitbart. He's also That Guy Who Live-Tweeted His Own Heart Attack, and the only person to have ever received public apologies from both Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
38 responses to News Should Treat On-Air Murders Equally: Show It All
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Anomaly 100 August 27th, 2015 at 20:02
I showed the footage on my site. I think we should at least get an idea of what the victims went through.
tracey marie August 27th, 2015 at 20:05
I have no desire to watch, my imagination is bad enough.
Roctuna August 27th, 2015 at 20:45
I’m with you. I don’t need to have the heart-wrenching image of these deaths in my memory to know how bad the act was. However, some people come to mind who should have their eyelids clamped open and forced to view this in a repeating loop for 24 hours or so.
Anomaly 100 August 27th, 2015 at 21:09
We don’t force our readers to watch it on FON, but I think we should know what victims of gun violence go through. The NRA and gun activists are trying to desensitize us and it’s worked.
tracey marie August 27th, 2015 at 21:19
I know that that, I just can’t do it. I am getting numbed and ill at the same time from all the violence.
Anomaly 100 August 27th, 2015 at 22:21
I hear you.
whatthe46 August 28th, 2015 at 01:52
hello Ms. A.
Anomaly 100 August 28th, 2015 at 09:57
Hey gf!
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 05:44
What about the 6 o’clock news ???In front of the kids…going to FON is a choice..
whatthe46 August 28th, 2015 at 01:52
i watched it. and it hurt.
Mike August 27th, 2015 at 20:25
Yeah, I’m a bit confused…here’s an article professing the value of showing the entire incident yet supplies us with an edited version of the video. I saw the unedited version and it was horrific. You might call me morbid, but I think it had real value. If more people saw how god awful disgusting a shooting really is, it might let us finally have that talk about guns we keep postponing.
We show much more graphic depictions on TV shows, Mr Robot cancelled the season finale because it was deemed to mimic this incident frame for frame…what does that say…fictional glorified violence is fine but the real thing is somehow too traumatic to air…we need to start showing all the raw footage.
whatthe46 August 28th, 2015 at 01:50
the video of Samuel Dubose’s murder was played in its entirety. and, we’ve talked about it adnausem, and no one else gave a damn. that was a chilling video as well as this. but, i ask you, what makes this one more horrific than his?
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 05:43
Personally …I’ve seen enough death
Mike August 28th, 2015 at 12:29
Distance….Sam’s murder was horrific as you say but the videos were all shot from a distance and lacked the impact of a close encounter.
Would we be able to see the atrocity of the German death camps from aerial views, the horror of Pol Pot from a hundred yards away…the truth is the truth, and oftentimes it’s not pretty…we can lie in 2 different ways, through commission or omission, and editing a video is a form of lie…JMO
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 05:45
Hey Annie…Lina is here too! LOL Already did Obe for her where he commented LMAO
Anomaly 100 August 28th, 2015 at 09:57
Wut?
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 10:26
Linda the money girl…
Anomaly 100 August 28th, 2015 at 11:14
Don’t get it. My name is not Linda.
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 11:22
No No Linda the make money at home spammer…ran ALL over LL today.. Every site I went to she was there already….
Told Obe too flagged them all …
Jon Weiss August 27th, 2015 at 21:03
Interesting concept on tonight’s show, “Gun Liability Insurance”. Apparently Mr. Colmes and his callers are oblivious to the meaning of the term “shall not be infringed”.
BigDumbWhiteGuy August 27th, 2015 at 22:18
Weird how you people care only for the last four words and don’t give a second thought to the first four.
bpollen August 28th, 2015 at 03:19
May I point out “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” is no longer operative because there is a standing army.
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 05:42
and the national guard locally
bpollen August 28th, 2015 at 16:09
Exactly. And, it should be noted, or perhaps emphasised – it’s National Guard.
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 16:17
but it is the state
Jon Weiss September 1st, 2015 at 01:10
May I point out that the SCOTUS has ruled that the militia fantasy is irrelevant, since the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right?
bpollen September 1st, 2015 at 04:01
See, if it is written in the Constitution, it is glaringly obvious that it’s not a fantasy. Read Constitution, see words, realize not fantasy.
Jon Weiss September 19th, 2015 at 03:09
May I point out that your point is irrelevant since, first, neither the Bill of Rights nor the 2nd Amendment has been repealed, and second the 2nd Amendment has multiple clauses, on discussing the need for a Militia, and the 2nd clause which ensures the “right of the people” (not the militia) to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” This individual right of arms was guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment and reiterated by the Supreme Court as an ‘Individual Right”. See District of Columbia v. Heller,
bpollen September 19th, 2015 at 03:23
Just can’t give up, eh? You don’t like so you revisit to kvetch every few weeks?
The 2nd Amendment consists of one sentence. Three commas. Just how many “clauses” could there be? 3. Yeah, complex. You only see the last 4 words…
Jon Weiss September 1st, 2015 at 01:17
The National Guard is indeed the modern day “replacement for the militia”, but it is NOT the militia, for if it were, every able bodied male from 16 to 60 would be in mandatory attendance. This is an old argument that has been debunked repeatedly, just like the tired old excuse that the 2nd Amdnement only applies to Muskets as they were the weapons in use when it was written, but the anti gun zealots forget their own logic when it comes to the rest of the Bill Of Rights, such as, if the BOR only applies to the technology in place when it was written, then you are devoid of free speech in this forum since computers and the internet were not in existence at the time the 1st Amendment was written, the same applies to the telephone, TV, radio, et al. In fact the only place you have free speech under that logic, is in fact to face conversations or in printed matter which MUST be printed or hand written on paper or parchment (text on an electronic device is not protected).
Apocalypse August 28th, 2015 at 01:23
Tamir Rice and other unjust police shootings had evidentiary value…exposing the police. Airing them helped give birth to the Black Lives Matter movement. If a camera had recorded Dylan Roof, Adam Lanza, or James Holmes…would it have served a purpose to air their disgusting crimes. There is an element that admires them…and are inspired to do the same…as this shooter did. Do we want to give them more material to feed their fantasies.
The people who want gun control don’t need further convincing, and the one’s who don’t aren’t going to change their minds if Sandy Hook couldn’t change their minds.
Seeing violence is de-sensitizing, rather than discouraging it…it helps it become the norm. Media ratings aren’t worth the harm. http://www.killology.com/art_trained_methods.htm
IMHO
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rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 05:40
You are effin annoying
rg9rts August 28th, 2015 at 05:41
That means, I suppose, that now you can’t have the news on in front of the children
Inferno666 September 23rd, 2015 at 20:32
Tommy is a bonafide self hating white man. He has no respect for himself so naturally has no respect for anyone else. His stepfather beat him once a day. Blacks beat him up at high school every day. What a loser.
Inferno666 September 23rd, 2015 at 20:35
Real name – Tommy Beller. Brother Dave Beller. Son couldn’t talk until he was five and Tommy never noticed. Jennifer, his first wife, was almost pimped out by Tom to a friend of his. His second wife Jane couldn’t put up with him any longer so had an affair.
whatthe46 September 23rd, 2015 at 20:44
do you take meds? if not, might i suggest some, i don’t know, um, try a boat load of these for starters: haloperidol; chlorpromazine; thorazine or prolixin. and while you’re at it, all at once.
Inferno666 September 24th, 2015 at 07:40
Wow! I hit a nerve with someone who is disturbingly familiar with every medication known to pharmacists everywhere. Must be one of Tom’s minions or – is it you Tom?