As the news of the horrors developing in Connecticut
streamed in, I found myself regularly checking various news websites for
updates. I was at work, like many of you, so I could only quickly check in and
get an update. As the day progressed, I found myself more confused by the
reports.
The first story I read noted that a there had been a
shooting at an elementary school. One teacher had been taken the hospital with
a gunshot wound to the foot and that the gunmen were dead. That was it, didn’t sound
too terrible in the whole grand scheme of things. A shooting is terrible,
please understand I am not minimizing this, but the report was vague and made
it appear as it if the situation had been resolved rather quickly.
The next time I checked, I found myself reading a
report that differed dramatically from the first. This update stated that close
to thirty people were dead, most of them kindergarten students. It also noted there was only one gunman, a former student at the school.
How could the reports be so different in as little
as thirty minutes? All day long this continued. Every time I checked, a “fact”
appeared to have been changed from the last report. The shooter’s name, his
age, the weapons he used, where his mother was killed, and on and on. It was as
if the media was closing their eyes, spinning in a circle and playing pin the
tail on a “fact” (term used loosely).
When did we start allowing this? Where did we break
down in our expectations that the media would check and verify the facts before
they reported them to the masses? We have turned a blind eye to this, allowing
for a print now and apologize later mentality.
I am writer of fiction, and yet I am still required
to research characters, setting, and key elements of the plot before I write.
My readers would not allow me to create a piece without having done this background
work, and again, this is for fiction. I would not insult their intelligence in
doing so.
The events that took place on Friday in Newtown are
beyond words. The loss of such life is a tragedy. My frustration with the media
is minimal in comparison with any sadness or despair experienced. I do,
however, feel the mishandling by the media throughout the day and into the
night made the sting burn a little deeper for a nation in mourning.
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