Well Velvet, now that you mention it, I’ve been lurking on this thread and I disagree with you. Rather strongly, in fact.
NEVER FORGET
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jennasis:
Don’t be angry with the reporters, or the photographers, or the cameraman. It is never our idea to be there. Be angry with station managers, news directors, editors, and producers. They are the decision makers…<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hey! I resemble that remark!! 
Bulletin Board Goddess
I take issue with that. I have said that I want it to stop, but not only for my sake. I’ve been watching what’s happening to others, as well, and that’s what brought me to many of these conclusions. Maybe it’s just the crowd I hang around–but we all seem to be in agreement on this one.
Also, “opinions” are very personal, that doesn’t mean I expect everyone to agree, or that I’m the only valuable voice (which your comment would imply). Instead, I often post out here to see what sort of intelligent replies I do get. It doesn’t mean my opinion changes (as I doubt your’s probably would either), but it means I get to see the other side of the coin.
I admit, I’ve been out here losing my temper at the media and the government, not because they’re easy victims, but because I truly believe they are part of this problem. Do I think I’m blameless? Nope. I helped get some of them into office, and I support the media by just having a television set in my home. Should I not have a right to express myself? Nope. I should be able to express myself–it’s my right as an American. Should I sometimes think 5 times and post once? Or work harder to see how someone else might interpret my posts? Yep, but in this situation, I’m probably not behaving in my normal mode–just as most of the rest of the world (let alone other Americans) are behaving. I feel very deeply about what’s happened, I feel awful about those who have been even more directly impacted (some of my friends), and I also feel a very real and deep disappointment.
Sorry for upsetting everyone out here. I guess no matter what I say, it’ll be taken as a personal attack–and be defended as such, or it will be turned into something I never intended. sigh
dogchushu, that’s exactly what I meant. I actually just edited my post to clarify a little bit. The (relatively) small pile of rubble showed in most of the shots of the site doesn’t do justice to the destroyed area. Not only did the towers come down, but so did two of the other buildings in the WTC complex. One Liberty Plaza, the Millenium Hilton, the remaining buildings in the WTC complex, and the four buildings of the World Financial Center are all heavily damaged- and those are just the buildings that immediately come to mind. The Winter Garden in the WFC was an absolutely beautiful atrium, complete with palm trees. I was looking on yahoo before and was devastated to see pictures of what it looks like now.
Of course, it’s not easy to get those aerial shots of lower Manhattan, and I’d rather see West St. than nothing at all of ground zero.
Usually when I’m passing New York City on one of the bridges, I try to pick out my building, and this is pretty easy since I just look to the right of the trade center. When I was driving home from Massachusetts this past weekend, I tried to do just that, and obviously couldn’t- that’s when it really hit home for me.
then change the channel or turn it off. This is history in the making and no news company in it’s right mind is going to stop covering it, no matter how horrific it is.
Frankly, I have been glued to CNN and Fox since my husband called me at the farm on Tues morning. I thought I had lost a friend who is a lawyer in Manhattan. Thankfully I did not. She was not in court that morning for whatever reason.
This has touched me in a very deep and emotional way. More so than I ever realized. I find myself hungry for any news of survivors whether I know them or not. I find myself angry that I live in my own little world and fail to realize the dangers out there.
Our President has risen to the occasion. I have no doubt he and his administration will find the culprits (actually I would like to call them something else, but I must refrain my emotions here) responsible for this atrocity and punish them appropriately. I leave it up to him to decide.
I don’t think any journalist likes covering tragedy; it is news and that is what their job is. I think though, there will be some mental fall out for some. I applaud their efforts in letting me know that despite the tragedy, there are some real heart warming stories of heros coming out.
I am proud to be an American and this time it will be, in the words of John F. Kennedy: “…ask what you can do for your country.” She needs us now to stand united as one as we march into a battle that may never end.
May whatever God you pray to keep you and your families safe as time goes on.
If you don’t like it, turn it off.
I’m sitting here in a newspaper office with two TVs on nearby and my computer tied in to a wire service with a constant barrage of news. I can’t keep from reading it. But when I went home Tuesday night, I tried to read a book, not very successfully, I might add.
Usually bomb threats aren’t reported by media. In my 20 years here, I’ve been evacuated out of this building twice for bomb threats and they did not make the paper. But with the eyes of the world on the events in New York and Washington, it would be impossible not to mention them.
There also have been bomb threats this week at the tallest buildings in the world – the twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It’s not just us. Sadly, there are a lot of sick people out there.
For everyone who complains about the state of American TV, or Hollywood movies, or who complains about a newspaper columnist’s views, or, for that matter, icky fast food, I say the same thing: Turn it off, don’t buy a ticket, don’t read the column, don’t patronize the business. It’s that easy.
I would like a charter membership in the Beezer fan club.
Velvet, I can’t even think of a response to you anymore.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Houdini:
I would not want to open the paper and see a picture of someone I love falling to their death. I agree that it makes for an emotional picture. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so upset if it wasn’t such an up close and personal shot. In this tradgedy I don’t think it is necessary to shock people into understanding what a horrific event this was. I think what we need from the media is to be kept informed of political actions and of survivors being found and of the investigation. We all understand the horrific nature involved. We need images of hope not images of horror.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Up close - personal shots to capture the “horror” of a historic event are nothing new.
I would rather see a picture of something real taken by a photographer trying to capture history and/or evoke emotion than any airbrushed 14 year old fashion model on the cover of Vogue.
Here is a link to what are considered to be the “pictures of the milenium” from Life Magazine covers. Many of them depict graphic real life violence. Most of these photographers won awards for their work.
…is entitled to focus their attention on whatever they like or need. Right now, I’d bet almost everyone in the world is focused on Tuesday’s terrorist attack and its implications for the future.
Velvet–there is quite a lot of information and analysis available on the internet via the news services, including news services of other countries, which are particularly enlightening.
If the images are, understandably, extremely disturbing to you, why not turn off the TV and use the internet to select the news etc. that you need or want?
And we all need ways to comfort ourselves during this period. I suspect many if not all of us have a variety of resources in our lives in addition to television, as useful, valuable and entertaining as that medium can be at times.
At the risk of upsetting you further–people are not obliged to agree with you, nor to need or want or take the same path to coming to terms with this tragedy and potential crisis as you do.
As I’ve said in a number of ways on a number of threads, my own feeling is that we should be as careful with each other as possible while discussing this among ourselves.
Thank you. As I wait here in the newsroom, to hear where I’ll be assigned to go today…it helps to know I’m appreciated (if not by my boss, grrr…) then by you guys.
As a side note…one of our photographers is still missing. We thought we found him Wednesday night, but his family went to the hospital to ID him and it wasn’t him. Prayers for his family.
I understand your position Beezer. I don’t completely understand the job and choices made, but I understand what you are saying and how YOU feel about it. No sarcasm, no major disagreement. I get it.
And I will also add that I was feeling very good this morning when Katie Couric (sp?) said that she felt ashamed for some of the things they had said and done on NBC during the course of last week. That actually improved my perception of the media. For once (from all that I’ve seen) I saw someone truly chagrined.
As for the comments on the risks some journalists take…I don’t know that my opinion will change, but I’m open to understanding “why” people do it. If not for the reasons I previously stated (in my jaded opinion), then why??? Truly, why??? There have been times when people are put at risk through no fault of their own. Others do it to help save people and property. Why do reports think they have to do it?
I am, seriously, interested in finding out.
I watched TV the first night for 1/2 hour. In that time, I was able to get a pretty good idea of what had happened. Since then, I’ve listened to the radio back and forth to work and spent a fair amount of time on the internet. I don’t need or want to see people jumping out of the WTC. The situation is so horrific already; and what about the family and friends of those people jumping? Is there no compassion for them? I also worry about children who aren’t particularly well-supervised watching images like this. Freedom of the press is one thing, but displaying images of people leaping to their deaths is something else. It reminds me of when Princess Diana was dying and photographers were photographing that. It makes me sick to my stomach to this day that people could be so callous. I see it as a lack of humanity. As another poster mentioned, it’s also disturbing that the most violent movies are the biggest box office hits. What type of society are we creating?
I see, now, Colin.
As for seeing other peoples points of view, well I never said that they shouldn’t cover it 24x7. I just thought that not every single channel needed to cover it (except that each thinks their the only one who is able…I guess…or was it for ratings).
I still disagree with it being a part of their job description that they have to run to ground zero–I don’t see the necessity. And, you’re right, I’ll never work for the media, probably because of this…and because I don’t like their professional ethics in the majority of situations(personal issue here again). It’s like the OJ Simpson trial. Why in the world did we all need to see it and have updates every second of the day? Just because he was famous. What about other cases and normal people? Why don’t they rate? Why are their plights ignored? The media could bring other issues to the forefront if they wanted, but instead they go for what’s easy.
Okay, enough in that vein. I’m never going to agree with the majority of the people who are now replying to this thread (there’s no knowing what some of the lurkers are thinking–if they agree or disagree with me).
As I have stated a couple of times already out here…I guess we have to agree to disagree.
turn the tv off or watch another channel. People have the right to know what is going on and censorship is not the answer.
Freedom of Speech.
How hard would it be, Erin, to lock a “WTC” thread at 500 posts and start a “WTC2” and so forth and so on? I’m not suggesting people quit talking - just that you do a little bit of management and “wrangle in” this plethora of OT posts.
I personally think one post to discuss the plethora of events is appropriate (as I recommended) on this bb, but a sea of them isn’t. That doesn’t mean I’m hardened or unaffected by the tragedy - that is far from the truth. I am following news reports hourly on my home page, and would prefer not to see them here as well (particularly since much of what is posted here is insinuation and unconfirmed fact).
But I respect everyone’s wish to grieve and please know that I am in no way attempting to prevent that process. I’ll continue to read what I choose to read.
Robby
I took the Pledge , so I will not be able to say what I truly want to say.
Velvet, turn the damn thing off and have the decency to feel what might be going on in someone else’s life.
“The older I get, the better I used to be, but who the heck cares!”
Robbie, is your thong is a little too tight today darlin’? (meant in as comical a way as can possibly be perceived) 
pt - you are so right!!! Robbie can take care of his own LOL!
“Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.” I have probably gotten the quote slightly wrong and don’t remember the source at the moment but I hope the idea comes accross. People like Jennasis and others who risk their lives covering horrific stories help to give the rest of the population the knowledge and inspiration to work to make sure the situations are not repeated. Certain photographs from the Vietman war are thought by many to have changed public opinion and the course of history.
I certainly don’t enjoy looking at the horror and my personal weak spot is the interviews with those looking for loved ones. I now change the channel (to another news station) when they come on, not because they are in poor taste but because I am evidently too empathetic and just can’t bear it.
I personally am beginning to think people should be required to watch at least some news on every topic after a conversation yesterday with a fellow who thought we should send ground troops to Afghanistan. When my husband noted that the Soviets tried the same thing with huge loss of life, he replied that we would win with no problem because we have better technology. Other than GPS I can’t imagine how technology helps on on a mountain path. People cannot make intelligent decisions unless they our fully informed and photographs and video do this well and the image lasts longer than a verbal or written description would.
As memories fade people will start to complain about delays caused by increased security. Personally I hope that we do remember these events so that we will stay vigilent (not afraid but prudently cautious).
I also think that it says alot about the American press that one can complain about press coverage on a press sponsored website without any concern for censorship or recriminations.
OK…All news management EXCEPT Beezer! But you’d never send me into a burning building for a few lousy pics would ya Beez?
