We saw this week that fear is what drives our news media, followed very closely by money-lust. Why would NBC follow the wishes of a deranged killer and air his ‘manifesto’ if not to scare the living crap out of us and keep us glued to the television while they ran a few extra minutes of commercials? Yes, it’s a cynical stance, but what kind of people would we be if we scrutinize ourselves? Killers?

The fact is no matter how many times CNN airs its shoddily produced ‘Inside a Killer’s Mind’ 1/2 hour special or NBC claims it was ‘a difficult decision’ to whore itself and give the shooter exactly what he wanted, they can always use the excuse that we, the public, asked for it and they are simply providing a service.

Even though it was barely covered, the people of Blacksburg and VT did the right thing and spoke out on NBC’s depraved decision to air footage. Maybe we all the public wants is the news and not ‘news services’ comments, flashy graphics, experts, disreputable reporting and/or montages letting us know that they feel just as bad as we do. Maybe we should speak up like the people in Blacksburg and tell them what we really want and where the lines need to be drawn.

Our prayers, condolences and best wishes go out to the VT community.