There is a fine line between covering the news and exploitation

By now I’m sure most of you have heard about the tragic shooting that occurred in Connecticut on Friday. The fact that it happened is bad enough without television “journalists” shoving their cameras into the faces of traumatized children.

These “journalists” are not reporting the news, they are exploiting children under the guise of a human interest piece.

Shame on you.

How is this news? Of course the kids are scared and want their parents. Pestering them with questions, prodding them with cameras and profiting off the unspeakable horrors they just experienced brings a bad name to journalists everywhere.

When tragedy strikes there is a massive difference between reporting on what’s happening and contributing to the chaos and stoking the flames.

If a house is on fire, by all means, keep the camera rolling but don’t douse it with gasoline.

If a hiker is lost in the park, join the search party. A camera lens is just as useful as binoculars and asking questions could help the group’s thought process when searching for the lost person.

Although there are many colorful words to describe the intrusive, exploitive and soulless, “journalists” that were at Sandy Hook Elementary, one word sticks out in my mind.

Pariah.

A pariah is an outcast from society, someone with no connection to humanity. The lack of empathy those “journalists” showed toward the traumatized children and adults on the scene was a prime example of how a pariah, or sociopath, would behave.

But, the fault doesn’t end there.

Their editors are just as guilty. They could have pulled the plug on the broadcasts when the line was crossed. But there is no longer a line since separating info-tainment and half-truths from talking-heads doesn’t fill 24-hour time slots or score ratings.

There was news there, a gunman killed 20 children and six adults before killing himself.

Who was this gunman?

What was the motive?

Where did he get the guns?

Did he have a history of violent behavior or mental illness?

There are plenty of unanswered questions they could have been digging for in appropriate places. Let me repeat that, appropriate places.

A seven-year-old is not a reliable source for anything other than the obvious. Yes she is sad. Yes he wants his parents. In this case, providing answers to questions that nobody asked, or nobody should ever ask, isn’t reporting, it’s sadistic.

One of the fortunate and unfortunate things about being a weekly publication is there’s time for more of the story to unfold. Criticism about how the event was approached by the media is becoming increasingly vocal with each passing day.

Don’t let the actions of a few reflect poorly on the whole. Not every person with a camera and a notepad is out to exploit whomever they can to make a name for themselves.

But with countless “journalists,” and “citizen journalists” living in New York City, just a short drive away from Sandy Hook, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the crime scene turned into a dog fight for the biggest tear-jerking “angle” they could approach this tragedy with.

My condolences go out to those who lost loved ones last week, both for their loss and for the onslaught of paparzzi looking to make a name for themself by also exploiting the grieving and healing process.