Media Acted Shamefully By Endlessly Showing Cho Seung-Hui’s Videos

Virginia Tech shooter, Cho Seung-Hui, mailed a multimedia manifesto to NBC news between murders. Thanks to the bumbling inefficiency of the campus police, the killer had enough time to write a book in between murders.
 
The package included text, videos and photos of Cho Seung-Hui posing with handguns, a hammer and a knife. It was apparently mailed between his first two murders at a Virginia Tech dormitory, and his bloody rampage  at a classroom building two hours later.
 
From ABC News:
 
“NBC News said the package arrived in New York late Tuesday night and was delivered to the network’s headquarters about 11 a.m. Wednesday. It was sent by overnight delivery and apparently had the wrong ZIP code, NBC said.
 
An alert postal employee brought the package to NBC’s attention after noticing the Blacksburg return address and a name similar to the words reportedly found scrawled in red ink on Cho’s arm after the bloodbath, “Ismail Ax,” NBC said.
 
Capus (NBC News president) said that the network notified the FBI around noon, but held off reporting on it at the FBI’s request, so that the bureau could look at it first. NBC finally broke the story just before police announced the development at 4:30 p.m.”
 
NBC should be commended for doing the right thing and immediately forwarding the killer’s manifest to the FBI. But NBC made copies of the photos, videos and printed material before turning over the evidence to the FBI.
 
Seung-Hui’s incoherent ramblings are useful to law enforcement officials; they offer a glimpse into the mind of a cold-blooded killer.
 
But the pertinent question is should NBC and the other media outlets air the photos and videos of a killer proudly showing off? The public has a right to have all the facts, and the media should have broadcast the videos and photos of the killer. But the constant televising of the photos and videos serves only to glorify a killer and to add salt to the wounds of the victims. The Cable news outlets and the broadcast networks are are guilty of using the killer’s manifesto to spike ratings. The networks and the cable news channels should be ashamed; it would be less unseemly if they aired pornography as a hook to lure viewers.
 
Seung-Hui referenced the Columbine killers in his manifesto. Thanks to the media endlessly showing Seung-Hui’s videos; I won’t be surprised if the next spree killer references Seung-Hui in his manifesto.