Media Coverage

Dear U.S. Media:

I wonder how many people have heard last night's late-breaking story (see above). I don't want to assume that CNN and MSNBC didn't instantly shift to 24-hour coverage on it, because, honestly, I didn't watch tv last night, but something tells me that you, the media, did not.

I am writing this to ask, again, why you do not consider this a tragedy. Is it because of the institution which was accessed? A man with a gun somehow slipped past securty at a NASA facility! Does that freak anyone else out? I mean, it's one thing to be afraid for security reasons when there is are locks on doors, no metal detectors, no security guards, but if we're really concerned about safety, as a culture, shouldn't we be a least bit afraid that the security in our "most-secure" institutions is not effective?

Is it because of the number of victims killed? Is one life of a NASA employee worth less than the life of a student? Does the number of "kills" make Monday a tragedy but make Friday just a homicide? A human life was taken. And then another. This is concerning. And it was taken for no apparent motive.

Is it because of the perpetrator? When an Asian student kills 33 people with what is now a clear and distinct motive, you, the media, cover the story non-stop. When a middle aged white employee takes hostages and takes two lives, you, the media, don't cover it at all. I'm not intending to suggest that you should drop all other news from coverage, but I am intending to suggest that you are perhaps creating a double-standard in our own society. I am suggesting that the media does not care about human lives.

Let's play a out scenerio: someone who is a part of an institution, a member of the culture contained within the institution, carries a gun past any preventative barrier, and murders someone. Do you care?

It would appear that you care if the perpetrator/victim is not the status quo, but you do not care if the perpetrator/victim is a white male.

Surely Americans are concerned at the absolute lack of media coverage for this murder. Surely there are members of government agencies asking each other "did you hear about building 44?" Surely parents of employees of government agencies are frequently calling their kids to tell them they love them. Surely this is shocking, and surely, people are afraid.

But I doubt that this is happening right now. CNN is covering a story on Alberto Gonzales, and in 15 minutes has not mentioned the shooting, even in the bottom-line banner.

This is disconcerting.

Will there be a memorial for the lives lost in building 44? Facebook groups?

When is enough violence truly enough?

Yours,


Jason Parker
A Human Being