Hundreds of thousands of businesses and individuals pay public relations firms and publicists weighty retainers to get their messages out - to break through to an audience. Ford Motor Company wants you to know they're "bold." Obama wants you to know he's experienced enough to be President. I want you to know that I'm the witty go-to guy on American Idol commentary.
The demented Cho has managed to become not only a household name but also a legend in record time - and he didn't have to pay anyone to do it for him. Sending his press kit to NBC may be the only rational thing he did - since NBC News took the bait (in record time).
Here's a challenge: Give me a single upside to NBC showing the video, even the stills, from Cho's press kit. (Sorry, no prize this time.) Just one good thing that will come from this.
Last night, I watched MSNBC for about 45 minutes. Three different guests (one profiler and one psychotherapist included) made it clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cho's "content" was worthless; that there was nothing to learn from his rantings; that he was probably, among other things, a paranoid schizophrenic. In short, his words had no meaning.
A couple of guests applauded NBC for handling the material responsibly. The endorsements seemed suspiciously planted. One guest went so far as to say that this material would have gotten out there in some other way had NBC embargoed it. Really? Then I guess I can still catch the footage of Steve Irwin getting zapped by the stingray.
You don't need to give me the downside to airing Cho's multimedia presentation: further desensitization, inspiring of copycats ... I got those covered. (Media neophytes Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris left their fans wanting more image-wise. Cho's iconography might be kind of hackneyed but it's plentiful, perfect for screensavers. A few may even make the leap to t-shirts, a la Patty Hearst. Or how about "Cho" instead of "Che"?)
Of course everyone else showed the meaningless footage, no doubt accelerating the mythologizing of Cho. (Jeez, it took Mother Teresa seven years to just get beatified.) This morning a Fox News correspondent stood in the hallway outside Cho's door room in Ambler. Room 2120. This was The room of The man who perpetrated The worst mass shooting in American history, we were told. How long before the plaque that reads "Cho Slept Here" goes up?
***
UPDATE: Some commenters say I'm supporting censorship. I don't think I am. After all, news organizations get pitched stories constantly - by Proctor & Gamble, by the DNC and RNC, and in this case by a lunatic. The editorial staff need to decide what's newsworthy. In this case, I think the sending of the tape is itself a story. The content of the tape? Not so much.
But speaking of censorship, does anyone else find it almost funny to watch and hear the rantings of a homicidal maniac - but with the naughty curse words bleeped? Wouldn't want to freak the kiddies out!
Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...
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The Legend of Cho (Brought to you by NBC)
Posted Apr 19th 2007 8:03AM by Mo Rocca
Filed under: Virginia Tech Shooting, Cho Seung-Hui
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Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 74)
16. Terrible news decision. Serves no purpose other than news revenue.
J. Stuckey at 10:45AM on Apr 19th 2007
17. I couldn't agree with you more, Mo! The same reaction was felt this morning when I opened my morning newspaper and there was Cho's pic, holding a gun to his head, along with the another picture...the headline reading 'Killer Rants'
Surely the public would be better served concentrating on the wonderful lives of the deceased victims of this tragedy!
Thanks for your intelligent insight!
peggz at 10:47AM on Apr 19th 2007
18. You know Americans are quick to point the blame at anybody to save authorities ass, but is Cho Seung-Hui really to blame? I am not implying that he is innocent, in no way he is innocent, but what happened could have been prevented. When the first individual was shot the VA tech university police should have taken better precautions to prevent the tragedy from occuring in the Norris building. So many lives could have been saved if only these officers would have done something, for all we know these officers were probabaly representing their stereotypes sipping their black coffee, devouring pastries, and discussing jokes that display their own ignorance. Seung-Hui is ONE MAN amongst a sea of authoritative individuals, sure he has firearms, but don't these so called "officers" hold them as well? Now it is plastered all over the television that Seung-Hui was severely depressed and was displaying radical behaivor, are these not warning signs that he is a dangerous man? He should have recieved help! Then 33 individuals would still be roaming the VA tech campus recieving the education they wanted to have and living a life that will not be given back to them. The hate sites about Seung-Hui, are they really necessary? Why don't you make one for that stupid Chief Wendell guy? Couldn't he have prevented this massacre? or make one for the VA tech univeristy police? For those that are expressing hate towards Seung-Hui, this is also showing your own ignorance. Why are we praising men that cannot even save us in the end? Once again I am not praising Seung-Hui nor am I saying that his actions were justified but he did give warning signs and prevention is the key. You prevent teenage pregnancy by using condoms, so why couldn't the worst school shooting in United States history have been prevented. It isn't clear to me that thousands of Americans are arrested daily for irrelevent things like drug paraphernalia, but this one single man couldn't have been stopped. My prayers go out to ALL the individuals at VA tech(not only the fatalities), my heart also go out to the parents who have yet to hear that their children were brutally murdered by a man WHO COULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED!!! Violent deaths are beginning to outnumber deaths by drugs and other illegal substances, and yet we still want to continue this war on drugs, we can't even end the war between our people. If these so called "officers" of our country couldn't stop Seung-Hui, how can America end TERRORISM! BRING PEACE TO AMERICA because right now all we know is war, war, war. This violence needs to end! We are no better than our enemies the old Communist Soviet Union, or Fidel's dictatorship in Cuba, or even the concentration camps in Nazi Germany because we just sat back and watch 50+ students get shot by a man who could have been STOPPED!
Jordan at 10:53AM on Apr 19th 2007
19. There is an upside for NBC; the increased ratings and revenue that inevitably follow the most salacious broadcast content.
Sue Scanlon at 10:59AM on Apr 19th 2007
20. Yes, NBC not only took the bait, they swallowed the hook, line and damn sinker!! Why on earth would NBC be in such a rush to horrify the victims families even more? I'm not a family member, and the viewing of those videos emptied my stomach contents! Why not hold those images and focus on trying to allow families, students, communities, and the nation to heal? Is this asking for too much? I don't recall the media bombarding the airwaves with graphic scenes during the Columbine tragedy, and they DID have those videos as well. I smell a damn rat. Tell me....If the shooter had been White, would the media been in such a rush to show those images to the world?
Diane Ward at 10:58AM on Apr 19th 2007
21. Mo, all good points, but one. You may consider yourself the "go to guy" for Idol commentary, but Linda Sharp is lightyears beyond you in terms of wit and hilarious recaps. Give her a Google! You two would make a serious comic team.
Jeff Denton at 10:51AM on Apr 19th 2007
22. I couldn't agree with you more, Mo! I had the same reaction upon opening my morning newspaper only to be greeted by a pic of Cho holding a gun to his head, with a headline reading, 'Killer Rants'.
I think the public would be better served concentrating on the lives of the tragic victims. Sadly, Cho's family is among that number.
Thanks for your intelligent insight.
peggz at 10:53AM on Apr 19th 2007
23. NBC did take the bait and has shown far too much of the "Gunman Videos," and then show them over and over again so soon after the tragic event. The impact on the families and friends of the victims and students at Virginia Tech, not to mention the general public has to be shocking and overwhelming. The gunman was undoubtedly impacted and influenced by the Colombine news videos and look what happened! NBC -- stop it NOW! It's not too late to set an example to universal news media and refuse to air these kinds of images.
If there is anything good to come out of this terrible tragedy, I hope that it brings national attention and funding to the huge need to totally revamp our mental health system. Too many people with potentially dangerous violent behavior are falling through the cracks, because of lack of care and facilities, and need to be removed from society so they can't do harm to themselves and others. As mother of a mentally ill son of my own, although thankfully non-violent, I know what I'm talking about.
Marjorie at 10:53AM on Apr 19th 2007
24. These acts of violence are done by psychopaths who are looking for their place in the limelight , which they would never get otherwise. The "Feeding Frenzy" by the media, as evidenced by NBC's Today Show, and others,is exactly what they are looking for. The fact that this psycho sent NBC his manifesto,speakes volumes on what motivates this behavior. NBC in showing all of this plays right into his hands and gives him the glory he desired.All the other sick people out there, will now be encouraged to do even more horrific acts and get their names and faces emblazened on T.V. NBC ought to be held accountable for all future acts of violence, and maybe just maybe the killing will stop if the killers are not mentioned by the media.
charles sigmund m.d. at 11:06AM on Apr 19th 2007
25. These acts of violence are done by psychopaths who are looking for their place in the limelight , which they would never get otherwise. The "Feeding Frenzy" by the media, as evidenced by NBC's Today Show, and others,is exactly what they are looking for. The fact that this psycho sent NBC his manifesto,speakes volumes on what motivates this behavior. NBC in showing all of this plays right into his hands and gives him the glory he desired.All the other sick people out there, will now be encouraged to do even more horrific acts and get their names and faces emblazened on T.V. NBC ought to be held accountable for all future acts of violence, and maybe just maybe the killing will stop if the killers are not mentioned by the media.
charles sigmund m.d. at 7:11PM on May 3rd 2007
26. Once again the media is making news rather than reporting it! Why would you feel it important to broadcast that nut case and his agenda - what did it serve but to inspire other loose cannons to do the same?!
Trish at 11:36AM on Apr 20th 2007
27. The "Cho" event is an evolutionary call for humans(parents)to respond and curtail the excessive emotional and physical abuse of our planet's children; their roles as media, to promote subservience to adult/parental domination, exploitation, and exhibitions for parental status; the hypercompetitive mold that they are expected to fullfill which yields them no personal conscience, self identity, self-esteem, or self-control. We are witnessing further samples of how this may effect a child's ability to compose constructive relationships with others in the world, and the damage that occurs to others in the world, when supressed emotional frustration in a child comes to fruition. How long are we going to keep using abuse to guide children: abuse of children as suicide bombers, abuse of children in the sex industry, abuse of children as trophies for their parents in education, sports, and beauty pagents. Think back in the events of the past few years, involving the abuse or death of children. Nature is calling!
As there is a call to respond to the Global, environmental issues, there is also a call to continue balance and respond to our human issues,as well.
mickeyboy at 11:31AM on Apr 19th 2007
28. Take this disgusting video off the net - don't give him what he wanted besides killing all of those innocent people - don't give him ANY airtime
ron at 11:09AM on Apr 19th 2007
29. I feel we should have spent less than 15 minutes for this lunatic, it is the innocent victims that lost the rest of their lives. Honestly we have enough information on these type of psycho’s that we need to spend more effort on prevention that seeing another sick individual get put into the history books! I believe the media cares more about ratings and money more than the heart and soul of a story.
Jim - Reno, NV at 7:42PM on Apr 19th 2007
30. The release of the Virginia Tech shooter's video clips and photographs to the public by NBC is deplorable! We wonder why our youth are becoming desensitized and traumatized! There are millions of people in mourning and shock because of this deadly violence. Some were direct witness to this horrific event. What is the benefit (other than revenue to NBC) in broadcasting these graphic images? Has the media no
compassion? Judgement? Respect for the victims and their families? In my opinion, our media is officially out of control.
It's bad enough that some of us have to deal with this violence first hand. Worse, is the need for the media, largely for capitalistic or sensationalistic purposes, to flog the victims and the rest of the world with constant images. News reporting is one thing. Supporting this kind of terror is another. These video clips are terrifying and should not have been released. Telling us "they exist and are being used in the on-going investigation" would be appropriate reporting under the circumstances. The human mind and heart is not capable of enduring this kind of trauma without long term effects.
AOL links the details of the shooting to their Entertainment page. Does anyone really find this entertaining? God help the mentally ill youth who view these images and idealize their content. We are a vulnerable society. I become more convinced each day that the media and entertainment industries will lead to the demise of our society.
A. W. at 11:13AM on Apr 19th 2007