Rachel Maddow spoke up on Wednesday regarding the decision that news outlets faced over whether to release the Newtown 911 audio tapes from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December.
The MSNBC host was very clear on her opposition to the public sharing of these tapes, informing viewers that "we will not play them here."
"There is no news value to the content of those tapes," Maddow said sternly. "The actual audio is of no news value at all unless you want the thrill of hearing the sound of the actual individual gunshot that might have killed a 7 year old."
Before the tapes were released on Wednesday, Maddow questioned whether the replaying of the tapes would be worth the pain and trauma felt by the people of Newtown who hear them.
"Is the content of those tapes... going to increase public understanding of this incident so much that it outweighs the offense to morality and decency of putting them on display?" she asked on Tuesday night.
Now that they have been released, Maddow said there is no reason for the media or anyone else to play the tapes and called out the networks that have decided otherwise. Fox News, CNN and CBS all released clips of the tapes while NBC and ABC News refrained from playing the actual recordings.
"You can seek them out yourself if you really need to play them," Maddow said. "Congratulations, CBS."
Watch the video for the full clip.
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