Glynnis MacNicol |
Posted Tuesday April 17, 2007 at 09:15 AM
- "Stay out of harm's way, but send us your pictures and video." In the immediate aftermath of yesterday's Virginia Tech tragedy, news networks depended heavily on citizen journalism coverage. The most frequently seen and disturbing image being a clip taken by student on their cellphone, in which methodical gunfire can be heard. The clip was aired under contract by CNN one hour after they received it, and by evening it had received 1.8million hits. [NYT] "The massacre...came so suddenly...that many newspapers both local and national responded by basing much of their breaking coverage on brief blog-like entries." [E&P]
"We're using Webcams, we're soliciting any video that viewers have, we're monitoring the online communities of MySpace and Facebook to bring viewers as much information as we can from as many places."[BaltimoreSun]
Did the networks initially ignore the story? "Is there any particular reason why ABC, CBS, and NBC waited several hours just to do brief special reports?" [TVNewser] Slate has a timeline of the days events and subsequent media coverage. [Slate] Slate also notices that the photo above, by Alan Kim of the Roanoke Times, has emerged as the dominant image of the tragedy; it's on the front page of the NYT, WaPo, Chicago Tribune, LAT, Miami Herald, Globe & Mail, The Guardian and more. [Newsdesigner] "There must have been a time...when witnesses, officials and news announcers would find themselves at a loss for words." [NYT]
- Anything you can do, I can do better: Or at least the same. Hot on the heels of Google's deal with Clear Channel, Yahoo has struck its own deal with "publishers representing 264 newspapers to sell national advertising across their Web sites." [NYT]
- Countdown to touchdown: MSNBC host Keith Olbermann will join Tiki Barber and Bob Costas, et al., as host of NBC's "Football Night in America." [Hollywood Reporter]
- If you can't beat 'em, just create your own: Hearst magazines is set to hand out their biennial "Tower Awards" for excellence in edit, art and design. Who needs those Ellies anyway. [WWD]
- Take a little piece of that blue-eyed fifty million wherever you go: Anderson Cooper's 360* is now available as a twenty-minute podcast. [MediaWeek]
