Rachel Sklar |
Posted Wednesday April 18, 2007 at 06:30 PM
By now, this photo of Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui has flashed across the internet, less than an hour after it broke: Unbelievably, the killer sent a package of photos and a CD rom to NBC News — postmarked between the first and second shootings. Suddenly — and for the second time in two weeks — NBC has become part of the story, suddenly in the middle of the most deadly shooting spree in American history, with a giant trove of evidence that may have some answers to the question that has been rising since the terrible news broke: Why?
This is all very sudden, but here is what we know:
- The package - a box - arrived this morning, addressed to NBC, not to anyone specific - apparently, according to Chris Matthews just now on MSNBC, the return address was listed on the package, including the name. It arrived this morning and was delivered straight to NBC News head Steve Capus.
- They assume that Cho mailed the package himself, without the help of an outside accomplice.
- The package includes what Brian Williams calls "a multimedia manifesto" from Cho — photos of him brandishing weapons, as in the photo above, plus a video on CD-rom with a diatribe listing his grievances, and written materials.
- NBC turned the evidence over immediately to the authorities, and appear to have been given clearance to show at least some on tonight's broadcast. Per Williams' blog: "We received it today, and immediately handed it over to Federal law enforcement authorities. We are still going over our own copy— its a lot of material — we are talking with law enforcement, our own standards people -- and Pete Williams, our Justice Correspondent, will join me live on the broadcast to go through the material."
- The broadcast goes live in three minutes, and who knows what they will show — one thing is clear: There will be debate about this, and lots of it. Should they have shown this? Should they have given the killer a voice? Will potential copycats out there see it as a moment of glory, of winning? How will the families feel? Is it too soon? What's the rush? Has there been enough time to consider the balance between the public's right to know and the victims' families right to know before everyone else? There will be tons of questions after this shocking broadcast, an unwitting scoop for NBC falling literally into their lap, surely a decisive point in the ratings war, like anyone cares — or should — that's a Pyrrhic victory if any. For now, let's just see what they have.
The Huffington Post will continue to cover this case from every angle — ETP will be giving this a more thorough analysis in the coming hours. Update: Post coming shortly - we are processing.
By now, this photo of Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui has flashed across the internet, less than an hour after it broke: Unbelievably, the killer sent a package of photos and a CD rom to NBC News — postmarked between the first and second shootings. Suddenly — and for the second time in two weeks — NBC has become part of the story, suddenly in the middle of the most deadly shooting spree in American history, with a giant trove of evidence that may have some answers to the question that has been rising since the terrible news broke: Why?