Wolf Blitzer's Countdown

Yes, Virginia, Guns kill people.

Especially powerful guns. Deeply Saddened.

Maybe I'm biased and not all that fair and balanced. I remember the good old days where most of CNN's line-up was much like Headline News is today. You could turn it on and get.....NEWS. Yes, there were some shows in the evening like Crossfire in it's original 30 minute format and Lou Dobbs doing financial news. Back in the day, it was news. Now it is entertainment and punditry. I seem to want to blame much of that on Fox News trying to carve out a niche for themselves. I see them as the Arena Football or the old XFL where they have to do something drastic and extreme to call attention to themselves and set themself apart. Kind of like going from Donahue in his early days to Jerry Springer. Fox has lowered the denominator in cable news in my opinion. CNN had to follow suite to stay viable. Is has been a downward spiral ever since then.

If I'm wrong, someone tell me where.

actually this is the RIGHT time for "cable-news nitpicking". The media's current hyper-self obsession (as opposed to its usual self-obsession) is the perfect time to tie this into how cable news has degenerated (cite Imus).

If the white male LA/NYC/DC congnoscenti is going to divert attention from the truly necessary discussion that should be taking place in the wake of Imus (hint... Tawana Brawley and "Who Can Say What?" are distraction), and least maybe we can use Imus as a "teaching moment" about the complete and utter vacuousness of what purports to be "news" on television.

Seize the Day, dude!!!

Your post would imply that you believe that the 24-hour news channels are something more than headline humpers. The programming that they provide between disasters is just filler; they hope and pray every day for some kind of American horror that provides good visuals: blood, gore, sex, attractive white women. In this incident they have audible gunshots, so they play it over and over.

Likewise, their so-called political shows are nothing more than the same kind of sensation-humping. Who learns anything at all from two guys in little subwindows screaming at each other, as opposed to the kind of panel that someone like Jim Lehrer, for example, provides?

It's all National Enquirer except with moving pictures and less literacy.

I had the misfortune of seeing this too and sent the following to CNN today:

'Last night's segment featuring half screen-sized numerals against a bloody background, as Blitzer invited us to 'count along' to the 27 gunshots heard on the cell phone video, was the most despicable thing I have ever seen on television news. Congratulations for reducing human tragedy down to a tasteless video game. I was honestly as horrified by the coverage as the crime - and can only imagine what it must have been like for terrified parents waiting for news. You owe your audience an apology.'

And yes, he actually did say 'count along'. Of course it's difficult to report on something like this in real time, but there is no excuse for this. Did I mention the giant numerals on a bloody background???

Now that we know for sure the shooter's identity, I'm truely disgusted by all the fake information that was floated by mainstream news media all yesterday. I read crazy things about a chinese inernational student who had a lover's quarrel before starting the shooting rampage, something about lining people up and shooting them execution syle and what not. Now we know it's a mentally disturbed korean student who simply shot ppl indiscriminately (no lover's quarrel involved because it seems like nobody really knew him).

Thanks a lot Fox news and NYTimes and the list goes on. *rolls eyes* Can't even rely on the news to give accurate information. Seems like the news outlet simply make up their own information when they can't get anything from the cops. What? DId they embellish the story because they thought the real life tragedy wasn't horrible enough?

anyways, all the religious people out there should offer a prayer for the victims and their families.

Very shameful - it's all about the money - a business, about ratings - so explains the gimmicks, the "glowing-puck" hit-and-miss garbage, the catchy "Massacre" headlines with fanfare. I've sort of learned to shake my head and deal with it.

What upsets me equally is the constant reminder that VTech is the worst rampage in history. As if it matters. As if one death is less terrible than 30+. Like the gimmicks, it's a way of hooking viewers, but unlike the gimmicks, it's disguised, less likely to be shrugged off. I understand it needs to be said to put things in historical context, and it's factual detail - but they don't need to keep pushing it.

And you know there's some lunatic out there who's thinking, "The worst rampage? They haven't seen nothing yet."

Yeah we're all really shocked by the recent shootings at Virginia Tech. We don't know if the immediate response by the administration was sufficient to contain the threat, and it's unclear what exactly motivated the killer. Now all we can do is mourn for the victims...

Just watching the coverage of Ariana being deported - come on bleeding hearts - she broke the law not once but twice. Why have laws if they aren't meant to be obeyed and enforced. Maybe we should just not have borders and laws and let everyone in but don't force me to pay taxes to support them and their "American" children that they cross the border to have on our American tax dolllars in an American hospital hoping that an American citizen child will give them a step up to legal residence. I think that all illegals should be sent back home to apply legally and if caught a second time send to them to an American prison where they can learn how to respect American laws!