WTF MSNBC?

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

I know we've got a bunch of threads about the Ft. Hood shooting right now, but I've been watching the MSNBC footage on tv for the past hour or so. I'm just appalled by media tactics during times like these. First (before they actually released the name of the shooter), they announced that he was an Army major with an "Arabic-sounding name." WTF? Way to open a speculative can of worms. Obama has an Arabic-sounding name too... yet that wasn't mentioned when they introduced him to speak. Then they kept saying, "we don't want to jump to conclusions," then proceed to report on the PTSD that the soldiers must have had in order to do this. It's just a bunch of people talking and spinning theories in the absence of real information, but it's harmful. It gets people riled up about terrorism and mental illness when we should be made to feel safer at a time like this.Rant over.

janedoe1113a · November 2009

I hate it when news stations try to put out their own theories. Just report the facts and tell us when the police (who's job it is to investigate) have their own theories.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · November 2009

This is the danger of 24 hour news channels. They need shiit to chat about all the time, unlike those "breaking news" reports or tickers you get on the local channels.As someone who studied journalism, I do get really offended and mad about the so-called professionals who do this. And also teh made-up "news" stories, like Caylee Anthony.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

I know right? It was so refreshing to watch the 3-star general actually report on straight up information, and shoot down stupid speculative questions from reporters. He wouldn't even answer the same question twice. I say let him do the news for the night, if he didn't have waay more important things to do right now.

[Deleted User] · November 2009

Fox news just said they weren't going to say the name until the UN confirmed it. I think that's the first responsible & smart thing I've seen them do.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

Andress, I think it was responsible to not name the soldier either (and I'm impressed that Fox did that. But I think it was super-irresponsible for them to say he had an "Arabic sounding name." Seriously, what is the point of mentioning something like that?

squirrly · November 2009

As someone who studied journalism, I do get really offended and mad about the so-called professionals who do this.THIS. It irritates the crap out of me when people assume ALL journalists are like this. Unfortunately, too many 24hr news channels don't do a good job of clarifying when they switch from NEWS to EDITORIALS.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

Squirrly, that's a good point. As someone who is really ignorant about the ins and outs of journalism, I can't discern what is supposed to be taken seriously as a consumer of facts. I agree that they should do better with that.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · November 2009

Unfortunately, too many 24hr news channels don't do a good job of clarifying when they switch from NEWS to EDITORIALS. TOTALLY. The 24 hour channels are trying to make a buck, and they need more people to tune in so they can profit. Historically, news isn't profitable (the major networks never make money on their news hours, and you know what's going on with newspapers). So by throwing in sensational stuff, they're bowing to the advertisers who need a bigger audience. It's so many levels of wrong. I'm glad I got out of that field.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

Whoa, apparently the shooter was a mental health professional on base. That was an unexpected twist.

tlv204 · November 2009

I was thinking the same thing and I'm not even watching MSNBC. I just heard about this a few minutes ago (apparently when I'm at school I live in a cave) and as soon as I saw the shooter's name I knew they would put some ridiculous spin on it. I am really curious about the actual motive though. If it does turn out to have a link to terrorism the rampant racism against people of Middle Eastern descent will just get worse. Mainly for that reason alone I hope it has nothing to do with that.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

tlv, I hope it has nothing to do with race either. And now that it's been revealed that the shooter was an Army psychiatrist and not necessarily the PTSD-suffering soldier that they speculated, maybe people can just chill and wait until more actual facts surface. Btw, I'm not saying that the shooter can't be both an Army psychiatrist and a PTSD-suffering soldier. There is such a thing as secondary trauma due to being exposed to others' traumas via stories, psych sessions, etc. It happens a lot in trauma work in the mental health field.

janedoe1113a · November 2009

Whoa, apparently the shooter was a mental health professional on base. That was an unexpected twist.Yea, I just got home and read that. Definitely wasn't expecting that.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

Navy, now they've got some uninformed speaker on the news pondering that the shooter was the one that soldiers saw for help with traumatic stress, and yet he did this. Like he should have known better because of his expertise? HELLO, secondary trauma? Where are the real experts? They also mentioned his undergrad degree was from Virginia Tech years ago, like that's relevant. I don't know why I'm still watching this.

squirrly · November 2009

FI's home and pretty unhappy. We've got CNN on. He's waiting to hear names to find out if he knows anybody.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

Squirrly, I can't imagine the type of wait that you guys are experiencing. I hope all your friends are safe.

squirrly · November 2009

It's really scary to me, because of the particular position FI has. I don't want to be too specific, so please be understanding with my vaugeness. He's had soldiers under his command get seriously pissed at him. Not sure if there have been formal physical threats made, but definitely close. If this were to happen at his post, I'd bet it would be in his battalion somewhere.

beatlesgirl25 · November 2009

Squirrly, that's scary that he has to worry about that in his own workplace. However, a positive (?) thing about this incident today is that vigilance on safety will be largely increased, at least for awhile. When I told H what happened at Ft. Hood today (he works at the local Army base as a civilian), one of his first comments was, "Well, I'd better go to work pretty early tomorrow" because he knows they are going to raise the alert level on base and it's going to take awhile for him to get in. I would think (and hope) that the bases will be more vigilant about safety now, and more awareness of potential things like this happening so your FI can feel safe.

squirrly · November 2009

Security will be heightened, for sure, but if someone is determined, they'll find a way. FI just said "and people ask why I have a baseball bat in my office." Seriously.

Simply Fated · November 2009

I saw that exact thing on NBC, too.The thing is, just before I turned on NBC, I had on ABC.. and they announced the name. It did sound Arabic... started with an M, I think. I THINK, please dont' hold me to that.Anyway, they switched to cover the Yankees, and as much as I adore my home team, I really wanted to know what was happening in Texas. SO I flipped to NBC just in time to hear them say it was an Arabic sounding name, but they didn't want to say the name for sure... basically the same thing you heard. Really strange hearing that right after hearing another station say his name.Way to go NBC and ABC.

skiingstark · November 2009

CNN just brought out the touch screen TV to look at every little random detail.

WTF MSNBC?

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