Newtown Tragedy on TV and Social Media
The tragic events of Friday morning in Newtown, Conn., dominated TV and social media in the U.S. throughout the weekend and into the new week. Following are mainstream media articles we have curated that report on TV coverage, social media reactions and how the NFL dealt with the tragedy on Sunday.
How TV is covering the Newtown, CT, school massacre: For the most part, badly, inevitably
The problem is the nature of TV news at this moment. There is a compulsion to stay on the story for hours on end, with each network looking at the other, not wanting to become the first to cut away. The result is an endless repetition of the few known facts, surrounded by far too much improvised speculation, and the kind of sentimentality that does not do justice to the victims.
Read the article, via EW.com http://watching-tv.ew.com/2012/12/14/adam-lanza-newtown-ct-massacre-sandy-hook/
Conn. school shooting unleashes global outpouring of support
On Twitter, the #Newtown hashtag emerged almost immediately, promptly flooded with emotional outpouring and soon began trending.
Cruz, Giants play with heavy hearts
In his hotel room the following night, after finding his Twitter feed backed up with messages about Jack Pinto and his affinity for a certain undrafted NFL wideout, [Victor] Cruz ended up on the phone with Jack’s parents and 11-year-old brother. Elaina Watley, Cruz’s publicist and the mother of his child, found the Pintos’ number, reached out to the family, and patched Cruz into a three-way call.
Friday Ratings
In a sad juxtaposition, Friday’s leading programming was the Christmas classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” on CBS and “Dateline: NBC” coverage of the tragedy in Connecticut. The night ended with ABC and CBS splitting most key measures.
Read the article, via Hitfix.com http://www.hitfix.com/news/tv-ratings-rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer-and-tragedy-coverage-lead-friday-while-fringe-rises
Rob Parker giving all of ESPN bad name; NFL and Newtown shooting
The tragedy in Newtown posed challenges for the NFL pregame shows in terms of how (and how much) to cover the story. ESPN opened its Sunday Morning Countdown with a shot of the American flags at half-staff at Soldier Field in memory of those who died at Sandy Hook Elementary. Host Chris Berman lacks the gravitas for this kind of moment — he’s also an awkward teleprompter reader — but his spirit was in the right place and he was heartfelt.
“There are few things unimaginable or unspeakable,” Berman said.
Read the article, via Sports Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20121217/deitsch-media-circus/
