There was much debate recently in the Access Hollywood newsroom about whether or not to show pictures or video left behind by the Virginia Tech shooter.
The images were haunting - pointing guns at the camera, bullets, swinging a sword. The audio gave us the ramblings of a delusional killer who was paranoid and felt disenfranchised and saw himself as the victim.
One arguement was that showing his picture played right into his hands. He wanted to be a martyr - to go down in history as as a notorious killer and airing the pictures then makes us his personal PR machine.
Another said that the pictures would encourage copycats and that potential killers would see him getting the media coverage he wanted and that maybe they could live in infamy also.
"What would happen if we blur his image?" someone asked who felt we should air the footage. But, to a world who has already seen him, would that even matter? The cow is already out of the barn.
NBC News said they limited the coverage after consulting with federal authorities. In a statement, the news organization said that airing the footage provided some answers as to why this man carried out these awful murders.
Someone else likened it to showing the plane slamming into the Towers on 9/11 and of the Towers falling. And the airing of the rantings of Osama Bin Laden as they appeared on tape. That was what Bin Laden wanted us to do.
What responsibility do we have to our own children or families and communities?
Ultimately, the decision was made not to air his pictures or video but there is no doubt that the debate will linger on.
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