In the wake of the horrific shooting in Wisconsin which targeted a Sikh temple and the hundreds inside the place of worship, questions are beginning to mount whether or not the nation is taking this latest act of violence as seriously as the most recent ones in Colorado and Arizona.
We never want to compare acts of heinous violence, but when we take our social media outlets, which have fast become one way to obtain up-to-the-minute news on national and international happenings, in addition to the more formal route — the 24 hour news networks — is there a marked difference in the amount of people reacting to this latest shooting whether online or in broadcast?
Some say yes. It seems as though the news cycle and every other vehicle of communication was inundated with information in the days that followed the recent mass murder in Colorado. There were tweets imploring the public offer prayers and condolences and numerous updates about the victims and the shooter. Yet, a valid question can be made regarding if there is less being shared in the way of national collective sympathy for, support of, and relatability to the victims and survivors of the Wisconsin shooting. Even at this moment, there’s nothing Wisconsin shooting related trending on Twitter. This doesn’t mean people aren’t talking about it, but Twitter’s trending topics do serve as a small barometer of what things people are really discussing — and items about the Colorado shooting trended for days after the tragedy. Now it would appear the collective masses are wondering about #NASA and The Great Gatsby‘s movie opening delay. Have we already moved on? And if so, why is this tragedy different? Could it be desensitization? Or are we really talking about cultural differences and an overall disconnect?
However, one such tweet questioning the coverage gave rise to some attention today. The tweet was aimed at CNN’s Anderson Cooper. The commenter asked, “Is CNN discriminating because victims were Sikhs?”
Cooper, who prides himself on his journalistic integrity, shot back with this simple statement:
You could say that’s a bit harsh, perhaps. But we imagine it irked the CNN anchor to be questioned when he earlier tweeted this:
And this isn’t the first time he’s had to correct a commenter who’s taken to Twitter to call him out on lackadaisical reporting.
And we don’t blame him, because while MSNBC conducted their Olympics coverage yesterday and Fox News started yammering on about how “awesome” Mitt Romney is thusly relegating the shooting to ticker fodder, CNN was the news network that stayed with the story. They spoke to reporters on the ground in Wisconsin, as well as survivors, and community leaders. They reported on the police’s press conference — all while simultaneously educating themselves on air about the Sikh culture. And by “educating” we mean literally learning how to pronounce words within the culture and attempting to understand the faith practices while exposing all that isn’t known, but getting over the learning curve quickly. The most resonant points made in their efforts were about the shooting being something that affects us all as humans and as something that should unite instead of divide.
Good job, Anderson, and Don Lemon, the head anchor for yesterday’s coverage, and the entire CNN team.
