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Making Sense of It

This week's massacre at Virginia Tech has been referred to over and over again as "senseless killings."  As if we can ever make sense of such wanton violence.  While we are left numb by the staggering death toll on an American college campus, Iraqi citizens try to comprehend a week in which 500 civilians were killed.  Some were murdered in the name of religion. Some in the name of politics. Some in the name of ethnic identity.  And very little of it makes sense.

In Afghanistan, we are watching a steady increase in the number of suicide bombings.  The new wrinkle there is that more and more of the killers are children.  Try and make sense of that.

Tonight on the broadcast we will have reports from Virginia where more of Monday's shooting victims were eulogized today, and where we now know a discrepancy between federal and state gun laws may have helped put the weapons in Seung-Hui Cho's hands.  We also have reports on those disturbing trends confronting civilians and troops alike in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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GETTING THE PICTURE

As I write this, all of the cable news channels are showing separate but similar helicopter pictures of Building 44 at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, where a man is inside with a gun. 

All three cable news networks are using separate Houston affiliates for the aerial pictures -- you can almost imagine the helicopter ballet that's taking place overhead.  Building 44 looks a lot like all of the other buildings at the JSC -- a vaguely dated-looking flat-roof structure with a satellite dish on the roof.  Already in tonight's broadcast, we're reporting 15 incidents of either real or false alarms today involving lockdowns, barricades and various reports of weapons. 

Sadly, this sort of thing happens following any major crime incident -- and the confluence of sad anniversaries this week doesn't help.  Fox News just switched from what appeared to be a gas main fire in Baltimore to video of police cars in Ohio, covered by a graphic banner saying schools were "on edge" after threats there.  The banner now says "School Lockdowns: America's Parents on Edge."  CNBC is airing a banner saying "Dow Record Close."  To each his or her own.

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SEARCHING FOR ACCEPTANCE

It is always moving to hear a city come to a standstill. 

The state of Virginia observed a moment of silence at noon today.  Seeing it on television never quite captures the emotion of the moment. 

The NBC News work area is in the Holiday Inn that's just across the street from the Virginia Tech campus.  Just before noon, I stepped outside the hotel and found the entire hotel staff gathered in the front parking lot. They proudly wore T-shirts with Virginia Tech colors.  For them, this wasn't an "event." This was perhaps the first time they've all looked each other in the eyes and reflected on the horrific event that has changed their community.

At exactly noon, they all bowed their heads.  Some said a silent prayer, others stared at nothing in particular, lost in the briefest moment of reflection.  In the distance, church bells sounded and a nation's heart quivered... not sure whether to break a little more or to finally begin to heal.

Then it was over. Time for the staff of the Holiday Inn to go back to work.  Time to once again be overwhelmed by everything but thoughts of the tragedy.  Maybe that's a good thing.

Mourners gather in Blacksburg, Va., wearing their "Hokie" colors.
Photo by Don Teague

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Time to leave

At dinner Thursday night, Frieda Morris, bureau chief for the NBC News team covering this awful tragedy, was comparing the arc of this story to the coverage of the Columbine High School Massacre, eight years ago Friday.

"Four days into Columbine," Frieda said, "most of us hadn't had a substantial catnap, let alone a full night's sleep; it was nonstop."  All of us at the table at what was essentially a team dinner knew what Frieda was talking about; during the day -- the fourth day of so similar a story of immeasurable grief following an act of madness -- there was a sense both in the press corps and across this vast university campus that the main storylines of the Virginia Tech massacre had been identified, explored and broadcast or written.

Read the complete posting on our special blog from Blacksburg, Va.

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Early Nightly is up

This Friday marks the end of a very long week for the entire nation. In today's vlog, Brian talks about some of the news we haven't reported, as well as tonight's continuation of the Virginia Tech shootings story, which has dominated so much of our coverage this week.

Click here or on the image to watch the vlog.

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DESCENDING INTO HELL

Yesterday, we received a parcel from a mass murderer.  The simple act of opening it and examining its contents thrust us into a role we did not seek and did not want.  Our first step was to call law enforcement and hand over the originals. Next, we decided what of it we could air as a news organization.  I do not know of a reputable news organization that would have stopped after that first step ... and put the contents into a drawer. We chose to air but a small portion of the sociopathic rants, writings and recordings of a murderer.  It was shocking material ... beyond disturbing.  However unpleasant it might have been for us all to watch, we are journalists and it was inarguably a huge news development.  In consultation with law enforcement, and with all of our senior and standards executives and producers present, we then set about heavily editing some of the material -- enough to convey the mindset of the troubled gunman.

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A window into his mind

To show or not to show Cho Seung-Hui's "manifesto?" That was the question faced by NBC News. We did what I would think every responsible news organization would do.

I've seen and read through some of the documents that have never aired, because I've been reporting on it all day on MSNBC. It's unbelievable, just like the massacre. We're in the business of providing the public with information and letting you decide how to process it.

Given the enormity of what happened at Virginia Tech, given our failure to comprehend in any way, how someone could become so whatever it was that fueled Cho's rampage, his final words and pictures offer a window into his mind. Admittedly, so much of it in just an angry rant or diatribe, but it says something that perhaps helps us understand. Or at least helps us try to.

Perhaps there's something there that might set off alarms about the next Cho?

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NBC News statement on gunman's video

NBC News issued the following statement Thursday in regard to the materials it received from the gunman in the Virginia Tech shootings:

The pain suffered by the Virginia Tech community and indeed the entire country is immeasurable. 

Upon receiving the materials from Cho Seung-Hui, NBC News took careful consideration in determining how the information should be distributed.  We did not rush the material onto air, but instead consulted with local authorities, who have since publicly acknowledged our appropriate handling of the matter.  Beginning this morning, we have limited our usage of the video across NBC News, including MSNBC, to no more than 10 percent of our airtime. 

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Early Nightly is up

In today's vlog, Brian talks about last night's broadcast and the role of the media in reporting even the most difficult of stories.

Click here or on the image to watch the vlog.

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ONE WORD

This morning, about five miles outside of Roanoke, Va., I watched a Nissan pickup truck merge into traffic in front of us on the interstate. I noticed there was something written on the rear cab window.  When we got closer, I was able to read what it was -- just one word, written in white shoe polish on the glass:  WHY? 
None of the passing motorists had to ask what it pertained to.  And considering it was one word, written on the back of a truck in white liquid shoe polish, it spoke volumes.

Tonight, the massacre at Virginia Tech continues to dominate our news, and we will have some new reporting on the subject. (See below for more information.)

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