Access Blogs
Access Video Blogs
Heavy Hearts: A Broadcaster's Worst Nightmare
by Matt Smith
Flash back for a moment if you will to September 5th, 1972, to the Olympic games and the Munich massacre. Jim McKay had to go on the air live and give the play-by-play account that 11 Israeli athletes had been taken hostage. Imagine sitting there as a broadcaster, knowing fully that in the end you would have to be the one to tell loved ones that they were either alive or dead.
Later that day, his heart heavy, McKay looked into the lens of that camera, realizing that somewhere out there parents were undoubtedly watching:
"I've just gotten the final word. You know when I was a kid, my father used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They've now said that there were 11 hostages; two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning. 9 were killed at the airport tonight. They're all gone."
And here on U.S. soil, Oklahoma City, Columbine, 9/11, the five young Amish girls killed in cold blood in Pennsylvania, and now, Blacksburg, Virginia.
The tragic events that unfolded this past Monday morning on the friendly confines of the Virginia Tech university campus are harrowing, the images heart-rending, never to be forgotten, not to be taken lightly.
There are moments in life that, if only for a brief amount of time, trivialize all else. Things that we thought were important the day before, no longer seem all that important. Suddenly, we are reminded that the things that divide us are often times frivolous, things that at the end of the day, just don't matter.
On behalf of everyone here at Access Hollywood, we hope that you have found our coverage of such tragic events tasteful, informative, and most importantly, respectful. At the end of the day, we are an entertainment news show, and there is nothing entertaining about 32 innocent people losing their lives.
I do not think it was wrong to broadcast the killer and his most horrible manifesto! On the one hand, we as a whole know how demented and mentally ill he was and can see what led him to these horrible events. But, for the families, I do understand how they must feel watching it. If it were my child?? I would want to know why? Even if it did not make sense and he was rambling alot of sick things? At least I would know what triggered the event however hurtful it was to see.
My own opinion. May GOD be with the families, students, friends, everyone that is in pain right now. When will all the violence in the world wend?
This is an excellent report on the feelings of a nation. It brings the tragedy into perspective, even admitting that Access Hollywood's entertainment value is not of much importance at such tragic times.