Shock Value

Last week in Winnenden, Germany there was a shooting at a local school. A seventeen year old boy shot and killed fifteen people before taking his own life. It was a horrible tragedy and it was featured in every news show for the following days. Now, with the high number of news websites and TV networks, news from the event travelled the world rapidly. Details on the city, the school, the victims and most of all the shooter were being distributed through various channels quickly. Sadly, events like these happen quite often and there is never a lack of information coming from the news. But over the course of the weekend something else appeared on all major news websites.
After the shooting, the gunman was followed and surrouned by police at a nearby parking lot. He fired off several rounds, before turning the gun on himself. This was filmed by a bystander with a mobile phone camera, and is now featured on most news websites. By clicking on headlines such as "The Gunman's Final Shot", "His Last Moments" and "This Is Where It Ended", the audience can watch the final minutes of this persons life. In my opinion this is both obscene and wrong.
By reading the articles and seeing the photographs there is more than enough information for the reader or audience to understand what has occurred. You get nothing more from seeing what actually happened, through the lense of a grainy mobile phone camera. It was a tragedy that struck the victims, their families, the community of the city and the whole nation of Germany. And in the end, it was also a personal tragedy for the boy responsible. To show video footage of a person taking his own life can never be classified as "news". It is morally irresponsible and disrespectful, not just for those involved in the event but also towards the audience. There is no reason for such a thing to be shown for anything other than shock value.

There is a new term that is being used frequently in several English speaking news channels like CNN, BBC and Sky News. Before or after a major event, such as a top politician's speech, a televised public demonstration or the marking of a national or global occasion, the reporter might say something like "This will certainly be a big YouTube moment" or "There were plenty of YouTube moments". This website, where all videos imaginable are availbe at your fingertips has become an institution. If there is something you want to see, or something you want to see again and again you can always find it.
But there are still certainly things that do not need to be seen.