Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I'm saying how about they NOT cover it in real time until they *have* figured it out.<< Since just about everyone in the US has a camera phone on them at all times, raw footage will be out there in minutes. I'd rather professional journalists be there to offer a little perspective and become a gathering point for people to keep up with what's happening. Wanting them to just not cover something until everything is totally 100% verified is not realistic. The choice you do have it to turn it all off and steer clear of news coverage until you think the story will be less fluid.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 I think this is well worth a read https://www.facebook.com/pattonoswalt/posts/10151440800582655
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I thought this was a thread about the attack in Boston. Instead, it quickly devolved into an attack on the media covering the attack in Boston. Instead of not watching TV for a while, maybe some people should walk away from the thread, then come back and re-read it. I guess I'll go discuss the actual explosions somewhere else.
Originally Posted By velo No one here, initially, was engaged in "rampant speculation" fueled by the media. At all. No one has even tried to point fingers at who/whom they might think the culprits might be. Where was there any evidence that we had been swayed or influenced by mis-reporting? Dissatisfaction with the media should have been the topic of another thread.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 I have no idea what the perpetrators hoped to accomplish but they have failed. We are not afraid. We are not defeated. We aren't losing faith in our nation or the people in it. We are going to come out of this strong. The sense of unity right now might disappear-but this just goes to show you that when it comes down to it, people are good, Americans are good, and this country continues to stand proud and strong.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros IMO, the biggest thing that fueled the coverage was that the event occurred in a place that was already being covered by dozens of media crews. The cameras were already rolling, the reporters were already on the ground. It was too easy for them to go direct to live national coverage, without the usual 15-20 minutes of travel time that also gives them a moment to collect their thoughts and figure out what's going on and the best way to portray it. On the flip side of that, one of the best things that could have happened in an event like this (if you can say there's anything good) is that it happened in an area that was filled with medical professionals who were literally standing around waiting for something to happen. Yes, they were probably more prepared for blisters and torn muscles than burns and severed limbs, but I'm sure that it helped to have them on the scene when it happened. If nothing else, I've heard they started triaging people immediately, which makes for more efficient treatment once they can get to a hospital
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 I'm starting to think this was some homegrown terroist responsible for this. If it was Al-Qaeda or some other group from the Middle East they would have been running their mouths as they are apt to do.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>No one here, initially, was engaged in "rampant speculation" fueled by the media.<< No one here brought up this guy: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57579736/authorities-question-saudi-national-in-boston-attack/" target="_blank">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18...-attack/</a>
Originally Posted By Dabob2 That guy may or may not have been involved (two words everyone - including the media - should remember: Richard Jewell). It does seem to me fairly unlikely that a major terrorist organization was behind this. The FBI said the bombs were "crude," and if Al Qaeda was going to choose this time and place to make the biggest US splash since 9/11, I think it would have been larger. It seems probable that this was the work of one guy or a small group. Motivated by...? Who knows. Could be anti-government right-wing militia guy(s) like McVeigh (it happened on both tax day and Patriot Day, and some of these idiots consider themselves "patriots"), it could be a rogue Islamist cell, it could be a garden-variety sociopath who hates running. Having said that I think it's probable that this was the work of one guy or a small group, it's not impossible that that's incorrect. We just don't know. Apparently, the police are asking people who were in the area in the hours before the explosions who may have camera/cell phone footage to come forward. They may have been shooting their loved ones crossing the finish line at the moment the guilty party planted the bombs and inadvertently caught him/them on tape. I hope something comes of that.
Originally Posted By ecdc It's interesting that, absent suspects or people taking credit, the story is very much about heroism and courage. If only every story could be like that. And is it just me or does Boston seriously have it's crap together? I know you had a lot of police already on hand, but the evacuation, the medical help, etc., was so incredibly swift. They didn't miss a beat. Boston: Bravo. I don't know that they couldn't have handled this any better.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 They did have a lot of medical personnel on hand in case the runners needed them, so that was a big leg up right there. But yes, Boston handled this very very well from what I can see.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 <<It seems probable that this was the work of one guy or a small group. Motivated by...? Who knows. Could be anti-government right-wing militia guy(s) like McVeigh (it happened on both tax day and Patriot Day, and some of these idiots consider themselves "patriots"), it could be a rogue Islamist cell, it could be a garden-variety sociopath who hates running. >> Besides McVeigh, Waco, Columbine and Virginia Tech also happened around this time. I don't know if that's a coincidence or not.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer In the emergency management biz we've been hearing about the FBI's biggest fear over the past few years - individual or small groups of domestic terrorists using IEDs. IEDs don't really have signatures like other bombs do - there's no manual for how to make them, no common set of guidelines that an organized group uses to make bombs. No signature methods of bomb making make it very hard to figure out who did it. Remember that the only thing that tied McVeigh to Oklahoma City was an ID number on the axle of the truck he rented. There were no leads in the Atlanta Olympics bombing at all until the bombmaker used the same method of building when he attacked two other targets. Their biggest worry is that the people who would shoot up a movie theater or school might see this now, and see that their chance of getting away alive is much higher with an IED than with a gun. And the body count could be higher. Schools can lock down against a shooter, and armed police officers can protect the students - but it is very difficult to protect against a bomb buried in a playground, or placed in a bag in a busy store at Christmastime. I have a feeling that this won't be the only attack of this type this summer. And the longer it takes to bring the bomber into custody, the more empowered other psychopaths will feel to do the same.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Gawker has a quick rundown of how some of some of the misinformation on yesterday's tragedy, including the Saudi suspect, can be traced back to bad reporting from the NY Post: <a href="http://gawker.com/5994810/the-vanishing-bomb-suspect-how-the-new-york-post-scooped-reality?tag=marathon-bombing" target="_blank">http://gawker.com/5994810/the-...-bombing</a>
Originally Posted By ecdc Cause this poor guy hadn't already been through enough. <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/16/17773869-the-man-in-the-hat-at-boston-marathon-finish-line-carlos-arredondo-didnt-set-out-to-be-hero?lite" target="_blank">http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_new...ero?lite</a>
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Damn. I wish I was half as strong and as courageous as that guy.
Originally Posted By ecdc It really is a shame the media today isn't more careful, like the media of ages past <a href="http://www.prattlibrary.org/uploadedImages/www/locations/central/social_science_and_history/how-to_guides/Primary_Resources/Evening_Sun.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.prattlibrary.org/up..._Sun.jpg</a>
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder DOJ denies any arrests have been made. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/</a>
Originally Posted By hopemax Great tweet: Schrödinger's Suspect is both in custody and not. Thanks, news. — @HunterDK via TweetDeck
