Too soon. That was the general response from Virginia Tech students and law enforcement about the release of images, videos and writings NBC received from killer Cho Seung-Hui on Monday during a lull in the massacre. The images, many of Cho striking frightening poses and brandishing weapons, spread like wildfire throughout the media after NBC released them late Wednesday afternoon.
But students and law enforcement deplored the release of the Cho material, calling it insensitive to victims, their families and a campus in mourning. "We're rather disappointed in the editorial decision to broadcast these disturbing images," said Steve Flaherty, the superintendent for the Virginia State Police, in a news conference Thursday morning.
Many students on Thursday were upset that NBC released the material and suggested that the media was giving Cho exactly what he wanted, a platform for his infamous actions. Some family members of victims even cancelled interviews with NBC today after the images were released. Student body president Adeel Khan told TV interviewers this morning that he hoped the media would focus on positive things happening at Virginia Tech in the wake of the tragedy, not the killer.
NBC News chief Steve Capus defended his decision to release the Cho material. After Capus turned over the original documents to federal law enforcement, he and others at NBC deliberated for hours over what they should release if anything. Capus told the Washington Post that NBC recognized that people might criticize the network for further publicizing Cho. But Capus said in the interview.
