Okay, some things are not made for tv

[lillygator]

They gave a very big warning before they showed ANY footage, if you didn't want to watch it you could have changed the channel.

Brian Williams I believe is the one who reported about it. I watched it and I was shocked and very sad.

However, we have to stop filtering this is life and in happiness there is some saddness as well.

I also think more people need to see the REAL devastation in Haiti, the more coverage the better.

Why would you send a complaint email to NBC? Really, what do you think they are going to do? I am sure they had to get the okay to show the footage from his family and his country, but like a PP said it was filmed for training purposes so its fair game.

I have seen other horrible accidents during these games, however they lived. This poor young man did not.

agreed

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I was surprised they showed it - several times - as well.

All I could think of was how his parents would feel seeing it and knowing the world saw it over and over.

 

[FireDancer]

I think it should be shown. It is up to each of us to self censor for ourselves. If any of us don't want to see it we can turn the channel, no harm and no foul. When people die during televised sporting events it is shown on TV, this isn't new. Gilles Villeneuve died on live television in 1982 as did Ayrton Senna in 1994.

I am a proponent of all information being shown to everyone, whether it is happy or sad.

 

[Disney Doll]

We just accidentally watched the luge accident. We had the news on while eating dinner and I wasn't paying attention. I would have changed it....I heard them warning that it was disturbing and graffic but it didn't register it in time. I really see both sides of the arguement. One one side, I don't think they NEEDED to show that luge accident. On the other, I don't think it's right to only show the beautiful things in the world. Some people can't really get the absolute horror and devastation occuring in Haiti until they see the gruesome reality.

I just wonder if you would feel differently if it were a loved one fo yours who death they were showing.

 

[torinsmom]

It happened during taping, fair game. During the taping of "Deadliest Catch" a ship went down and they showed a dead man in the water while trying to rescue him.

If it was shown DURING the game and was televised that way, it would have been one thing, but why show it over and over after the fact?

News is news, to stop it is to stop the flow of information which we require to be functional members of society. Would you protest seeing the twin towers being shown falling on a dozen networks at once, or does that have less disturbing impact because you couldn't see individual people dying?

If you don't like something or think it's not kid appropriate, you are free to switch channels or, goodness forbid, turn the tv off.

I didn't like seeing the twin towers falling every hour, every day for weekd on end either. At least it didn't show a person close up dying though.

I really wish I hadn't seen it. I didn't really have a chance to change the channel though. I would have rather seen a simulation or something - I really didn't think they would show it during the opening ceremonies.

I didn't have a chance to change it either. I was flipping channels and stopped on CNN in time to see the guy luging, thought it was regular Olympic trial coverage, and then crash--it was just THERE.

They gave a very big warning before they showed ANY footage, if you didn't want to watch it you could have changed the channel.

Brian Williams I believe is the one who reported about it. I watched it and I was shocked and very sad.

However, we have to stop filtering this is life and in happiness there is some saddness as well.

Someone could easily miss the warning if they were channel surfing, or had the sounds turned down.

I just wonder if you would feel differently if it were a loved one fo yours who death they were showing.

I can't even imagine! It was sudden death already and to see it shown over and over must be just devastating to those parents. I guess some of you think they shouldn't watch tv or change the channel if they don't want to see it?

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

We changed the channel and I've already e-mailed NBC. It was in very poor taste in my opinion.

My cousin died in a suicide pact. It was national news. I remember crying when I heard Leno and Letterman making fun of his death.

He was mentally ill as was his mother. My aunt did not deserve to be treated that way.

 

[bicker]

Rest assured that if they didn't do what they did, then on some other website some other people would be complaining about how NBC caved to PC interests or some such thing. They cannot please everyone.

Ever.

No one can.

 

[*BTMRR*]

We changed the channel and I've already e-mailed NBC. It was in very poor taste in my opinion.

My cousin died in a suicide pact. It was national news. I remember crying when I heard Leno and Letterman making fun of his death.

He was mentally ill as was his mother. My aunt did not deserve to be treated that way.

 

[mhsjax]

I was just telling my husband the same thing. You sit down with your family to watch the opening ceremonies only to see the sad story and then NBC makes it worse by showing his death as well. I think there should have been a disclaimer before they showed it. I think it is appalling anytime anyone shows death on tv.

Personally I don't have a problem with it, maybe it will impact how much these athletes push themselves and how technology isn't helping. Also if you did "sit Down" to watch the show, would you would see that they did issue a warning that this was disturbing and you may not want to watch.

 

[Jennasis]

They DID give a very clear warning about the video. If you were FF'ing or had the sound down that's your own fault. They weren't making fun of his death, or blaming him, or anything nefarious. I felt it was done as tastefully as could be under the circumstances, which is to say not entirely tasteful. But death is a part of life, even when it's tragic.

 

[mhsjax]

Going on these opinions I guess they should not show the olympics at all, These are very dangerous sports and you never know when a death may occur. It is sad but these athletes know the dangers when they sign up for this stuff. Sorry, I know I am coming off as cold, I am truly sad that this poor young man died but it happens when you go 85 miles per hour on ice on a tiny sled, They know the risk. Maybe everyone will E-mail nbc about that too.

 

[FayeW]

I didn't see any footage of it here on the Canadian station I was watching, at least not during the opening ceremony. I was very glad they didn't show it. Not sure if they showed it at some other point, though.

I am really disgusted with the media right now. There is a horrific story playing out in our local newspapers right now and they are being so irresponsible. Quite literally making things up. Huge sensationalistic headlines and then when you read the article, they have nothing to substantiate it. They are quite shameless.

 

[luvmy3]

Going on these opinions I guess they should not show the olympics at all, These are very dangerous sports and you never know when a death may occur. It is sad but these athletes know the dangers when they sign up for this stuff. Sorry, I know I am coming off as cold, I am truly sad that this poor young man died but it happens when you go 85 miles per hour on ice on a tiny sled, They know the risk. Maybe everyone will E-mail nbc about that too.

Sorry, your logic is flawed, and this isn't about knowing the risks of a sport, its about the moral aspect of showing a young mans horrible death over and over. There is a huge difference between filming something live and then a horrible accident occurs and filming an accident that results in the death of the person and re-air it over and over again. Its in very poor taste.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I was just watching the news and they were talking about the man who died in the luge(sp?) accident. Then they SHOWED the man flying off the luge track and the workers doing CPR on him! Yes, they showed the man dying. I'm sorry, but is nothing sacred? My mom told me she saw people using bulldozers and dump trucks to remove dead bodies from buildings in Haiti after the earthquake.

So, how much is too much? Can they not get their points across by telling the story and not showing the gory details?

Marsha

This is one of the reasons that we do not watch the news in my house. We get our news from the internet. It is still sensationalized to some degree, but not nearly as much as in the main stream media.

You cannot "unsee" something...

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I didn't like seeing the twin towers falling every hour, every day for weekd on end either. At least it didn't show a person close up dying though.

Oh, yes they certainly did, they showed many images of people jumping out of the buildings from 40 or 50 stories, and more then once.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

This is one of the reasons that we do not watch the news in my house. We get our news from the internet. It is still sensationalized to some degree, but not nearly as much as in the main stream media.

If anything, internet media is even worst then mainstream media because opinions are batted around even more and facts are harder to come by, manipulated even more.

 

[Jennasis]

Heads up...NBC is showing it again right now. And Chris Janseng WARNED the viewing audience.

 

[luvmy3]

Heads up...NBC is showing it again right now. And Chris Janseng WARNED the viewing audience.

And the reason its needed to be aired again is? Thats right there isn't one, and the warning doesn't make it right.

ETA I'm not directing my disgust at you, I know you were just letting us know.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

And the reason its needed to be aired again is? Thats right there isn't one, and the warning doesn't make it right.

ETA I'm not directing my disgust at you, I know you were just letting us know.

Maybe it was during a luge event and the referenced how dangerous the sport is, showed the video. They may have also referenced other horrifying accidents in luge history. Or it could have been talking about the opening ceremonies, training or another accident in a different sport.

Again, no issues with it from me.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

If anything, internet media is even worst then mainstream media because opinions are batted around even more and facts are harder to come by, manipulated even more.

Seriously? You can get every angle of a story on the internet. You can log into middle eastern web sites to get their view of our "war on terror". You can fact check liberal articles against conservative ones. In short, you can find the truth on the internet. It requires work, but the data is there. You cannot do that with main stream media.

Also, and this is the more important piece for me, you can filter what images you see a whole lot more effectively on the internet. As I said before, you cannot unsee something...