2008 Woodie Awards
Media aims at Cheney
shots fired blow shooting accident out of proportion
Sarah Voels
Issue date: 3/23/06 Section: Opinion
Hunting accidents happen more often than one may think. While on a recent quail hunt Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot Texas lawyer Harry Whittington.
The vice president may have accidentally shot someone but the media havew been taking shots at him ever since. The whole incident should be treated as the hunting accident it is. Cheney has received a barrage of media attention for the incident. His concern should be on the welfare of Whittington and not on dodging reporters.
This is not the first time that the paparazzi and media attention has made a situation worse by its presence. The most notable case was the death of Lady Diana Spencer who died in a car crash while attempting to avoid the paparazzi.
The media, while paid to address and report the news, has slowly adopted a practice of yellow journalism made famous by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Different media corporations are constantly in search of the "big story" but when a big story actually comes, they each attack it from different angles.
This created a larger problem for Cheney. Not only did news of his accidental shooting spread faster than he could control it, every major broadcast and print journalism company has covered the story while Whittington has been obligated to hold a press conference. In the conference, he expressed his own concern for Cheney and the media's approach.
It is unfortunate that the incident occurred and it was newsworthy because it involved the vice president of the United States but it does not require the attention it has received.
Cheney's focus should be on the recovery of his friend and his job as vice president, not on the flood of reporters.
The vice president may have accidentally shot someone but the media havew been taking shots at him ever since. The whole incident should be treated as the hunting accident it is. Cheney has received a barrage of media attention for the incident. His concern should be on the welfare of Whittington and not on dodging reporters.
This is not the first time that the paparazzi and media attention has made a situation worse by its presence. The most notable case was the death of Lady Diana Spencer who died in a car crash while attempting to avoid the paparazzi.
The media, while paid to address and report the news, has slowly adopted a practice of yellow journalism made famous by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Different media corporations are constantly in search of the "big story" but when a big story actually comes, they each attack it from different angles.
This created a larger problem for Cheney. Not only did news of his accidental shooting spread faster than he could control it, every major broadcast and print journalism company has covered the story while Whittington has been obligated to hold a press conference. In the conference, he expressed his own concern for Cheney and the media's approach.
It is unfortunate that the incident occurred and it was newsworthy because it involved the vice president of the United States but it does not require the attention it has received.
Cheney's focus should be on the recovery of his friend and his job as vice president, not on the flood of reporters.