By Laura Dallas

Unlike any other large American tragedy, the events of September eleventh were broadcast around the country and world in real time.

We saw the second plane hit over and over, suspended in a seemingly never-ending instant replay. We saw the buildings fall, a silent crumbling that brought down our hopes of losing only a few lives. 

Pearl Harbor and the Oklahoma City bombing left our country shaken, but we only saw the remains, only the shell of the Federal building and aircraft carriers. Those scenes will not haunt our collective consciousness as the memories of the terror in New York and Washington, D.C. will.

Obviously, the media has influenced how we view the tragedy on a greater scale than ever before. The media has come to find a unique, all-consuming niche in our society, driven by the celebrity chase. 

I am the biggest CNN junkie I know, yet I still find myself a bit shocked by the disgusting lengths to which TV talking heads will go for a story. 

Did anyone else feel almost physically ill watching the NBC reporter chase down a policeman who was trying to help victims? Another reporter wouldn’t leave when a policeman tried to push her and her cameraman to safety. While shooting footage of one of the tower’s fall, frantic crowds had to push around reporters who were endangering lives to just show it live on television. 

The media has also helped create much of the hysteria surrounding this sad event. For instance, the Atlanta Constitution ran inflammatory headlines the first three days after the incident: “Outrage,” “Fury,” and “War.” As if the American public really needs to get any more upset. To mourn, yes, to reflect, yes, to take a deep breath, yes. Words that distort the situation will help no one. 

Radio shows have also reached new exploitive lows. I am sure that most callers and DJs are wonderful people and patriots. Sick jokes insulting Muslims and Arabs have made their way around the Internet and on air. 

However, using threats and slurs against certain ethnic groups and individuals is the worst possible way to represent themselves, as Americans, or for that matter, human beings. 

As the fireball filled the Manhattan skyline in perpetual replay, the reporters also seemed to say what many of us were thinking. “Whoa. This is just like The Siege and Independence Day.” Of course, they didn’t say those exact words, rather “Look at this awesome/exciting/incredible footage we are bringing to you live.”

I am ashamed to think I shared those thoughts as others perished, but the networks went too far. Mix bits of a film full of tears, screaming Manhattan crowds with images of American flags and the cloudy skyline to zippy, upbeat, patriotic music, and voila! You now have an instant recipe for sensationalization and ratings and, for me, a lost respect for the media.