Is NBC News being tabloidy or being responsible?

There has been a lot of criticism aimed at NBC News for airing the video sent to them by Cho-seeung Hui, the student who killed 31 people at Virginia Tech, before committing suicide.

Some of it came from more predictable sources, such as Accuracy In Media, whilst others have been less expected. Media Bistro's TV Newser reported some of the other sources.

Whilst I have some sympathy for the view that we shouldn't be giving publicity to these people, I also believe that we as a society need to understand what motivates these people to do what they do.

I can also understand the criticism that this kind of coverage is tabloidy and irresponsible. However, I would answer this by asking a question. What is responsible journalism?

Is it responsible to only cover stories and angles that we as a society, country or group of individuals feel safe in covering, or should we actively be covering stories and angles that do make us feel uncomfortable?

I would argue that it is essential that we do cover angles to these stories that do take us out of ouor comfort zones, and make us face up to things that we dislike. In fact, to actively avoid these angles because of this, would in my view be very irresponsible. You would have to handle these angles with tact and discretion and avoid sensationalising it. But you should cover them.

Was NBC right to air the video? Ultimately yes, but did they handle it right? Well, I'm not sure. Perhaps they could have handled it better, but they could have handled it a lot worse as well.