The political economy of today's media requires no better illustration than what happened last night.

NBC's decision to air so-called manifesto of Cho Seung Hui was not out of the need for public service, to dig deeper into the shooter's mind as we collectively ask "why", but a simple calculation of grabbing ratings.

It's no secret networks are struggling and traditional news formats are becoming increasingly irrelevant. The decision to air the video in the once golden 6:30PM slot made perfect sense where networks are competing with cable and internet news sources that cater to audiences 24/7. In no time did other networks, internet websites and today's dailies following the lead. The local daily tabloid play it up taking the case into the court of public opinion.


Images like this are little factoids, void of any context, pull at the emotional strings of this story and based on the simple cues of "loner", "mentally unstable", & "twisted." Stories like this are reduced to their simplest forms for simple recognition and knee-jerk reactions. Airing these clips beautifully play into this and greater questions relating to society, policy, and culture in general are avoided by the media. Greater questions require greater effort and of course, so do news' financial bills to fund such projects.

Since media sources are businesses like any other private company, competition becomes quite potent. Market share overrides any need for providing objective public service, self censorship, instead competition unleashes the worst of self-interest beating out other sources through infotainment.

The greater tragedy of this story is why we are glued to our television screens, sifting the net for these video clips without realizing the structures that drive us to satisfy our curiosities.