CNN showed the Olympic luger's snuff video

[Zomby Woof]

Your thoughts on this? I can't help but think this is voyeurism of the worst sort - a case of extreme rubber-necking with a captive audience. We *know* he died, and we know *how* he died, but is it necessary to show such a clip?

I am of two minds on this. The media does such a piss poor job of covering the news, I hate to fall back on the defense of "It's news! It must be shown!". On the other hand, I don't want to dismiss any possible valid rationale for showing it just because of my personal squeamishness.

In any event, my condolences to his family, friends, and teammates.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. I think this thread is useless without a link.

[dipsydoodle]

3. I doubt

CNN will post it on the website. Anyway - did you want to watch it ?

[90-percent]

4. link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7701654&mesg_id=7701654

seems roller ball like.

-90% Jimmy

[flvegan]

6. It's on CNN.com's homepage. n/t

[Zomby Woof]

I saved some popcorn for you

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7700249

[gateley]

12. ....

Bad! Bad!! :spank:

[KittyWampus]

13. don't encourage it.

[dipsydoodle]

2. If so then that's in really bad taste.

x(

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. I am with you there. I wouldn't my loved ones' deaths shown on TV or the 'net or wherever

[Zomby Woof]

7. It was Suzanne Malveaux, filling in for Blitzer

Of course, she gave a 'warning', with the right gleam in her eye, and a vocal tic of 'concern'.

[KittyWampus]

9. wonder if bobsled/luge viewer-ship will go up.

[ChiciB1]

16. Really Bad Taste!! I Haven't Watched CNN For Months & Months!

I used to watch because of Cafferty, but just stopped completely about 6 months ago and have even surprised myself by STAYING AWAY!

[gateley]

8. II think we all knew it was a horrific accident, the other luge competitors said

they'd never seen anything like it. MSNBC showed a still shot of him being attended to by medics, but that's it. They didn't even show film BEFORE he had the accident, and I think that was the appropriate approach. So they were able to report the news very well, conveying the horror, without showing any film.

We don't need to see the actual incident to understand how tragic this was. So I vote against showing the film.

[Zomby Woof]

17. I heavily lean toward your view

CNN showed him from launch to collision. Then STILL PHOTOS of his body in the FINAL SECONDS before impact, flailing upside down.

I think there was a more tasteful approach possible, and perhaps MSNBC nailed it.

[A HERETIC I AM]

37. Is this the Royal "we"?

We don't need to see the actual incident to understand how tragic this was.

Perhaps.

But "we" do need to see it in order to fully understand how it happened and there are lessons to be learned by seeing it.

While I understand your point of view, it rubs me the wrong way when someone presumes to speak for "we" in cases such as this.

I saw it. I've seen it several times now. It is part of the sport, part of the games and part of life. I don't need any of those censored by others merely because their sensibilities might be offended.

[DJ13]

46. +1

Its real news, unlike the latest Hollywood fluff the MSM usually fills the airwaves with.

[nonconformist]

10. Maybe I'm missing it, but I only see a few stills of the accident in the video

I think that even posting stills is pretty tasteless, but I'm not seeing a "snuff video" of the incident.

[Zomby Woof]

18. What they aired on CNN was a full action, real-time clip

I watched it, so my criticism is muted, because I would be a hypocrite to decry it outright since I voluntarily viewed it.

[Lavender Brown]

11. I know people may want to see it

because of the question of whether it was caused by the design of the track, but I hope the media resist the urge to show it too frequently. I think it is disrespectful to the athlete and his family. It reminds me of the horrific death of a famous skier in the 90s that was shown over and over on TV. People become desensitized and kind of forget what it is they're watching.

[Bozita]

14. ABC's evening newscast ran the video

[tekisui]

15. I don't understand why death must be such a taboo.

I don't hold to the 'it's news, it must be shown'. But, I also don't think that images of death should censored absolutely. Hiding from the realities of life allow us to exist in a safe bubble. I watched the video, and it helped me understand. I couldn't visualize how a luge crash would lead to death. I was just asking the next logical question. The media was answering it.

[TwilightGardener]

20. That might make sense, if more than 18 people in the world actually participated

in this sport. Otherwise, the only thing you're getting out of it is a general physics lesson in what happens when a guy on an ice sled flies into a pole. Is that going to come up, for most of us? I personally don't have the stomach to watch it, and I have seen death occur.

[Zomby Woof]

23. It's not taboo to me

But the gruesomeness of the death is what I am getting at. Death is a fact of life, but as tool for ratings and sensationalism? That's not news, that's necrophilia.

That being said, I can't bring myself to endorse censorship. Respect for his family's privacy is the best defense for not showing it - far, far more than my personal qualms or discomfort.

[2Design]

24. Walls are too short for that speed - even water rides have higher walls

This track is unsafe

[tonysam]

27. There is no reason to show it. Period.

It's sensationalism gone batshit.

It has nothing to do with shielding anybody from the "realities of life."

[tmyers09]

19. They have it on HuffPo with a video and pictures of him afterwards

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/12/nodar-kumaritashvili-cras_n_460474.html?just_reloaded=1


Do I even need to say "Warning: Graphic"?

[NRaleighLiberal]

21. So did the local news in Raleigh from the NBC affiliate. Was quite shocked, really

[farmout rightarm]

22. Well, it probably isn't necessary to show it but it also isn't necessary to watch it.

...

[Zomby Woof]

25. I agree completely

Which is why I said above I am not outraged or indignant (not even close, just a bit discomfited), because no one made me watch it. It's undeniably a magnet for our natural curiosity or what have you.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. Can we all agree to agree...

that if there's one thing worse than rubberneckers, it's the holier-than-thou types who complain about rubbernecking even though everybody knows they do it themselves when they see an accident while driving down the freeway?

[cbdo2007]

30. I just turned on NBC for the opening ceremonies and there it is....

there wasn't a lot of warning. We're all just turning it on. They should have at least waited until tomorrow if they had to show it.

[tonysam]

26. I think it is absolutely deplorable for the media to post that

crash. His family's privacy is being violated in the worst way possible.

You don't have to see the crash to know it is horrible.

[cbdo2007]

28. WTF !!!! NBC just showed it at the beginning of their opening ceremones coverage!!

Horrible. It was horrible.

[MissDeeds]

35. We just saw it on NBC

I doubt I'll be able to watch the Olympics without seeing that replayed in my mind time and time again. He was only 21. How tragic. And the close up of the rescue team trying to revive him was graphic as well. No compassion for the family or his teammates. :cry:

[cbdo2007]

52. Wow, I didn't even see the revival attempt....

I just saw the first crash tape and was in shock and teared up and ducked behind my computer monitor luckily.

Geez....and I've seen some pretty graphic, sick sh*t, but this is killing me. Still tearing up over it.

[gatorboy]

40. Tacky... Very tacky

[2Design]

29. nbc is doing indepth on this and showed it fully and background

I hope they do not run this event with these low walls

[SoCalNative]

32. MSNBC has been showing it repeatedly

no big deal..it's news..and they own the rights

[gateley]

36. They didn't show it earlier - they were very definite about not doing so, but maybe

after the other networks did they changed their mind.

[JI7]

33. i just think it's sad he died

[Zomby Woof]

34. Yep

An old friend of mine is working the TV engineering for the luge, bobsled, and skeleton events. He was there when it happened, and described the heavy sadness there.

[Lucy Goosey]

38. Interesting commentary on the issue from the Vancouver Sun

Olympic tragedy: Death porn or sharing the news?

[kitkat65]

39. I watched it. I wanted to know how it could happen.

In previous news it had been reported that other athletes were concerned about the safety of the course. After viewing the tape, I can see their concern. That looks like a terrible design. Would I have been able to notice this if his death had not occurred? Probably not because lugers go so fast and the cameras keep going with them so you can't see details. A previous poster said the walls coming out of the curve are too low. Do they have to be that low? Why is there no padding on the poles and is that a viewing platform they were going to put spectators on?

I understand the concern about it being seen as exploitive but here's a different perspective: if his death is due to some negligence, are we in some way doing this man a service by bearing witness and asking for answers?

Take that recent video of the 15-year-old girl being beaten while security guards do nothing. It's really disturbing to watch but the outcome has been anger from the public asking the police department to review their policies.

That being said, my condolences to the family and it's a terrible thing when someone dies so needlessly.

[bridgit]

41. Yes - condolences to his family and loved ones - CNN *is* a form of simple abomination...

And they seem to be getting simpler by the minute "if it bleeds it leads" should be torn from the headlines of corp news along with Rick's List. I'm in Red Bluff but saw the vid, I can see some blow-back coming in the way the track was designed and the un-padded pole. If anything would seem to be known; it would be that lugers are just hanging out there going for it where all kinds of weird stuff *could* happen

Nodar Kumaritashvilli


'The danger of the Whistler track has been talked about for months — particularly after several countries, including the U.S., were upset over access restrictions for everyone but Canada, with some noting it could lead to a safety issue.

Kumaritashvili is the fourth competitor to die at the Winter Games and the first since 1992.

“It’s a very rare situation,” three-time Olympic champion and German coach Georg Hackl said before learning of the death, clearly shaken after seeing Kumaritashvili tended to furiously by medical workers.

Shortly before the accident, Hackl said he didn’t believe the track was unsafe.

“People have the opinion it is dangerous but the track crew does the best it can and they are working hard to make sure the track is in good shape and everyone is safe,” he said. “My opinion is that it’s not anymore dangerous that anywhere else.”'

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/35369187/ns/sports-olympic_sports

[XemaSab]

49. You're in Red Bluff?

Let's do lunch. :hi:

[bridgit]

54. Hey! I thought about you coming back down from up north, out 99 way...

in AM to Magalia/Chico but yeah if cool should be back up 2-3 weeks :hi:

[aikoaiko]

42. It seemed relevant in the context of Olympic Coverage and discussed tastefully.

It is a sad thing and I the video helps people understand what happened.

[jakefrep]

58. I agree.

I don't understand the poutrage over showing it.

[HBravo]

43. I drove by a accident scene about 4 years ago

It had just happened. Two cars on a backwoods road, State Patrol was just on hand. The cars were not that badly damaged. I said a short prayer for those involved and drove on and didn't think about it again. About 2 weeks later I drove by the same spot and saw 3 crosses on the side of the road and I almost threw up. So I am troubled by the instantaneous reporting of death.

[stevedeshazer]

44. I think it sucks.

No way I could watch it, but I know many will. We're just a bunch of rubberneckers.

Just feeling sorry for the guy and his family is enough for me. Yeah, it's voyeurism.

It sells.

[regnaD kciN]

45. If it bleeds, it leads...

Several decades ago, there was an apartment-building fire in Boston. A bunch of little kids were killed when the fire escape they were using collapsed. The (wingnut) Boston Herald ran a front-page photo of the children plummeting to their deaths, then spent the next few days patting themselves on the back for the "courage" to run the "controversial" photograph -- then re-hashed the whole thing several months later, in the same self-congratulatory tone, when the picture won a major award for photojournalism.

It was still tasteless and callous, IMHO. As to the Herald, I couldn't help wondering if the fact that the kids were African-American might have had something to do with the decision. I suspect more than a few of its readers were not too broken-up about the deaths of "a bunch of n****r babies."

:puke:

[lib_n_proud7650]

47. just disgusting

[Dappleganger]

48. If that was my son I'd be livid.

Cold and heartless to show on tv.

[undeterred]

50. They showed it on ABC world news also.

It wasn't close up and didn't really show the actual impact so I didn't find it offensive. But if I were his family I wouldn't want it on the evening news. Frightening sport.

[XemaSab]

51. I think it's tasteless

"If it bleeds...." indeed.

All I can say is that at least it was fast. :(

[Behind the Aegis]

53. Clip from Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry"

We got the bubbleheaded bleach-blonde, comes on at 5
She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?
You know the boys in the newsroom got a running bet
Get the widow on the set, we need dirty laundry

[Paper Roses]

55. Showing the last few minutes of that young mans life was inexcusable.

As I watched, I saw the misstep, his horrible toss into the air plus, and, this made me sick, we were privy to the sound effects.
I have been sick over this.

There was no need for us to see and hear this. We were told of this horrible tragedy. The video should not have been thrust upon us.

[Prism]

56. The stills bother me a lot more

After initially only reading the story, I glanced at the video because the written description didn't really lend itself to a full picture of just what happened. Now, when reading future stories about the circumstances, track conditions, etc., I'll have a fuller understanding of what they're talking about.

Some of the stills, however, are utterly inappropriate. I went to Huffington Post to watch the video, and below it they have the "immediately after" stills that show an obviously dead young man's vacant stare, his ear practically ripped off, etc.

There's a fine line between showing something so people understand what happened and ghoulish voyeurism. The stills seem firmly in the latter category.

[blueworld]

57. I'm not of two minds; I would prefer they don't show it

I've actually had to be pretty fast with the remote to avoid seeing it thus far on at least two stations. I add my condolences for the family.

[SoCalDem]

59. NBC has proprietary coverage of the olympics, so the ONLY way

any other "news" group can even cover it, is if something totally newsy happens...like a meteor hitting the ice-stadium, or in this case, a death of a contestant....but anything else that's olympics-related, they have to beg for 2nd-hand footage..

I really don't like the way one network can "own" the coverage of this type of event..especially when they do such a shitty job of coverage.

[superduperfarleft]

60. ABC's website has it.

The clips shows the impact once, then one more time in slo-mo, then AGAIN. Pretty tacky, but whatever. Nothing really surprises me anymore when it comes to "journalism."