Why are we interviewing the families of Virginia Tech kids but ignoring soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq?

Very simple. The media avoids doing too many interviews with the families of dead soldiers for fear of being labelled "liberal" and "anti-war" by Bush sympathizers. Unlike Fox reporters, real journalists believe in being impartial and interviewing too many families would be perceived by many as being politically motivated and anti- war. Also, the administration's secrecy over the identity of dead soldiers as well as preventing photos of their coffins doesn't help much either.

Although both were avoidable, the Virginia Tech shooting was brand new compared to the war in Iraq which has been going on for years. Also, people in America know that when soldiers go to a foreign country there is a very good chance that they might die, but nobody really expects something like what happened at Virginia Tech. The Columbine incident is remembered today because it was a school shooting. Schools are meant to be safe learning havens. This did not happen at VT. Also VT had the highest death toll of all school shootings. The war in Iraq as I said is old news and most of the time the stories repeat themselves (there was a bombing, a soldier was killed, etc.) so people dont react as highly. I am sure that in the beginning of the war in Iraq a killed soldier would have gotten as much support as a VT student.

Although it is tragic that so many people die in Iraq each day, it's war, unsympathetic as that may seem. In war, people die, lots of people die. They sign up for the war knowing that death is a possibility. The students at Virginia Tech were only going to school. They did not sign up for their classes expecting a shooting to occur. Also, Iraq is on the other side of the world. If the Iraq War was happening on U.S. soil, there would be much more coverage on it, but because it is so far away, it is not as close to the majority of people in the United States. The Virginia Tech incident was at a school, in America, where the kids all thought that they were safe. It was completely unexpected and it stunned everyone. The fact that the shooter was also a kid is stunning. People are amazed that such a young person could have so many issues. The soldiers in Iraq are young too, but they have been trained and are more or less prepared for what they are going to see and do in Iraq. To sum up, Iraq is not as close to home, not as surprising, and the soldiers know what they signed up for. Virginia Tech is on U.S. soil, was astonishing, and the students had no idea what was coming. It is a much more frightening loss and has created much more terror than the war in Iraq, which is thousands of miles away, could have created. Also, the majority of the casualties are mentioned in the news in some form or another and certain publications have printed tributes to the soldiers that have been lost in Iraq. For example, for a few weeks, Doonesbury printed nothing but a list of the names of those that have died in Iraq instead of the comic. The people in Iraq are not forgotten, but they have been pushed to the second page for the time being because the VT incident is so close and so shocking. Both are tragic events and both deserve to be commemorated. They are just commemorated in different ways because they are completely different circumstances.

Not to belittle our military or the people at VT, but it is simply a matter of the war in Iraq being "old" news, and the masacre at VT being "new" news. Another factor is that VT is close to home, not half way around the world.

It's all a matter of sensationalistic journalism, and the general public has made it that way. Most people want to know what happened, and what the motivation was (the more details, the better). They want to know every low down, speculative, nitty gritty detail. They want to hear from the "experts;" and there is certainly no shortage of those on ANY network. The objective of news shows is not to report the news. The objective is to draw the largest viewing audience.

My heart and prayers go out to the people at VT. I have a very dear friend whose daughter is a student there. My heart and prayers have always been with our military, no matter where they are. May God watch over us all and guide us in all we do.

That's a great question. Unfortunatley, I can't give you a good answer. You have a very good point, but the war on Iraq really is "old news" like the guy above me said. What do you expect, but you know, after a while, the Virginia Tech massacre will also be "old news" I know it's stupid to say that things like that can ever become old news, especially for the families and friends of the one's who were killed, but the media plays an important role in all this, they won't show that they were wrong in going to war, but they'll show a massacre, which in the eyes of the media is "big news" since everyone wants to find out how and why it happened. Give it another 2 / 3 weeks, they'll have moved on to something new, and "exciting" like another murder or whatever. I don't mean to be rude, but that's just how things are. Sorry I can't give you a better answer though.

How many of you answering this questions ACTUALLY know what is happening in Iraq rather than what the MEDIA says in happening in Iraq? Don't always trust the media - they want to sensationalize things and don't always report the WHOLE story.

As to why the VT kids are being interviewed - do you watch CNN or MSN much? They DO interview soldiers there but most people cannot relate as well because they have never been in a war, never been in Iraq. Most people can relate to stting in a dorm room or classroom . . .

Why are we interviewing the families of VT kids but ignoring soldiers killed and wounded in Iraq ?

Soldiers killed and wounded aren't ignored. They are mentioned. It depends on where they are from and what kind of casuality it was. If it was a helicopter crash or helicopter shot down or military personel being kidnapped it will all definately be mentioned. Soldiers being killed at war will definately be mentioned in their home towns local news station for sure..

But being in the news business you and everyone else has to understand something..the news motto is..

IF IT BLEEDS IT LEADS.. that is whats labled on every news station as TOP STORY no matter what follows after and then the rest that is featured in each news cast from every news station around the world and around the us local or national is categorized by its importance..

News

Community

Feature

Sports

i sorta agree, but not really because VT is more of a bigger story and its a college, and a lot of families are hurt by the loss of there kids. this tragedy has made a big impact in u.s history then the war in Iraq, but they both made an impact. the parents need to know what is going on in their kids college and they want details why the shooter did such a thing by killing the students. i hope this gave u an idea of why they r talking more about the VT shooting instead of the war in Iraq.

Soldiers killed in Iraq...tho tragic...chose to join the military and knew the risk of possible deployment to a war zone. Virginia Tech students enrolled in classes with no clue they would die while attending the class on that day. By the way...the VT tragedy could have been avoided too had Cho been institutionalized when his mental problems became evident years ago...if armed guards were in every building...if administration would have listened to the instructors and students who warned them of his bizarre behavior

It's human nature. As Americans, we recognize the Virginia Tech victims as not just members of the greater human race, but members of our own in-group. That's why news stories that are "close to home" get more press than those that occur in other countries. Moreover, it happened on a college campus, which we tend to perceive as safe and serene. A bloody death in a war-torn country like Iraq is something that doesn't surprise us so much, but when it happens at a school, it's front page news. EDIT: I think the asker's figure of "more than 30 killed each day" refers not only to U.S. troops, but to Iraqi civilians, police officers and soldiers as well. Together, they add up to more than 30.

Because the war in Iraq is a big mess.... And just like Hallie Barry said in the movie "perfect stranger" You just think that if you never show it on the news or talk about it then it never really happened.

Other countries show more coverage on the war in Iraq then we do.

It's extremely sad but that's the way the American media is.

My heart and prayers go out to all the soldiers and all their family and friends back home. ^j^