"The planes carrying the multiple coffins of American soldiers are hidden from view without protest from broadcasters."
Americans have a right and a duty to see the images from Iraq. The occupation of Iraq is, after all, being done in their name, with their money by a government they elected. The massacre at Virginia Tech was not.
There are a few things about popular culture, especially American popular culture, that Mr. Doyle does not seem to know about.
First, there seems to be an obsession amoung some with serial killers and other famous criminals. Movies and TV specials about the Manson Family, or Son of Sam, the Boston Strangler, Jack the Ripper etc., are always sure to draw a crowd. In some fairly recent American films such as Natural Born Killers and Silence of the Lambs (and it's related sequels) blood thirsty serial killers actually manage to become the protagonist.
Second, "You're not anyone in America unless you're on TV." - Nicole Kidman in "To Die For" Anyone ever see Jerry Springer? How about Maury (sp?) Povich? There is virtually nothing Americans wont do to get their 15 minutes. They will debase and humiliate themselves, even lie about the sordid details of their personal lives only to be on television for a few minutes and American television - where nothing is too personal, salacious or morbid will let them.
Third, there is an unhealthy facination with guns and violence in the U.S. I don't think that I really have to demonstrate this to anyone, I'll simply point out that the number of annual homicides in the U.S. is 2-3 times the number of Americans who have been killed in Iraq to date. Killing in the U.S. is a sure fire way to gain notoriety.
In the case of Virginia tech, the murderer made a video and sent it to NBC. Obviously part of his motivation was getting on television, gaining notoriety and grabbing his 15 minutes of fame. American television played right along, reinforcing to closet sociopaths everywhere that it would, in fact, work.
I know that this is Canada, and not the US. I know that the culture here is different. but Canadians, especially younger Canadians seem so fascinated with American culture that the difference between the two is thinning. As everyone in media knows, American film, American television and an increasing percentage of American music are dominating the Canadian charts. Whatever the impact of this might be it is certainly true that gun crime is on the rise in Canadian cities.
It is also true, sadly, that Canadian media (including the CBC all too often) have been complicit in this. Even 'Canadian content' rarely focuses on those things that make Canadian culture different, unique and better than U.S. culture anymore. They take the government subsidies and make copies of US shows, entertainment 'news' shows about the U.S. or programs where the characters are generically North American, not distinctly Canadian.
Finally, and this came up on Denis McGrath's blog the day of the shootings, we live in a difficult age, and "Change requires will". The problems that face society today - poverty, disease, pollution, global warming and violence are not going to change on their own. We have to decide to make change and we have to be willing to make some sacrifices to make change happen. In many of these cases the price we pay will be economic (and it will sting.)
In this case all that's happened is John Doyle has been deprived of the opportunity to hear the ramblings of a homicidal maniac. It's a sacrafice that I think we can all live with. Personally, I applaud Tony Burman's decision to not air the tape. I applaud his decision not to reward a murderer. I applaud his decision to stand up for what makes Canada different.
As for my 'right to know'. The CBC might, on another occasion, have grizzly autopsy photos from a traffic accident - that doesn't mean I want to see them (whether I have the right to or not.) If John Doyle needs a fix of sensationalism and gratuitous violence - I'd suggest he try this.
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