The Winning Side

They’ve done it again. The Airborne Toxic Event has left Las Vegas Changing the minds of some, and validating that of others and the final verdict is: this band puts on one heck of a show.

It was absurdly humid on the pool deck at the Hard Rock Hotel that night, but even the humidity - It Doesn't Mean A Thing when it comes to a good concert. The minute the stage was set and lead singer Mikel Jollett announced the obvious “it’s really f*****g humid”, All At Once the crowd began to scream and cheer with excitement for the performance. From then on the concert was nonstop enthusiasm as the band played songs from their albums and every now and then, threw in Something New, which by the way, was positively received.

Not only did TATE provide the entire audience with trademark acrobatics of climbing the stage’s lighting setup, an improv jump into the pool and even an awkward striptease, they gave me All I Ever Wanted from them, a terrific set list and a rousing stage performance.

The concert let out, Sometime Around Midnight and attendees were signaled to depart the humid outdoor venue. Retreating through the pool deck doors and into the refreshing air-conditioned casino, there was a momentary disappointment when a merch table was nowhere to be found. Blasphemy in the concert world, but it was soon forgotten. The rest of the evening was spent recalling a great set list, humorous band comments and events and sharing stories of that Strange Girl who wanted to buy the cup you were drinking from and annoying tourist encounters during the show. Yep, definitely a band for the books.

Journalism Needs Help

After hearing the news of the horrible shooting in Colorado that occurred during the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, a slew of thoughts passed through my mind. My heart was saddened as I thought of all the innocent lives taken and the families and friends who had a loved one stolen from them. I once again was reminded of the clichéd yet accurate truth that you never know when your time will be cut short. I road a secret psychology high, trying to figure out what would cause someone to act out in this manner. As coverage began to spread across the Internet and the news stations continued with their in-depth reports, my thought process shifted to a larger, less event-specific problem – the media. After listening to reporters and watching what angles producers sanctioned, I was frustrated at the revealed evidences. The truth is, journalism needs help.

The second bullet point in the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics for reporting stands clearly defined in bold lettering: Minimize Harm. Somewhere along the line these standards of showing compassion for those affected, being sensitive, and displaying good taste, have become a thin veil of mere suggestions.  

While not all the media outlets or journalists were tactless, there were far too many that were. Coverage of the shootings depicted journalists asking theater attendees how they felt when the gunshots were being fired. Local journalists were sent to stand at random movie theaters where they asked moviegoers if they were scared or apprehensive to go into the theater to see The Dark Knight Rises. Reporters showed clip after clip of on-the-scene cell phone footage, introducing them by saying, they were showing them repeatedly so the were sure that their viewers could exactly understand the fear that was occurring on the scene.

Am I the only journalist getting upset about the lack of ethics and moral standards during tragedy reporting!? The media has undergone a shift that places the desire for viewership and ratings in link hits over the ethical standard of reporting, and we, the consumers are eating it up. So who holds the power to change the journalistic field and demand a higher and more ethical reporting standard, the big corporate media companies, the journalists who do the reporting, or the consumers who click and watch? Or are we so ignorant to the effects our coverage may have on victims that we simply crave more and tell the weak stomached to look away?