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Virginia Tech and the Media's Response
![]() Seung-hui Cho, the shooter said to be responsible for the massacre at Virginia Tech University, allegedly sent a letter, videos and pictures to NBC. Networks have aired the video and pictures which have also appeared on the Web and in print. Gayle talks to psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner about the release of the shooter's video to the public. Then, reporter Lisa Ling shares with Gayle what it was like to cover the crisis for The Oprah Show.
Dr. Welner called the release of the tape "a social catastrophe" and says it could lead to future copycat acts of violence. "It's disturbing to you, it's disturbing to me but the people we really need to worry about are the people that it wouldn't necessarily be disturbing to," he says. Dr. Welner says he is calling for the media to stop airing the tape. "What responsible society tells its people cosmetically we care about you and then pours gasoline into the wounds?" he says. Lisa traveled to Blacksburg, Virginia, to cover the shooting in a special report for The Oprah Show. Covering the event was deeply challenging, she says. "The press gets there almost right after it happens and people haven't even been able to comprehend what happened," she says. "I think people are in just a complete state of shock and so asking people to talk to us for television is one of the most difficult, difficult things I do in this job." Lisa also had the opportunity to speak with the survivors and family members who had lost loved ones. "What I was really impressed by was that the people we spoke to—they just wanted to honor the memory of their deceased," Lisa says
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