Students have mixed responses to media interviews
Saira Haider, CT News Editor
Thursday, April 19 2007
In the midst of all the grieving and sorrow, Virginia Tech students roamed campus today to find hundreds of visitors with cameras and recorders.
Since 32 people were shot to death on Monday, media outlets all over the world parked their cars and vans and infiltrated campus, stopping students to get their reaction to events.
However, student reactions to the media have been mixed.
"Some people were really nice and understanding, and others were really evasive," said Colby Flinchum, junior psychology major.
Flinchum also thought that foreign media was sometimes not as understanding as national media.
"Some of the foreign reporters might have not understood the situation because it didn't hit so close to home for them," Flinchum said.
Dane Gedney, Radford University student and Blacksburg resident, thought the experience of having so many media outlets on campus was surreal.
"It's unreal," said Gedney. "You look around and you think of what campus looks like normally, and now it's mayhem."
Most reporters showed the appropriate concern, Gedney said.
"We were walking on the Drillfield, and some news anchors were asking how we were," said Gedney. "(The reporter) was nice for the most part. He was sympathetic, talked softly, and I didn't feel violated."
For the most part, reactions to the media's reporting methods were mixed depending on who was doing the interviewing.
Steve Day, sophomore engineering major, thought that a lot of reporters were being too aggressive.
"I felt like you could tell a lot of them were just there to get a story and it was annoying to get stopped by seemingly every minor newspaper or station to be asked questions with obvious answers," said Day.
Sensationalized reporting was also a concern with students.
"Really it seems to be hit or miss with different stations and even different programs within the same stations," said Day. "Some seem to be able to keep the facts straight and update you with relevant information, and others seem to just be putting extra drama into something that is already incomprehensible."
Some reporters were blunt with students.
"We had just left the Drillfield and went to the Inn to see what was going on, and this guy comes over and just was blunt," said Gedney. "He was quick and to the point. I thought he could have had more sympathy."
Most of the media were at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Trucks with satellites, vans and cars filled the parking lot over capacity.
There were not many reporters on the Drillfield, said Gedney.