McVeigh execution coverage simply outrageous

On Monday, the federal government executed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

You… On Monday, the federal government executed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

You probably already knew that. In fact, you would have to be living in some cabin in the middle of nowhere with no contact to the outside world to not know this.

You probably also know every minute detail about the execution, such as how large McVeigh’s holding cell was, the route he took walking to his death, the color of the tile on the walls of the death chamber and even what he ate as his last meal.

Whenever a major story like this occurs, media outlets race to see who can provide the most “extensive” coverage. This coverage typically includes flashy graphics and live reports from large numbers of reporters. One station even offered a computer simulation of McVeigh’s final walk.

Whatever your views on capital punishment, an execution is a major event. The state has no power greater than the ability to end a life. But because of that fact, an execution is a somber occasion, not something meant to entertain.

An execution is not the same as the NBA Finals, yet the two events have received a similar style of coverage. One could even say the sensationalism resembled Fox’s infamous “When Animals Attack” series.

The behavior of the pro-death penalty crowds outside the prison, who counted down the seconds to the execution and then cheered, only illustrated this all the more.

Some members of the media could state that they covered the execution the way they did because that’s what sells, and since the media is a competitive business in the United States, it must make a profit.

Does the American public really want this though? Unfortunately, it seems that we do, because many of us willingly turned on our televisions.

Following the execution, family members of McVeigh’s victims were paraded in front of the cameras, almost as if to show that the execution was about “closure,” about “healing” the society’s wounds following the bombing.

Possibly, there is a way to cover an execution in such a manner that it will “heal a society’s wounds.” By reporting on the execution the way it did, the television media only fed into McVeigh’s desire for attention. The crass sensationalism offered no chance for healing at all. It wasn’t about the victims, it wasn’t about healing society; it was only about profit.

So what did the coverage of McVeigh’s execution offer? Absolutely nothing but sensationalist coverage of a somber event.

But it created some good profits for the media. And apparently that’s all that counts.