On Wednesday morning, television viewers in Virginia and journalists nationwide were stunned by the horrific on-air killings of a 24-year old reporter and her cameraman who were gunned down on-air by a digruntled ex-coworker who allegedly wanted to start a race war.
As horrific as the killings were, by Wednesday afternoon, politicians—from Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe to Hillary Clinton—were quick to exploit the tragedies on social media for their own political agendas, specifically, greater gun control measures.
“We have got to do something about gun violence in America.” https://t.co/L3xZHMUTVZ— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 26, 2015
Politicians weren’t the only ones to use the tragedy to further their own aims, however.
Despite the fact that the shooter, a former news reporter, had an apparent history of poor performance reviews, a “violent temper,” and, in his own words, was “a human powder keg,” on its website, the Communications Workers of America, whose NABET affilliate represents* journalists and others in the media, stated:
“We are heartsick over the killings of WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. Our thoughts and prayers are with their grieving colleagues, friends and families,” said CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens. “We also pray for the recovery of Vicki Garner, the woman the journalists were interviewing, who was badly wounded.”
The threats journalists face on the job every day do not normally include their coworkers. But tragically, work-related shootings and other violence are not uncommon in the United States. Our members in the media sector and all of the Communications Workers of America are gravely concerned about this issue and committed to helping build safe workplaces.
While the CWA did not specify how Wednesday’s horrific events could have been prevented, the timing of its press release and seemingly political use of the Virginia tragedy to call for building ‘safe workplaces’ demonstrates the same lack of empathy as some politicians.
Related:
- After Shooting, Alleged Gunman Details Grievances in ‘Suicide Notes’
- Virginia TV shooter Bryce William’s reprimand for wearing Barack Obama badge
- Bryce Williams who shot Alison Parker and Adam Ward live on TV blames Charleston shootings
* — As Virginia is a Right-to-Wok state, it is unknown whether Wednesday’s victims–nor the shooter–were union members or not.
