Just the way that paragraph is worded bothers me. I doubt that CNN sees a problem with it, because a new serial killer would be a potential long term story. Og knows how our media loves a long term sensationalistic story that they can run with.
I know that CNN has taken some criticism here for their journalism but to me, this takes the cake. Records usually are things of interest and gives people something to shoot for. If you play football you want Emmitt Smiths rushing record and if you play hockey you want Gretzkys scoring record. I guess if you are a homicidal maniac who has issues with women, your goal is to beat the 48 murders established by Gary Ridgeway.
So, way to go CNN, you saw a potential niche in the neglegted nut-job segment of the population and started the process of reaching out to them by acknowledging this record.
I don’t get this rant… it’s a fact that Ridgeway’s record exceeds that of any other serial killer. It is, actually, a news-worthy fact. CNN, being a news organization, pointed it out.
Did you really expect them not to? Why not?
Any serial killer looking to be competitive out there likely already knows of Ridgeway’s record. Frankly, CNN reporting this fact was not big news to anyone who knows the case at all. Dumb rant.
I spent much of this morning listening to a live feed from inside the courtroom, while Ridgeway pled out for his crimes. It was creepy… most especially the way it was all dealt with in such a businesslike, procedural, and calm fashion. Here’s a man signing his life away, after violently signing off on the lives of 48 (at least) women. And yet, it was all done very calmly and (dare I say it) with propriety. It seemed very surreal to me.
Not that I really expected anything else… but the cold hard reality of it chilled me to the bone.
Well, yes. It does refer to his police record, but take out the part of ‘on his record’, and the story still has the ‘this should be in the GBoWR’ feel to it.
Unfortunately, the death penalty was taken off the table for a very good reason… only Ridgeway knew the location of many of the bodies of his victims. By agreeing to the guilty plea arrangement, the prosecution loses the death penalty but gains closure for many of the victims’ families.
Not much to argue about here, as far as I’m concerned. He deserved death, to be sure, but the families of the victims deserve that closure more.
Of course, part of the plea agreement also says that if any other victims are found (other than the 48 he’s admitting to, that is) which can be linked to Ridgeway, he’s open for the death penalty on those. Given that he has a hard time keeping track of them himself, this seems quite possible.
Avalonian, me thinks you’ve missed my point. Ridgeway is scum, don’t get me wrong but the casual approach of CNN to this story is scary. Covering it like they would cover a football game is the problem, mainly because the guy is so horrific.
Note that the record is for the number of murder convictions, not the number of murders committed. I doubt that many serial killers will be vying for that particular record.
The record for number of murders committed in the U.S. is most likely held by Osama bin Laden and his henchmen. (Admittedly in a different category, mass murder rather than serial killing.) If the big O ever comes to trial and is convicted, he’ll blow a piker like Ridgeway out of the water.
No, I get your point. I just don’t think it’s much of a point to make.
CNN reported a fact. It’s what they do. You’re not disputing the fact itself, you’re disputing the way they reported it. You’re certainly welcome to your opinion, while I (and others) are also welcome to tell you that it doesn’t hold much water.
In a case like this, there are far worse things to focus on than CNN’s choice of words. :rolleyes:
I’m still not seeing any “casual approach of CNN to this story,” particularly not in terms of glorifying Ridgway’s crimes as something worthy of aspiration. Or like a football game.
I think you’re still willfully misinterpreting the meaning of “record” in the article as “world record” instead of “police record.”
So, if the various media should be obliged to avoid reporting the facts of current cases so as to prevent setting “goals” for up-and-coming nutjobs, what else must be done?
Should we all play “Don’t mention the Whitechapel murders”?
Maybe the whole sorry mess got started the first time someone related the tale of Cain and a listener thought, “Hey, I can top that, easy!”