NBC: "No Regrets" About Airing Killer's Video

NBC News president Steve Capus had no regrets about airing video sent to the network by Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech student who went on a shooting rampage at the school, killing 32 people and himself.
The decision did generate complaints from some viewers, and even caused family members of the victims to cancel a scheduled appearance on NBC's Today this morning.
But Capus stands by his decision, which he explained in an e-mail response to every viewer missive he received. "We believe it provides some answers to the critical question 'Why did this man carry out these awful murders,' " Capus wrote. "The same decision to run this video was reached by virtually every news organization in the world."
Capus noted that 7 ½ hours passed between the time Cho's package arrived at NBC headquarters in New York on April 18 and the airing of the first video last night on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. NBC waited until law enforcement officials determined there was nothing in the material that would compromise the investigation before going on the air with it. There was also a lengthy rambling written manifesto from Cho, who mailed the package in between his two attacks.
While Today co-anchor Matt Lauer told viewers this morning there were "some big differences within this news division as to whether we should be airing this stuff at all," Capus explained to TV Guide that the only serious question was how much it would broadcast. "People wanted to know what was in the mind of this killer, and that's what we tried to present," Capus said. - Reporting by Stephen Battaglio