The advantage of television

There are times when television has a distinct advantage in covering a news story and the sentencing hearing for Neosho church shooter Eiken Elam Saimon was one of them.

I just finished watching KOAM's coverage of the event. I had already read Jeff Lehr's Joplin Globe article on the hearing, and as usual, it was well-written and professionally done.

Part of the article dealt with the emotionally-charged statements given by murder victim Kernal Rehobson's wife and son. Though Lehr, as always, transcribed those quotes accurately, there was no way his story could pack the intensity that the televised images held.

To see the fury of Mrs. Rehobson or the quiet, dignified comments of the pastor's son onscreen, provided far more impact in this case than the written word.

One of the criticisms of television news is that it does not provide us with the depth of information that newspapers do, but in this case, our local stations provided us with almost as much information as their print colleagues. Part of that, as I wrote earlier today, is because our local newspapers failed to take advantage of the space, both on the printed page and on the bottomless pit of the internet, that can be used to provide background and context. Instead of tying this together with the Aug. 12, 2007, events that brought us to this point, it was almost as if the newspapers were writing about an entirely separate, one-shot (no pun intended) news story.

This round goes to television, and in this trying time for newspapers, they cannot afford to be losing any rounds.