A Personal Zapruder Film
People are still debating the decision by CBS to show a portion of the Danny Pearl videotape on its evening news this week. As a journalist and a consumer of news, I see some good reasons for showing the clip, and I also see how it can be understood as a ratings-grabber, and/or a subtle way of keeping viewers angry and ready for plenty more war. As an editor, despite my feelings of revulsion and my sympathy for Mariane Pearl, I might well have run it.
I asked Jennifer Gardner what she thought of that tape. Jennifer's husband, Doug, died in the north tower of the World Trade Center on September 11. The culture is saturated with images of the disaster that caused his death. That familiar footage, she said, is for her what the Pearl video must be for his wife and family: "A personal Zapruder film."
9:56:40 AM 
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