Yesterday someone detonated a bomb in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. The bomber(s) had (at least) two devices, the second being discovered undetonated. The second device, at least, was similar to those used at the Boston Marathon in 2013 by the Tsarnaev brothers, which was based on an Al Qaida design.
Twenty people were injured when the bomb in Manhattan was detonated on Saturday at 8:30 PM. Clearly it was intended to kill, maim, injure, and frighten people. It was, in my humble estimation, a terrorist act.
I first noticed it on the internet, so I picked up the morning Virginian-Pilot from the driveway and at first didn’t see the story. Since I didn’t know the time of the attack, at first I assumed that it had happened after the newspaper was “put to bed” and printed. I was wrong.
On page 13 the report of the bombing was awarded 3 inches of text in one column.
What was the front page headline complete with colored font? “Saying goodbye to your pet is hard. That’s why she helps.” Being that our pets are treated like family, I find that a worthy story, but not so important as to move a terrorist attack on American soil all the way back to page 13? Page 13 is barely one step higher than spiking (eliminating) the story.
All I can hope is that the media has decided to strip the terrorists of the publicity they seek rather than indifference. Given the media’s general performance, however, I find that hard to do, but I’ll wait and watch before I decide.
sfnowak 