Virginia Tech on my mind

For this very reason (see blog from CNN.com below), I had trouble deciding which direction to go in the field of journalism. I had to cover the funeral of one of our softball players one time, and I did everything I could not to use a flash or to only to a good two photos. During the middle of the service a local reporter came in, layed down on the floor in front of the victim's family, and shot their faces. Pictures can tell a story, but maybe only if there is a zoom lens involved...that was stepping over the line, or rather lying on top of it, for me.
Don't forget to pray for Virginia Tech today-not only for what has happened, but what is bound to continue to happen as those that are left mourn losses, fight off the media and seek answers. Pray for strenghth in the followers of Christ who live in that area and go to that school; strength to stand on what they already know is solid and help others.

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Tech students mute sounds of gunfire on TV

A group of teary-eyed Virginia Tech students gathered in a room near where a news conference was being held on campus. They stared at the television with their arms interlaced. Each time they were approached for an interview about the shootings, they gave a frustrated "No." They told other students in the area to stop talking to reporters.

Another student beside me said they were waiting to hear about a friend, and no one wanted to talk to anybody. It was still Monday, just hours after the nation's deadliest shooting.

CNN started showing I-Report footage of the shooting. You could hear gunshots and a student say, "Whoa." The students I was sitting with didn't want to hear it. They didn't want to see it. They scrambled for the remote saying, "Can anyone mute this? Where's the volume?"

One girl's phone rang. She started crying and left.

The student beside me made a phone call.

"It doesn't look good," he said.


--Kristi Keck, CNN.com Writer

Posted By CNN: 10:50 AM ET