Could it happen here?

The big story this week is the shooting at Virginia Tech.

Every way in which this story could be covered, is being covered…
+ How did he do it?
+ Why did he do it?
+ Internet blogs reaction.
+ Gun Control
+ Campus Security
+ On and on it goes.

Among all the stories, the most useless line is one that I saw several local news agencies use early in the coverage.

Could it happen here?

Why even bother asking the question?

Could it happen here?

Yes!

The answer is always yes!

This is not news because the answer is already known.

Deadly attack, could it happen here? Yes!
Terrorist attack, could it happen here? Yes!
Rabid monkeys attack nun, could it happen here? Yes!

This is the same question I’ve seen pop up over and over at times of major tragedy.

Really, it takes no imagination to ask a question like this.

This is something the news consumer already knows without seeing, reading or hearing through the media.

A better question would be; "what is being done to prevent it from happening here?"... what ever the “it” is.

Answer this question and you are telling the news consumer something he or she may not know.
I think every news person has a pet peeve.

This is one of mine.

It usually leaves me asking, “Eye catching headline, could it happen here?”