All Major Networks Serve to Elevate a Mass Murderer—Why?

In watching an extraordinary amount of television coverage of the Newtown, Connecticut atrocity since its occurrence, anchorperson after anchorperson, commentator after commentator seem to be grieving and despondent along with the rest of us. They speak sensitively and movingly about the victims, providing us a glimpse of their lives with heartbreaking poignancy. After this valuable programming, all major networks go off the rails.

I have witnessed NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News Channel (FNC), and Cable News Network (CNN) broadcasts in which photographs of the killer are displayed within an extensive focus on his life, making his name as prominent as the beloved and precious human beings that he gunned down in an instant. Why in heaven's name would purportedly responsible news organizations serve to elevate and promote a person that has committed unspeakable evil? Are the entities not aware that their irresponsible actions can serve to inspire other unhinged people who can access lethal weapons, those who feel that although they have failed to make their mark in life, they can go out with a flourish if they destroy the lives of others preceding their exit?

It is ironic that as the reporters and journalists discuss with panels of experts the causes of such deviance, they fail to see that one of the reasons is their own aggrandizement of the evildoers.

Broadcast licenses are granted to networks and stations so that they may serve the community. Is providing inspiration for the mentally deficient to act upon violent inclinations serving anyone? 

The right to free speech and to a free media in our nation are broad, but they can be abused. Those who focus on a killer are not serving to inform. They are seeking ratings at the expense of basic decency. They are weeping with us, but shedding crocodile tears.