What About the Explosion in Texas?

We have all been taken in by the coverage of the Boston Marathon Bombing, the aftermath, and the search for the suspects that ended in the death of one and the apprehension of the other. It was another example of social media and our need for "instant gratification and information" coming into play before accuracy, and admittedly, as a member of the media, it made me a little embarrassed. Instead of "getting it right," it seemed a lot of the media outlets we have come to rely on focused on "getting it first." And it wasn't correct.

Another observation that came to me over the weekend while keeping up on the latest, like many of you I'm sure, was "What about the tragedy in West, Texas?"

That particular tragedy caused much more loss of life, injuries, property damage and devastation, yet we hardly heard any news reports about it over the weekend. Tragically enough, most of the fatalities in that incident were first responders, running toward the fire and explosion as others were running away from it. These people, too, are heroes, and speaking as a former volunteer first responder, should be held up as heroes in coverage by mainstream media as well.

Was it because the Boston bombing was a terrorist act? Was it because Boston is a major city? Who knows, but in my opinion (not taking anything away from the tragedy in Boston), we should all share our prayers and concern for the families of those affected, and the town of West, Texas, for their horrible loss as well.