In the business of news, reporting is often reduced to facts and figures, political reactions, and what happens next. In the noise that follows a tragedy like the Orlando shooting, it’s simple to forget that the people who lost their lives are more than just statistics.
In a moving tribute, international news broadcaster CNN on Monday night reminded its audience that all 49 victims of the mass shooting “are more than a list of names. They are people who loved and were loved. They are people with families and friends and dreams.”
Standing just metres from the gay night club which came under attack, anchor Anderson Cooper opened his show to inform viewers that the focus of the broadcast was on the people whose lives “were cut short”. In honour of the victims, the channel took a conscious editorial decision to not mention the name of Omar Mateen, the lone gunman. Cooper announced, “There is one name you won’t hear in today’s broadcast. There is one picture of a person you won’t see. We will not say the gunman’s name or show his photograph. It has been shown far too much already.”
An emotional Cooper went on to read out the names of 48 of the 49 victims who had been identified, giving the audience a glimpse of the lives they had led, their hopes and dreams. What CNN and Cooper attempted to do was make the pain and devastation of losing a loved one real for an audience that may have otherwise been far removed from the tragedy. Using photographs and testimonials from friends and family, Cooper painted a picture of the lives that had been lost, even as he was moved to tears during the broadcast.
Watch CNN’s emotional tribute here: