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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Residents Want Journalists To Leave Newtown

Newtown, Connecticut continued to endure a crush of reporters on Tuesday, as its residents struggled with the aftermath of Friday's shooting. Many have expressed that they want the media to leave — and some journalists, it seems, feel the same way.

Reporters at Newtown Starbucks
The tragic event has dominated news coverage non-stop, and brought scores of reporters to Newtown. Katherine Fung at HuffPo writes some residents have told reporters that the media attention is simply too much right now. Poynter compiled some of their reactions in a piece on Tuesday.

"Please tell them to just ease up," Teri Brunelli, a Newtown store owner, told reporter Adrienne LaFrance. "It happened and we're going through it. Just let it be for now."

The BBC's Jonny Dymond reported being told, "Go home, please, go home, all of you," by a man who said that he knew four or five of the families who lost children.

Residents complained about reporters showing up at funeral homes, and there are "no media" signs posted around town.

Like some journalists, Dymond agreed with residents. "I have covered stories for 15 years in the field, some of the biggest, and have never seen anything like this, nor felt so uncomfortable about being part of it," he wrote, lamenting the "exceptionally heavy" media presence in Newtown. "After a while, you have to wonder what more there is to say," Dymond added.

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