What Lesson Does Video Shocker Teach?

It seems that the TV media have lost their sense of priority--and propriety. On Jan. 19, the eve of the presidential inauguration, both KNBC-TV Channel 4 and KCBS-TV Channel 2 led their 11 p.m. news with the murder story.

Of course, I am guilty of having watched it all, in spite of the dramatic, half-hearted warnings to “sensitive viewers.” As a student physician working at LAC-USC medical center, I have become more jaded than sensitive. I have watched countless patients live and die anonymously under the most painful and tragic circumstances right here in Los Angeles.

I applaud the sensitive viewers who chose not to watch.

WILLIAM CONRAD

Santa Monica