Media Releasing 911 Tapes....What gives them the right??

Not to be a Debbie Downer but I need some feedback. Has anyone here heard of 911 tapes being given to the media for general distribution?
My problem, I was on a double fatal about 2 weeks ago, now it's on FFN's home page with WUSA9 posting the 911 call in full. It was hard enough dealing with the death of 2 young people but to turn around and have a news station try to sensationalize the story by putting the young ladies lasts moments out there for everyone and anyone to hear is killing me. To listen and know we were trying to get to them and couldn't.
What makes this any different than a stupid FF taking pics of a dead PT and putting them on the internet for her family to see?
I hope to hell these kids parents don't ever hear this...it will destroy them...it's hard enough for the FF/EMS personel that were there.
What gives the media the right to do this???

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Firewriter on December 31, 2010 at 1:16pm
To me, the trauma caused by these tapes being played for the public (families, responders, etc.), justifies why they should be kept sealed for any purpose but investigatory and judicial proceedings. This is cruel to so many; just to sensationalize news and sell stories.

My ex-husband is an audio/video restoration engineer. One of the things he did back then was to enhance tapes (used for criminal investigations by police, TBI, FBI, Secret Service, etc.). Back about 20 years ago in Nashville, two young boys and their mother were stabbed to death by their father. Authorities needed my ex to enhance the 9-1-1- tape so they could hear everything and verify they could hear the dad. The emotional trauma this caused my ex; to hear that little boy begging and crying for help; and then dying ... he had to listen to it over and over through headphones in order to enhance it so authorities could hear what the dad was saying. Now, to release these things just for the hell of it? Sorry, there is not justification for this; federal law needs to change to stop this practice. Let's honor the privacy of the victims and their families.
Permalink Reply by Firefighter Nation WebChief on December 31, 2010 at 1:19pm
And just to give our take on this ... whether here (on FFN) or past/other sites we've managed in public safety before, once the local media outlets posts the audio, we typically will share those same links with the public safety community -- at least then the people listening can know the dynamics of what is actually taking place...
Permalink Reply by Phoenix on January 3, 2011 at 10:04am
After making a few phone calls, I found out that the FAMILIES DID sign a release to let them play the 911 tape. I don't know if the media caught them at a time when their guard was down because of their loss or if they are looking for the almighty $$. I can only hope it was because of the media preying on them at their worst hour. It still doesn't make it any easier for the FF/EMS personel, we feel the loss as much as the families.
Permalink Reply by Phoenix on January 3, 2011 at 10:10am
Listening to fire ground operations is one thing.....listening to 2 kids dying is a horse of a different color. Even if the family signed a release for these tapes to be played (which they did), I think I'm safe saying most of your members here on FFN could do without listening to someones last moments. We all deal with more than our fair share of the damage humans inflict on other humans without an armchair play-by-play like this.
If anything I hope this will make you think twice before linking to something like this in the future.

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