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Two Journalists Shot to Death on Live TV Remembered. Aired 10-11a ET.
Aired August 27, 2015 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:20] JONATHAN MANN: Hello, and welcome to the International Desk, I'm Jonathan Mann at the CNN Center.
It is a day of tears and tributes for the two American journalists shot to death on live television Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: A memorial has grown outside the Roanoke Virginia T.V. station where Adam Ward and Alison Parker worked. Yesterday started out like any other.
They set out from their station to interview a guest for WDBJ's morning show.
It was cut short in the most horrifying way as the gunman, a disgruntled ex-reporter who was fired from the station ambushed and killed them.
Here's how WDBJ started its newscast this morning.
KIMBERLY MCBROOM, WDBJ ANCHOR: Good morning, it is just after 5:00 o'clock on Thursday, August 27,2015. We come to you this morning with very heavy
hearts. Two of our own were shot and killed during a live shot yesterday morning.
Alison Parker and Adam Ward were part of our family here at the station and many of you have told us that they were part of your morning each day as
well. We cannot .
MANN: We're learning more about Vester Flanagan's meticulous plans for the murders which he recorded on his cellphone even as he was pulling the
trigger then posted it on social media. Before he committed suicide Flanagan sent ABC News a rambling diatribe expressing anger over what he
complained of a lifetime of discrimination and miss-treatment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Alison Parker's father has been talking publicly about the kind of person his daughter was. Andy Parker says the grief over his daughter's
loss is unbearable. Here's what he had to say earlier on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF KILLED JOURNALIST: She was kind, and she was sweet, and she touched everybody and that you know I'm standing here now and you
know I got to see her in action and you know doing stories like this with a camera set up. She loved us and we loved her and I talked to her every
single day. Every single day I talked to her and right now she would be texting me right now saying dad, what did you think of my story?
You know, what did you think of it? And I'm never going to hear that again. She was so loved by all and you know my heart is broken. But you
know I want to try and do something that will change that and make her life - or do something meaningful for her life so that this doesn't happen to
someone else again.
But she was a special young lady and I think people across the country and certainly around here realize that. We can at least take solace in the
fact that she lived - you know she was only 24, she just turned 24 last week, and she had - she packed in a great life in 24 years. She did a lot
of things, and she was most of all she was happy with what she was doing. She loved what she was doing, she loved her family, she loved Chris very
much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Alison Parker and Adam Ward were young and by all accounts motivated, extremely well liked by their co-workers. They're the first
journalists killed while working in the U.S. since 2007.
Randi Kaye has a look now at two lives cut short.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON PARKER: When I was younger I wanted to either become a doctor or become a pharmacists. But as a journalist I get to cover those types of
fields.
RANDI KAYE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is how viewers got to know Alison Parker, a video produced by the station showing her smiling,
full of life.
PARKER: I absolutely love Mexican food, very, very spicy food, enchiladas, tacos, you name it I will eat it, and the spicier the better.
KAYE: The 24 year old Virginia native signed on with television station WDBJ last year as a morning reporter. Alison covered everything from zoo
animals to weather. Even appearing on CNN last November.
Alison graduated from Virginia's James Madison University in 2012 and was the news editor for the school paper. She loved whitewater rafting and
kayaking.
JEFF MARKS, WDBJ GENERAL MANAGER: She took any assignment and ran with it. Her personality came through, she was smart and gave her all to the job.
KAYE: Alison was dating the station's evening anchor, Chris Hurst, though the couple had kept their relationship quiet. On Twitter Hurst said he was
numb writing, they were very much in love. They just moved in together after dating nine months, the best nine months of our lives he wrote. We
wanted to get married. She was the most radiant woman I ever met and for some reason she loved me back.
[10:05:10] WDBJ journalist Adam Ward was also killed at the scene.
ADAM WARD, VICTIM: In Salem, Adam Ward, News 7 sports.
KAYE: After a stint on air he became a photographer and was Alison's morning partner for the last year. They first met as the station as
interns. They were a good team and it showed.
PARKER: Adam, come out from in front of the camera. How do you feel right now?
WARD: Uh well when I first put the heels on I rolled an ankle but we're good since then. You know it's respect, it's very form fitting we'll say.
KAYE: Adam, an ex-athlete was a hard worker who was always smiling and respectful. He joined the station in 2011 after graduating from Virginia
Tech. He enrolled the same year a gunman killed 32 people in a deadly rampage at the school. Those who knew him said he had a heart of gold.
Adam was 27 and engaged to the station's morning producer, Melissa Ott, who was at work in the control room watching the broadcast when the shooting
happened live on air. It was her last day at the station. She'd taken a new job and Adam may not have been far behind. He told her recently I'm
going to get out of news, I think I'm going to do something else.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: The killer, Vester Flanagan had a history of work related problems during his years as a T.V. News Reporter, Drew Griffin looks now at
Flanagan's troubled past and what may have motivated him to carry out the televised murders.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The day he was fired from WDBJ T.V. February 1st, 2013 the shooter told his bosses "I'm not leaving,
you're going to have to call the f***ing police." Colleagues say he threw a tantrum, the sales staff took shelter in a locked office and police did
indeed escort him out of the newsroom.
Internal memos obtained by CNN show his brief one year employment was racked with complaints of aggressive behavior, poor journalistic
performance and warnings from management that he was making his co-workers feel threatened and uncomfortable. At one point the station referred him
to mandatory counseling.
After his firing former colleagues tell CNN they were concerned for days he would come back. Jeff Marks is the station's General Manager.
MARKS: It was a I guess a little bothersome that he was still in town and would be seen by our employees. But again, what do you do?
GRIFFIN: The shooter sued WDBJ T.V. claiming discrimination, the suit dismissed last summer. The station was the last stop in what appears to be
a spotty career in local television. Records show he worked at T.V. stations in Greenville, North Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Midland, Texas
and San Francisco not far from his home town.
In 2000 he was fired from a station in Tallahassee, Florida for what the News Director described as odd behavior. After his firing a lawsuit
alleging racial discrimination, the suit dismissed.
This morning allegations of racism would emerge again. This time in a disturbing string of tweets on the shooter's own twitter page. Hours after
the shooting he writes "Alison made racist comments," meaning Alison Parker, the reporter he killed but never worked with. It's unclear if they
ever even met.
A minute later he writes "EEOC complaint," meaning a claim of racism with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Another tweet, "Adam went to
the H.R. on me after working with me one time." He meant the stations Human Resources department. Adam was Adam Ward, the photographer killed.
The station's manager says no-one saw this coming.
MARKS: He did make some accusations against people some time ago. You could never imagine that somebody's going to come back and act on those
issues that were so old.
GRIFFIN: About a week ago the shooter started posting pictures, an apparent life history, highlights from his childhood, through high school
and beyond. And in the rambling 23 page fax to ABC News he says his plan to kill was set in motion after the killings in Charleston, South Carolina
earlier this summer.
"Why did I do it? I put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15. The Church shooting in Charleston happened on 6/17/15." Later he writes admiration
for the South Korean national mass killer responsible for the shootings at Virginia Tech, and the Columbine High School killers.
His final tweet "I filmed the shooting, see Facebook."
Drew Griffin, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[MANN: You're at the International Desk, still to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[10:01:02] MANN: Europe's migrant crisis claims more lives while refugees are still on the move across the continent.
And U.S. markets, they're powering upward after strong gains in world indices. All that and more here at the International Desk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Welcome back. More hard and heartbreaking evidence that Europe's migrant crisis really is a crisis and that its claiming more lives almost
every day as desperate people take extreme risks hoping to eventually find sanctuary.
Police in Austria have found dozens of bodies in the back of a truck abandoned on a highway. Ian Lee is following the story in London. He
joins us now with the latest. What can you tell us?
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well what we know is that they are looking for the driver of that truck and what this really does
highlight is just the desperate measures that these migrants are willing to go through to make it to Western Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: It also shows that the - just the inhumane treatment that these smugglers are treating these people when they're bringing them across. You
have that over roughly 50 people who are in the back of that truck.
EU and Balkan leaders are meeting, they're going to be discussing how to combat this but this latest tragedy just highlighting the real serious
problem and issue right now with migrants.
MANN: Two questions for you; the obvious one do we know who these people are or how they got there? And then the presumption we all have is that
once these migrants coming from Africa or the Middle East make it into the EU, the dangerous part of the journey is over. Obviously today we're
learning that's a reminder that's not the case.
LEE: That's right when you think getting to Europe one would think that it would just be smooth sailing to getting to your final destination but they
are dealing with very shady smugglers that their journey isn't over. Even though a lot of them coming from Syria, coming from Iraq, going through
Turkey dealing with different smugglers along the route. They have very treacherous sea crossings at times whether they're coming from North Africa
or Greece, and once they do get to Europe they don't have someone there picking them up to take them to the west.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: To their final destination a lot of the times Germany, and Sweden, the U.K., France, so they are still dealing with these smugglers and these
smugglers don't have a sterling reputation and you do get incidents like this where you have these horrible crimes happening where you do have dead
migrants along the route.
MANN: Now you alluded to in passing the Balkan Summit that's happening in Vienna. Everyone is saying that Europe needs to have a plan to address
this crisis. Austria's Foreign Minister says he has a plan; what is he suggesting?
[10:15:09] LEE: Well you're right. Everyone's talking about a comprehensive plan there just hasn't been one nailed down yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: We are hearing from the Austrian Foreign Minister talking about having further police cooperation. Also bringing up something that has
been floating around for quite some time about having these EU refugee centers in other countries outside of the EU where people who are seeking
asylum can go, can get processed there and if their case merits it then they can be brought to Europe and that makes it safer.
You - they're trying to mitigate, trying to stop these illegal - these asylum seekers trying to get to Europe through these very dangerous ways
highlighting that truck that was just found with the dead migrants in the back. This is something that they're trying to stop.
They're also, this summit in Vienna regarding dealing with the Balkans with their leaders, talking to them, also how to make it easier - or how to make
it a more secure route for migrants getting through those countries as well as providing humanitarian support such as water, medical care, hygiene,
shelter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: And one think we've seen a lot of too is a lot of these migrants out in the elements. So there's a lot of things they're bringing up in this
conference in Vienna that will - that's being discussed.
MANN: And a sobering reminder, 50 day people in the back of a truck. Ian Lee, thanks very much.
Another story we've been watching closely for days and now well for little less than an hour after the opening U.S. stocks following a surge in
markets across Asia and Europe, signs of global stabilization and positive U.S. economic news paving the way.
Alison Kosik is live at the New York Stock Exchange. And Alison, you know I don't know if you've got whiplash watching all this happen but apparently
the numbers look good today.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kinda did, kinda did but recovering quite nicely as the market as well. So yes after going through
days of stomach turning triple digit moves that were mostly to the downside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: We do see a second day of a new trend, and that trend is in the green. So day 2 of big gains. We see the Dow up 164 points. The Dow was
up as much as 248 points earlier but this nonetheless is a nice rally.
We're even seeing oil prices move higher up almost 5% higher. Oil prices at a little over $40 a barrel. So helping happen this rally move forward a
better than expected read on GDP. We found out that the second quarter grew at a 3.7% pace. That's after the first quarter grew a 0.6% pace. So
you're seeing an improvement there.
Also helping to reassure investors some words from a voting member of the Fed basically saying it's not a certainty that the Fed will go ahead and
raise rates in September. So those calming words along with some hard and fast data keeping stocks in the green today. Jonathan?
MANN: Alison Kosik in New York, thanks very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: And we return now to our top story, a story that's shocked a great many people in the United States. A grizzly crime carried out on camera
and taped by the killer himself.
Two journalists shot and killed live on the air in the U.S. state of Virginia. Chris Cuomo is joining us now from Roanoke, Virginia.
And Chris, you have been talking to so many people so intimately involved in the story but probably no-one - no-one closer and I think no-one more
moving in his grief than Andy Parker, the father of the slain journalist who seemed to - he seemed to express so much grief but also so much
determination to make something out of this tragedy. What can you tell us.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems as though he is driven to put a purpose to his pain so he's coming out in front of cameras
even though he's so raw, maybe even numb at this point, because he believes it didn't have to happen. That it happens so often in this country, in
America, where we see senseless gun violence that afterwards seems as though it could have been avoided if there had been some combination of
better awareness and enforcement and law, and determination by these people in this country to make a difference in their society. And this is how he
said it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARKER: How many Newtowns are we going to have? How many Sandy Hooks? How many people - how many Alison's are going to you know is this going to
happen to before we stop it? And it is - you know and I'm challenging you the media because again this is one of your own.
And you know I know how the business works, you know this is going to be - it's a great story for a couple of days and then it goes to the back burner
and nothing happens. But I can promise you and I can promise the American people I'm not going to rest until I see something get done here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: It's a very difficult debate. It plays on lots of different types of politics in this country. But the pain is real, the loss is real, and
that's why we tell these stories to remind people what is surrendered in these situations of senseless violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[10:20:15] MANN: And Nick, in the last few hours you've spoken to many people but among them two men on diametrically opposed sides of the debate
that America faces when it comes to guns. You spoke to Andy Parker who's in mourning for his daughter. And you also spoke to Donald Trump, who has
startled the country with his power, ferocious power as a Presidential candidate. And he says it would seem to the opposite of Andy Parker, that
there's nothing to be done about guns, nothing should be done about guns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: It seems to speak to the debate.
CUOMO: I lost him, I have the control room.
MANN: Chris Cuomo, are you hearing me now?
CUOMO: I'm sorry I was hearing the control room, I'm sorry.
MANN: Chris Cuomo are you with us `cause we're still on the air and if you could talk about this; the Donald Trump comments seem to go to completely
the opposite perspective even at a time like this when so many people are still raw from these murders.
CUOMO: Well, I don't think it's the opposite perspective, it is certainly from where Alison's father is right now. But it is an accurate reflection
of the state of play.
In America right now the politics fall along these lines. The Second Amendment is inviolate and has a right to private - the private right to
bear arms, it goes to the individual. And that is the state of the law as determined by the Supreme Court. So there are those who believe you cannot
change that. It has been fixed by the court.
And then there are others who do not accept that. Mr. Trump is correct in asserting that the law is where it is. His feelings about it being
difficult to change that, difficult to change mental health, that will be the basis of scrutiny for him as a candidate. That he is saying these are
complex problems we should do better but he didn't really say how and he wasn't really sure that it could happen.
That will be the measure of the man in this case for voters; whether or not that is acceptable to them and that will come down to their politics on
these issues.
MANN: Chris Cuomo, live in Roanoke, thanks very much for this.
You're at the International Desk. Still to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: We're going to be talking about Donald Trump. He doesn't just have a lead he has what's described as the widest margin of any Republican so
far in the election cycle.
Donald Trump's new numbers and his comments about Roanoke coming up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MANN: Welcome back. Trump Triumphant U.S. Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, extending his lead yet again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: A new survey shows 28% of likely voters would pick Trump, up from 20% just about a month ago.
The poll shows Neurosurgeon, Ben Carson, in second place with just 12%. Carson's numbers are also up but there is a big gap to close. The other
candidates, well behind.
This is a Quinnipiac University National Poll, well respected and the numbers are making conversations start.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: CNN politics reporter, M. J. Lee joins us now from Greensville, South Carolina, where Trump is to hold a rally in the hours to come. And I
guess they're talking about the numbers there. What did they tell you? What did they tell Trump supporters?
[10:25:05] M. J. LEE, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Hey Jonathan, and you're right this is yet another poll that shows that Trump has a big lead
over his contenders in the Republican field.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: This new Quinnipiac poll shows that Donald Trump is at 28%. That's a big rise from the poll in July when he was just at 20% and there really
isn't any other candidate who is close behind. The next person in line is Ben Carson who is at 12%. And then we have three or four candidates like
Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, who are at around six or seven percent.
So all of this goes to show that whatever it is that Trump has been doing he obviously has found himself in a number of controversies in recent
weeks. It's working and people are very much attracted to the appeal that he has and just the - what he is doing to harness on the anger that people
feel toward the establishment and the Washington political class.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Well as he turns into a more, and more serious candidate, and he's looking like a very serious candidate now, journalists are asking him the
kinds of questions serious candidates have to face. And our Chris Cuomo asked him about the Roanoke killings and about gun control, here's what he
had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think I would because this is really a sick person. This isn't a gun problem, this is a
mental problem. So you're not going to get rid of all guns, so I know one thing if you try to do it the bad guys would have them, to use an
expression. And the good folks would abide by the law they'd be hopeless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: And so there Donald Trump really is facing some of the difficulty of solving this problem. Intriguingly we're accustomed to Donald Trump either
blaming people for not solving a problem or proposing a really big easy unconventional solution. He isn't doing either here.
LEE: Sure, first of all the issue of gun violence is a serious problem unfortunately in the United States. I think there's a bipartisan agreement
when it comes to that question. The trickier issue of course is when it comes to politicians having the debate of what to do to combat gun
violence. Obviously for someone like Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, they do not want people's access to guns to be taken away,
that's why you would hear someone like Trump saying that it's more about fighting mental illnesses and helping people get the necessary support to
deal with those issues, rather than dealing with gun access.
You talk to folks on the other side of the aisle however, many Democrats will say the first step to dealing with this problem, and an unfortunate
event like we saw in Virginia just yesterday here is to deal with the fact that people have easy access to guns in the opinion of democratic law
makers.
It is worth pointing out that in public opinion and in recent polls there is bipartisan support when it comes to expanding background checks. So
even though this is a divisive issue that is one area where policy makers could perhaps see eye to eye.
MANN: Something to hope for potentially coming out of this. M.J. Lee following the Trump campaign to Greenville, South Carolina, for us today.
Thanks very much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Coming up at the iDesk, tributes pour in for the two journalists killed during the live broadcast on Wednesday. We're following this story.
Plus, the killer's use of social media to get the publicity he seems so desperately to want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:31:00] MANN: Welcome back to the International Desk, I'm Jonathan Mann. Here are the headlines this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Flowers piling up in tribute for two journalists killed Wednesday outside of Roanoke, Virginia.
Reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward were gunned down during a live broadcast. Vester lee Flanagan filmed himself killing the two
journalists and posted the video on social media even while he was trying to escape a police manhunt.
The gunman later turned his weapon on himself.
Hungary says it's joining the investigation into the deaths of dozens of migrants in Austria. Their bodies were found in a truck that apparently
had Hungarian license plates. Officials say it appears the migrants were caught up in a human trafficking operation, the latest tragedy involving
refugees trying to reach Europe.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attended funerals today for eight soldiers killed in an attack by ISIS fighters north of Ramadi. Two senior
army commanders were among the dead. 15 were wounded in what officials say was a coordinated attack involving rockets and suicide car bombs.
China is accusing 11 officials of negligence for the massive explosions that killed 145 people in the port of Tianjin two weeks ago. Prosecutors
say the officials failed in their oversight of a company that used a warehouse there to store and transport dangerous chemicals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: We return to our top story, the two journalists gunned down in the U.S. State of Virginia.
The General Manager of WDBJ says Alison Parker and Adam Ward were the kindest and nicest people at his television station.
CNN's Chris Cuomo once again with more on the victims and what may have motivated their killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUOMO: As the sun rises in Roanoke two faces that said good morning to Virginians are gone.
MCBROOM: Alison Parker and Adam Ward were part of our family here at the station and many of you have told us that they were part of your mornings
each day as well.
CUOMO: 24 year old reporter, Alison Parker, and 27 year old cameraman, Adam Ward executed by a former employee who was fired from their news
station two years ago.
Vester Flanagan known by his T.V. name Bryce Williams, killed the journalists while they were live on air recording video of himself carrying
out the executions. While on the run posting those videos on line, going on a twitter rant, saying "Alison made racist comments, and Adam went to HR
on me after working with me one time." By the afternoon the murderer had shot and killed himself.
But before confirmation of his death WDBJ's General Manager sharing his anguish on air.
MARKS: I'm going to step out of my role as a former journalist and say I'm not really sure whether I want him to live or die. If he dies then he took
the coward's way out.
CUOMO: The shooter would fax rambling suicide notes 23 pages long to ABC News. He complained of years of bullying at former work places including
WDBJ drove him to violence. He also wrote "what sent me over the top was the Charleston church shooting and my hollow point bullets have the
victims' initials on them."
A picture of the murderer's anger emerging a video captured just last month showing him in a bout of road rage.
FLANAGAN: And you're still bleep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, are you finished?
FLANAGAN: I've been finished, you followed me here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's going through your mind when you get into the parking lot and you see him get out?
BRANDON FOSTER, MAN ALLEDGED ROAD RAGE ENCOUNTER WITH SHOOTER: Well just a lot of things, I parked in a way that I wouldn't get blocked in and I got
out of my vehicle quickly so I wouldn't be in a cage with somebody that's aggressively following me. And I was pretty much making a b-line to the
store, to population really, to sort of have some other people around because he was obviously, you know, not in the right mind.
CUOMO: In an interview with Fox News Alison's father says this is a problem. He's now dedicating a life to solving.
PARKER: We've got to do something about crazy people getting guns. This is something that is Alison's legacy that I want to make happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANN: Victim, Alison Parker, and killer Vester Flanagan were both active on social media. Parker used Facebook to share images of what was a very
happy fulfilling life. While Flanagan used it ultimately to post a video of the moment he killed her.
[10:35:08] CNN's Senior Media Correspondent, Brian Stelter joins us now from New York. Thanks for being with us, I'm sorry about the
circumstances. For people in the media this resonates a lot of different ways, troubling ways. Not only were the victims journalists but the killer
seemed to be obsessed with using the media to make sure his crime was well publicized.
How mindful looking back was he? And how unusual is that?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: I think this is a turning point in the use of video to commit a heinous crime. We haven't seen
anything quite like it in the United States before where a perpetrator straps a camera on, a GoPro type camera and then records their act of
violence as if they're playing a video game.
When you think about a video game the perspective as a first person shooter is that you're the player and there's a gun in front of you. Well that's
the perspective of this person's video that he then posted to twitter and Facebook.
And you're exactly right that what he was doing was manipulating the tools of the media. He was using the same tools and technologies that we all in
the media use every day to report the news. And they give people an up close and personal look at the good and the bad in the world. He used
those tools in a way against his victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: By having that camera strapped to him. By committing this crime on live T.V. and then by using his Twitter account and Facebook account to
spread the video as widely as possible.
Now thankfully Twitter and Facebook took the videos down pretty quickly but this was very clearly coordinated by the gunman in order to get maximum
attention.
MANN: And he succeeded in that didn't he?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: To some degree he has although I have to say that television networks like CNN and many others at this point are using the gunman's name
less than you know maybe five or ten years ago we would have.
There has been a trend in media toward downplaying the identifying details of a perpetrator like this and focusing instead on the victims. Obviously
we've got to talk about the killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: We've got to talk about what we know about him and why he might have done this. But to deny him a little bit of that fame by showing his
picture a little less, and as we're doing now showing the victims more, that's a step in the right direction it seems like.
MANN: Even so, does this kind of killing now enter our culture? And does it - do we fear it inspires others?
STELTER: There's a lot of fear of that. I've seen a lot of commentary to that effect in recent hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: People thinking about copycats, and also people trying to one up this killer. And I'll give you a couple of examples that have already come
up from others. Where there are live video apps now where you can broadcast whatever you're doing to your followers online. You know there
are suggestions that maybe people will try to use that in the future while committing crimes.
The reality is these technologies, these social networks, these inventions are incredible forces for good in our society. They are wonderful
inventions in many ways, wonderful innovations, and very helpful. You can think about all the benefits of the world that have come from Facebook and
Twitter and all these new technologies. But unfortunately they can also be used in despicable ways.
We see that with ISIS in the Middle East producing videos of beheadings and then sharing them on YouTube. And now we've seen it in rural Virginia
killing two journalists.
MANN: I think all of us in this line of work are very unsettled by what it means. CNN's Senior Media Correspondent, Brian Stelter, thanks so much.
STELTER: Thank you.
MANN: And we'll be right back after this break.
(BEGIN COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(END COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:10] MANN: Welcome back, another disturbing story that shocked the world fully one decade ago.
U.S. President Barack Obama is heading to New Orleans today checking in on the city as it gets ready to mark 10 years since its devastation by
Hurricane Katrina.
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MANN: A storm that killed more than 1,800 people and caused more than a hundred billion dollars in damage.
There have been some amazing stories of recovery but Mr. Obama notes that the city remains plagued by racial and economic problems. It's poverty
rate hovering near 30% and analysts say African American households earn less than half of their white counterparts.
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MANN: It was 10 years ago Saturday that Katrina struck. As the storm made landfall it was quickly apparent that the city was not at all prepared for
what was about to happen.
Our Martin Savidge was there.
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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I was in the superdome when Katrina struck. A couple of days later I was here at the Convention
Center. This place was far worse.
There were thousands and thousands of people in days in without any help. They were desperate.
They begged us to take them with us. They assumed that we were leaving every day. We weren't, we never left the city. And so when we told that
to them they then said well you've got to have some way of talking to people. We said well we have satellite phones. And that's when people
began tearing up pieces of paper or grabbing any (inaudible) and writing down telephone numbers.
It was certain that someone knew that they would come and be rescued. They gave me the numbers and begged that I call, then every evening when I got
done with work, and whenever a few free moments, I'd start making my way down the list.
The first thing I realized is that nobody answers their phone anymore. It's always voicemail after voicemail and the message I would always leave
was the same; you don't know me, I'm a reporter, I'm in New Orleans, I saw your uncle today in the Convention Center, or I saw your aunt, I saw your
sister, they're OK.
One of the people actually wrote specifically what I was supposed to say on the phone call and it goes "please call my daughter Amethyst and tell her
here daddy "ain't dead yet."
I hung onto that note all these years just because it was a reminder of how desperate people were.
MANN: Martin Savidge, 10 years later. Our website is also marking the 10 years since Hurricane Katrina. See how the region has rebuilt and moved
forward in the last decade. See the pain that so many people are still feeling. CNN.com/hurricankatrina.
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MANN: That does it for us here at the International Desk, I'm Jonathan Mann. Stay with us, World Sport with Kate Riley, is next.
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[10:45:54] KATE RILEY, HOST: Hello there and welcome along to CNN World Sport, I'm Kate Riley.
He's done it again. Usain Bolt has completed the sprint double at the world championships in Beijing.
The Jamaican won the 200 meters in a time of 19.55 seconds to win gold and add to his 100 meters title at the competition.
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RILEY: Now Bolt ran the fastest time of the year, he's now won this title for a record fourth time too. American Gatlin got silver and finished in a
time of 19.74 seconds, and the two athletes were neck and neck with 80 meters to go and then Bolt showed the crowd his famed acceleration to bring
it home.
Now Bolt wasn't able to complete his lap of honor but it will be one which will be remembered that's for sure as a cameraman on a Segway loses balance
and takes out the most decorated man in his sport. Let's hope he's not injured for that 4x4 relay.
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RILEY: So, it's been a busy week with Champions league qualifiers. The draw for the UEFA Champions League groups stage will be underway shortly.
Five more teams have booked their place through the playoff rounds on Wednesday.
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RILEY: Now Manchester United beat Club Bruge in convincing style in their second leg. United took a 3-1 lead going into this one and it was down to
Wayne Rooney to open the scoring. The striker got his first and then second of the night, and of course the season as well, with a simple tap
in. Rooney capped off a fantastic performance with a hatrick just before the hour mark. United win 4-0 away on the night and progress to the group
stages of the competition.
LOUIS VAN GAAL, MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER: Wayne has a very strong mentality, and with his level he always shall come back. And that he
proved this evening. But still it's a long way for him also. Also for Manchester United, it's not so easy. But of course I'm very happy for him.
RILEY: Well elsewhere and Bayer Leverkusen looking to overcome a 1-0 first leg deficit against Lazio. They got the breakthrough when Calhanoglu put
the German side ahead. Bayer Leverkusen would strike again just after the half hour mark and their Mehmedi made a good run and put the ball in the
back of the net. 3-0 it ended on the night. Leverkusen go through 3-1 on aggregate.
ROGER SCHMIDT, BAYER LEVERKUSEN MANAGER: (As translated) We're trying to emphasize that we believe that we deserve to play in the Champions League.
Due to our performances last year in the Champions League and in the Bundesliga, we wanted to confirm that in these two games.
It was a great challenge to play against one of the best teams that were in the play-offs. Lazio is a very good team. Added to this was the difficult
result in the first leg. But we managed to concentrate on the essentials. We played our game and remained calm.
RILEY: Well the posts will be drawn later today. This is how they'll look in the previous seasons, it's changed. Pot 1 will be made up of holders,
Barcelona, and the winners of the top seven European leagues, Spain, England, Germany, Italy. As well as Portugal, France and Russia. And the
Dutch champions PSV go into the top pot two as the Netherlands are the eighth ranked country in UEFA.
So Pot 2 also looking very strong. The likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, and United all feature here. Along with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid,
Porto and Valencia.
So Manchester United have returned to the group stages following a one season absence from the Champions League.
So the 32 teams in the draw will be put into 8 groups of four. World Sport returns after this short break.
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[10:52:25] RILEY: Welcome back, let's return to our top story now and Usain Bolt's victory in the 200m World Championships.
Now Matt Majendie is the athletics correspondent for the Independent and joins me via Skype from Beijing right now. And Matt run us through the
race. Do you think Bolt was every in doubt?
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MATT MAJENDIE: [Inaudible] . well he's technically better, technically stronger and he talked about feeling tired but actually from the moment he
got the quickest start. Habitually he's a slow start and we've seen it in the 100m. Once he got the quicker start on Justin Gatlin, then really the
race was in his hands. And I know they came round that final bend seemingly neck and neck, but then Bolt had the strength, the endurance, the
stamina to pull clear and again for another amazing win and we saw as he - as he - as he beat his chest in celebration what it meant to him.
RILEY: Yes we saw that trade mark acceleration didn't we from Bolt. Now can he actually go on and do the triple and get gold in the 4x100 as well?
MAJENDIE: You never say never with Bolt. I mean we've learnt to never write him off because he always comes and surprises us. But of the three
for me this is the one I think he's least likely to win because it's not just about him, it's about the other people he's running with.
He's missing Yohan Blake, and Kemar Bailey-Cole who are key, key parts of the 4x100 team. And the Americans are a formidable line-up. You've got
Justin Gatlin, they had other finalists in the 100 meters. They're very, very strong and they beat the Jamaicans and Bahamas at the IAAF World
Relays back in - back in May.
So again it will be neck and neck but for me I'd marginally give the United States the edge in that backing.
RILEY: OK, Matt. You mentioned Gatlin there. Bolt versus Gatlin has been billed as a battle of the soul of the sport. You're in Beijing at the
moment, is that what it really feels like over there?
MAJENDIE: It's an interesting one it's probably too simplistic a way to describe it. You've sort of got Bolt painted as the savior of the sport.
You've got Gatlin painted as this sort of (inaudible) of the sport if you like. And in some ways it kind of sums up everything that's going on with
the sport of athletics with the problems the issues he's having with his opening in that Gatlin has failed two drug tests in the past.
But the sort of sense is that Gatlin has been quite well received so there's been a few boos here and there. Less so in the 200 tonight. But
we (inaudible) that Bolt's the savior, he's not the man that's going to fix the problems the sport has, the doping issues we've had, the scandals et
cetera during time.
So, you know it gives a nice sort of script (inaudible) but good vs. evil, perhaps that's a bit too strong.
RILEY: (Inaudible). We saw Bolt unable to complete his lap of honor after being taken out in rather surreal terms by a cameraman on a Segway. Will
he be alright? He won't be injured will he?
[10:55:10] MAJENDIE: No, he's absolutely fine, he's got a few cuts and bruises he said but he's been very amusing talking about it afterwards. He
suggested jokingly with Gatlin by his side that Justin Gatlin had been responsible and had had a word with the cameraman to take him out but
obviously that's not the case. But thankfully he's fine and actually his greater concern was for the cameraman himself who we've checked is OK, no
damage done, all set to go for the 4x100.
RILEY: All right, thank you so much for joining us live from Beijing.
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RILEY: So with less than a week to go until transfer deadline date there are some potentially big developments to bring you.
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RILEY: There are reports in the British media that Manchester City have agreed an $84 million fee for Belgian international, Kevin De Bruyne.
However the Wolfsburg Sporting Director is quoted as saying the footballer will not be joining City at this point in time.
Meanwhile Tottenham are in talks to sign South Korea international Son Heung-Min in a deal believed to be worth $32 million.
And Liverpool have confirmed striker Mario Balotelli has completed his move back to his former club, AC Milan. The Italy international will be on loan
for the rest of the season and will also take a pay cut.
And we may well see a more mature Mario from now on. Speaking about his move he said I'm no longer a kid, I've wasted too many chances.
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RILEY: And that's all for this edition of CNN World Sport, I'm Kate Riley at CNN Center. Connect the World with Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi
is next.
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