Media face criticism in D.C. sniper coverage

WASHINGTON — The pattern is chilling, as if the sniper has been watching experts on television predict his next move — and then acting on it.

Robert Ressler, a former FBI profiler, suggests on CNN's "Larry King Live" that the sniper might travel as far south as Richmond, Va., perhaps "down to Ashland." The next day, a man is shot leaving the Ponderosa restaurant in Ashland.

Gregg McCrary, a former FBI psychological profiler, tells CBS News the sniper has "a God complex, killing these people at random and from a long distance."

Three days later, a 13-year-old boy is wounded after being dropped off at school. The sniper reportedly leaves behind a Tarot card inscribed with the message: "Mister Policeman, I am God."

And Bo Dietl, a former New York detective who served as the model for the film "One Tough Cop," tells CNN audiences the sniper is "a coward." More shootings follow.

"We're egging him on," said Dorothy Otnow Lewis, a clinical professor at Yale University and author of "Guilty by Reason of Insanity: A Psychiatrist Explores the Minds of Killers." Fuming at guests who appeared on King's show Friday, she admonished them not to challenge the sniper. "You don't challenge," she told the other panelists. "You don't say, 'You're a coward,' you don't say, 'You're not a good sniper,' because that's an invitation to go out and prove that he's really the world's best sniper."

As the carnage has mounted, media coverage of the sniper attacks terrorizing the Washington area has come under the usual criticism. Some argue that the media are fueling public fear. Others, particularly in law enforcement, are furious at media disclosures of information such as the location of roadblocks. Some have complained about the logos networks are using. CNN's "Sniper on the Loose" is a frequently cited example.

But what distinguishes the sniper case from earlier serial killings in which the killer appeared to be following coverage of his spree is that the coverage is continuous. With police reluctant to give out too much information, producers have been filling the airwaves with chatter from a variety of talking heads.

"It's agonizing," said Frank Sesno, CNN's former Washington bureau chief and now professor of public policy and communications at George Mason University in Virginia. "Typically what serial killers want is notoriety. This guy is getting it live."

Media executives defend their choices, saying they are booking respected experts who are qualified to analyze and assess each day's events. "It's laying a bit too much on the media to say we're provoking him," said Teya Ryan, executive vice president of CNN.

Further, some defending the media note that talking heads are not the only ones talking. President Bush also called the killer's actions cowardly, and his words were broadcast widely.

"This is the world we live in now," Sesno said. "When you get into live news, you're talking about the tyranny of the incremental development. Wall-to-wall coverage can be riveting. It can also be unfiltered news that takes you over a cliff."

Newspapers are not immune from the criticism. The Washington Post headlined a story about how the sniper had not shot anyone on a weekend; five days later he did.

Whatever the criticisms, the reign of terror is boosting ratings for cable news networks. At the end of last week, Fox News Channel's average daily audience was up 27 percent from the previous month, CNN was up 29 percent and MSNBC up 24 percent.