I''ve
always felt Nightline was a reputable news source until sadly-last
night. Your coverage of the Alabama shooting and the depiction of Dr.
Debra Moriarty's actions during the rampage was in the opinion of this
viewer, careless and showed a complete lack of research at best.
Eyewitness accounts of the shooting as well as Ms. Moriarty's own
interview with the Chronicle, have stated that Dr. Moriarty's intent in
crawling under the table during the shootings was NOT an attempt to
escape the fate of her colleagues as your visual and oral
representation inferred, but rather to disarm Bishop by grabbing her
legs from below. Only when Amy Bishop pulled away from Moriarty's
grasp, did the latter proceed to crawl toward the door, presumably to
find help. I am disappointed to see that your reporter clearly did not
take the time to personally interview any of these people but chose
instead to pull bits and pieces of information resulting in a skewed
version of the truth which depicted Dr. Moriarty as literally a coward
intent on saving her own life with little regard for her friends. Her
actions have instead been praised by both the president of the
University and an eyewitness to the shooting who was in the room at the
time as the reason likely more people were not killed. Your account did
damage to both this courageous woman's reputation and to the reputation
of Nightline itself. The next time Nightline wants to "jump into the
fray" it would be wise to take the time to get ALL the facts and make a
sincere attempt to convey them accurately. Nightline owes Dr. Moriarty
and its viewers an apology for last night's story.
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