Supposedly, NBC "struggled" with the decision about whether to air a video sent to them by Cho Seung-Hui.

On the one hand, they had an exclusive "scoop" that would bring them huge ratings if they chose to show it and on the other hand, they knew that by showing the video, they risked encouraging other psychopaths to murder people so that they could get a "manifesto" on the news.

So, what won out? Ratings of course, but they have to pretend like it was some big moral struggle for them because they know that they may end up having blood on their hands as a result of this decision.

Still, the truth is that decisions of the sort that NBC had to make are fast becoming irrelevant. Sueng-Hui could have just as easily uploaded his videos to YouTube and its many imitators and even if they'd taken the videos down, it would have been copied, posted, and promoted relentlessly over the web and gotten out to just as many people over the course of a few weeks.

That being said, this time around, NBC was the gatekeeper. They could have made the honorable decision and chosen not to play the video or they could have gone for ratings. They chose ratings over doing the right thing. It may be a shame that they didn't go the other way, but it's hardly a surprise.