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ONLINE 17-MAR-00 National media reports on Rice tragedy by LESLIE LIU THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF rob gaddi/thresher University spokesman Terry Shepard updated the media outside Entrance 1 Tuesday morning on Monday night's van accident. Media coverage of the highway accident that killed one member of the debate team and injured others ranged from nationwide newspaper interest to television and radio broadcasts, Vice President for Public Affairs Terry Shepard said. The earliest report, by the Associated Press, went out over the wire and appeared online at 5:51 a.m. Tuesday, about seven hours after the accident. The administration tried to protect all students by keeping the media away from campus, Shepard said. Shepard led a press briefing at 10 a.m. Tuesday that was attended by five TV stations, news radio station KTRH and The Rice Thresher. "The TV people always want videotape, and we wanted to make sure that we protected the privacy and the dignity of the students," Shepard said. "We didn't want this to turn into a media circus." Baker College freshman Dan Henning died in the accident, which occurred at 10:35 p.m. Monday. Shepard said he got a call from Assistant to the President Mark Scheid at about 11:15 p.m. Scheid told him the information he knew at that point, and Shepard said he began calling news sources immediately to inform them of known facts. The Public Affairs Office has been in contact with the Associated Press as well as local media and newspapers near Henning's hometown of Vernon Hills, Ill. Shepard said he thinks the AP story probably ran in most newspapers around the country because of its newsworthiness, but he said the Public Affairs Office will not know exactly how many until a later date. He said several factors account for the media's interest in the story. "The news business has become a tragedy business," he said. The story is also relevant to other colleges and parents of college students, Shepard said. The bottom left corner of Wednesday's Houston Chronicle front page contained a small box describing the accident and leading to the inside story. "In another highway tragedy for area colleges, a member of Rice University championship forensics team was killed in a crash," the box began. Shepard said accidents involving two other traveling groups of Texas university students that have occurred this year may also account for increased media coverage. - back - Search the Thresher pages: Enter your search terms: Copyright © 2000 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved. This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of: The Rice Thresher, Rice University MS-524, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892, USA. The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu