Like most Americans, I watched the news Saturday morning in shock and horror. Seven people, dubbed some of “the best and brightest” of the space program, were lost in a fiery blaze nearly 40 miles up in the sky. At noon CST, President Bush officially announced that the “Columbia is lost.”

Just days before, on Jan. 28, I watched those same seven people “lost” in the accident pay tribute to the six astronauts and one school teacher lost on the Challenger, which exploded 73 seconds after takeoff in 1986. It seems now that those who commemorated the national tragedy have now become one of their own.

A national tragedy that has become the media’s launch pad for shock-value journalism.

The job of journalists is to inform the public of what is going on in the world. The idea of being a “gate-keeper” for what people are thinking about is one of the most intriguing features of journalism to me. Yet, in light of the coverage of the Columbia casualty, I find myself somewhat ashamed to be associated with the profession that I am in school to become a part of.

Specifically, I am talking about the details involved in the debris recovery. Not the pieces of the shuttle either, the pieces of the seven lost.

Stories across the news — from The Associated Press to CNN — have described, in quite a bit of detail, the body parts found of some of the crew members. There has been no omission of the revolting facts that go along with the parts.

In Hemphill, Texas, a charred torso, thigh bone and skull were found on a rural road. According to CNN, a young boy found a scorched leg in Sabine County, Texas. Other disturbing artifacts found include intact, but charred helmets as well as arm patches listing the names of those on board. CNN also reported that at an undisclosed sight police and firefighters wrapped something into a body bag that was taken away in a black hearse. I am sorry to revisit these atrocious tidbits; however, these are the specifics reported, which were most appalling in nature.

It may just be my sensitive side, but these seem like meaningless details that simply will cause more sadness and dismay across the nation. Why do we need to know what body remains were found and where they were found?

Basically for one reason and one reason only, shock value.

The media is chasing down the Columbia tragedy like a pack of wolves. With absolutely no regard for the feelings of the families who have lost their loved ones — including an Ames family — the reporters are hunting down every gory and gruesome detail they can find and printing it. It does not even matter that the readers are becoming sick to their stomachs reading the information.

There can be an argument made that yes, this is news and it is interesting to hear that some of these parts survived. But it is important to remember that these are the pieces of people who did not survive. Reporting on the torsos and limbs found of those lost merely a few days ago is a smack in the face to those grieving the loss of loved ones or their heroes.

Our morbid curiosity ought to come second to the mourning period and feelings of the families who are suffering the most through this tragedy and the memory of these seven amazing humans that are no longer with us.

Extreme discretion needs to be used when reporting on events such as the Columbia tragedy. It seems that the mass media has forgotten that just because they can report something, does not mean that they necessarily should.

It is appropriate to report on the fact that remains were found. It is also notable that the remains of Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli ever in space, need to be identified so he can be given a proper Jewish burial.

However, it is absolutely not acceptable to talk about charred torsos.

Personally, I want to apologize to the families of the victims for the heartless reporting done. As if they were not going through enough already, the media had to pile on more pain with unnecessary, shocking details.

I do not know when media ethics — which may well be an oxymoron — were tossed out the door in favor of seeing how many readers one could make gasp. If such a concept does exist, now would certainly have been the time to use it. When body parts make the top of the AP “highlights” list of debris reports, it becomes obvious that the mass media as a whole needs a crash course in sensitivity.

Ayrel Clark is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Johnston. She is the opinion editor of the Daily.