Hartford-New Haven stations are being cautious about broadcasting the audio from the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting 911 tapes, which were released at 2pmET today after a lengthy court battle.
CBS affiliate WFSB, which said earlier this week it would honor Newtown’s request to stay away on the first anniversary of the shooting, announced on Facebook it would not air the audio of the 911 calls. Same for NBC owned WVIT, which is consistent with the policy NBC News has announced.
“As part of NBC Connecticut’s commitment to treat every story with care and compassion, we have decided NOT to air the 911 calls,” WVIT wrote on Facebook. “Our team of reporters will carefully review them after they are released, but we will not play the recordings on air.”
On the noon newscast today, ABC affiliate WTNH said they plan to “select only non-graphic portions of the tapes for broadcast,” noting anyone who wants to hear the full 911 audio can go to the station’s website.
Fox affiliate WTIC had reporter Louisa Muller describe the 911 calls and also played short clips on its newscasts.