I'm saying that an acquaintance's comments about someone are not as fully developed or reliable as a close friend, professional colleague who one works closely with or family member's comments. (I don't think this statement is a revolutionary, new discovery; I think almost everyone would agree it is a well accepted truth)
As a former member of the media I understand the role and objectives of the media. My professional background as a former journalist provides me with a unique insight into news coverage and the strength of credibility of a published or broadcast report.
With that in mind, I have witnessed a lot of speculation being published on the front page of the Tri-State newspapers and leading local and national coverage of this tragedy. Why do I refer to this as speculation? Simply put: almost none of the statements regarding Adam Lanza or his victim Nancy Lanza have been double sourced. For example, a story that got major coverage was that Adam Lanza targeted Sandy Hook Elementary School because Joshua Flashman stated From what Ive been told, Adam was aware of her petitioning the court for conservatorship and (her) plans to have him committed. Adam was apparently very upset about this. He thought she just wanted to send him away. From what I understand, he was really, really angry. I think this could have been it, what set him off. Unfortunately following the "news" from Flashman being published and broadcast and the talking head shrinks endlessly discussing this being the motive, Flashman's father, Richard Flashman, a pastor at Beacon Hill Evangelical Free Church released a statement that Joshua's comments were based on rumor and speculation and should not be taken as fact.
This is just one of countless examples of what is being widely reported by countless media outlets as "news" whereas in many examples, in reality it is simply rubbish. [Do we even know if Adam even owned a copy of Call of Duty or similar games or even a gaming console that one could play such games? Do we know if the basement that Adam lived in was covered in posters of various military equipment? Do we know how Nancy stored her firearms or if she took her son's to the gun range?]
It is times like this that we as the public need to step back and examine the larger picture of the tragedy and the media to allow the families of the victims to grieve without a camera being shoved in their face for ratings.