FROM THE NEWS DESK: A Look At The Virginia Tech Shootings

by McKay Heim and George Larrimore

MEDIA MOBILIZED: The shootings on the Virginia Tech campus at Blacksburg this morning set the media wheels in motion as quickly as everyone realized it was a major catastrophe and not simply an isolated shooting. Larry King was traveling the country talking up his 50th year in broadcasting when it happened. He broke those plans off to cover this live tonight. The major networks have sent their anchors there to host the coverage from the scene. This is already being viewed as a major test for Katie Couric as she reports a heart-breaking domestic story.

Click here to read a full news report on the shootings.

SURPRISE, THEN SHOCK: We were here in the office this morning watching MSNBC/CNN coverage, aware that there had been a shooting, when suddenly and without explanation the death estimates rose from a few to more than 20 (later to more than 30). Everybody reacted in disbelief when the number suddenly jumped, “That can’t be right,” or “Who said it was 20. It’s not 20.” But the numbers were right. And at this point there is still precious little information about what really happened or who the shooter was.

REACTION: Everybody reacted today, from the President to the Senate Majority leader on the floor of the Senate to actor Robert Duvall, who owns a farm in Northern Virginia; In a statement to us he said “If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. It was one of the most civil campuses I?d ever visited. It is a terrible thing that happened and our thoughts and condolences are with the families who?ve been affected.”

EVERYBODY’S A JOURNO: It used to be that any kind of actual images of an incident were extremely rare. Now we almost expect them. CNN has the best so far; a few seconds of video from a cell phone, then more from a seemingly fearless student who kept his camera rolling even as the shots rang out from a dorm right in front of him. He hit the ground when one shot sounded as if it had been fired right next to him. CNN’s reputation really helps in stories like this.

HARD DEADLINE: The news magazines (like Time and Newsweek), on the other hand, are between the rock and a hard place on a day like today. Both of them have the Don Imus controversy on their new covers. And that story now feels done.

WHAT WILL MICHAEL SAY?: We’ve put in a call to Michael Moore to see if he had anything to say about the shootings, since his ‘Bowling For Columbine’ also dealt with on-campus shootings and America’s feelings about guns. So far we haven’t heard anything.

D-DAY FOR PARIS?: On the surface tomorrow’s hearing for Paris Hilton in Los Angeles looks routine enough. Her attorney is facing a judge because Paris drove around Los Angeles after having her license suspended. But this judge may have Had Enough and just might sentence Paris to time behind bars. We’ll have someone in the courtroom tomorrow.

THIS IS SERIOUS: First they burned Richard Gere in effigy for kissing an Indian actress in public. Now this: The former Miss World Aishwarya Rai is marrying her actor boyfriend, Abhishek Bachchan, in a three day ceremony due to begin on Wednesday in Mumbai. Now security has been heightened to levels unheard of even in Hollywood. A local newspaper in Mumbai says fire extinguishers will be on hand in case crazed fans of Rai and Bachchan set themselves on fire in disappointment or try to perform Hindu fire ceremonies to break the marriage, a tabloid in Mumbai reported.

Got news? e-mail McGeorge.news@nbcuni.com