JOURNALISM IN THE AMERICAS

While celebrating the heroic actions of first responders, reporters covering the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas are witnessing the shock of some 40,000 people for whom the base was a refuge from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where many served.

The Austin-American Statesman reports, “the killing happened here, on the supposedly safe ground of one of the world's largest military installations, in a town where seemingly every billboard and banner welcomes soldiers home from danger."

The base's distance from major TV markets made the news especially difficult to cover for the first few hours, and cable news networks scrambled for information and on-air guests, former CNN editor Rich Shumate writes in the column Cable News Examiner.

Authorities quickly reported, and the media repeated for hours that the suspect had been killed. Hours later, officials said Army Maj. Nidal M. Hasan was, in fact, in stable condition in a hospital, under guard, the Associated Press explains.

Britain’s The Week magazine compiles a survey of blog posts about the shootings, reporting “even before the facts about the military massacre at Fort Hood were clear, bloggers and tweeters were debating its implications.” Some speculated the suspect's Muslim heritage would be the focus of attention. Others pushed for caution. ABC News White House correspondent Jake Tapper wrote, "This is a time for the best in Americans to come out, not the worst. Let's donate blood, pray, have well wishes, stick to facts."