Keller @ Large: Newtown Deserves Peace And Quiet

BOSTON (CBS) - This coming Saturday marks a terrible anniversary– the first anniversary of the school shootings in Newtown.

And over the past few days, the people of Newtown have been preparing themselves – and us – for it.

On Monday, survivors of the murder victims described how they'll be marking the anniversary. Meanwhile, Newtown officials have been politely asking the media to be content with those descriptions and not come to town on Saturday to see for themselves.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

This is not a hostile request.

Some Newtown family survivors have been active in public life and have actively sought media coverage of their work. In general, town residents say they appreciate all the public support they've received and the media's role in helping that happen.

But the town will not be hosting any memorial events and Selectman Pat Llodra has asked both the press and the public to grant the community, now that the survivors have spoken, "the time to be alone and quiet with time for personal and communal reflection."

Most newsrooms don't like coverage restrictions, but accept them in special cases. In this one, there doesn't seem to be much hesitation. Major news organizations, including WBZ-TV and WBZ NewsRadio 1030, are honoring the town's request to stay away.

Will someone show up anyway? Maybe. They'll probably get plenty of publicity, but maybe not the kind they're looking for.

But let's hope the people of Newtown get their peace and quiet on Saturday, and going forward.

In spite of their agony, they've showed respect for the press and the public with the way they've handled this terrible anniversary.

Now it's our turn to do the same.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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