Journalism professor Judy Muller delivered a commentary on National Public Radio's “Morning Edition” on April 17 about the Virginia Tech tragedy, using her experience of covering Columbine and its aftermath as a backdrop.

One young grieving woman at the time told Muller, “What's really sad is that we already know what to bring.”

Said Muller: “Her one-sentence commentary, eloquent and awful, is still true. The location, the victims, the perpetrator, the motive may be different, but make no mistake, we already know what to bring in the form of grief, in the form of outrage, in the form of questions. The families living this horror, the reporters covering it, the country watching in the sort of national spasm of post-traumatic stress, the narrative is already scripted, only the details are missing.”

Muller also talked about the past, present and future of environmental reporting on NPR's "Living on Earth," which aired the week of April 20. She said the challenge of environmental reporting is keeping the story going without sounding redundant.

"Yes, the polar bears are still threatened. Yes, you know," Muller said. "But I think when you get down to how this affects people in very real ways I think that's the way to get at the story. And I think it will keep it on the front page."

Listen to Muller's Virginia Tech commentary 
Listen to or read Muller on the environment
More on Muller 
Read a recent article quoting Muller