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Television people are an extremely cynical type. They will see through the biggest line of BS, mostly because its familiar territory. But the story unfolding in Haiti has transcended skepticism – the stories and imagery of destruction and destroyed families have brought the cable news world news to its knees. And when video of sick or troubled child appears before a parent, television standards of dispassionate reporting no longer apply. Case in point? Campbell Brown, mother.

The big story today is the terrible, tragic, mounting catastrophe of the earthquake in Haiti. TV, which was hampered in early efforts to cover the story last night, is now back in full force with devastating images of the carnage — shaky video of rubble everywhere, still photos of bleeding victims in the streets — [...]

Ever since word broke of a major earthquake hitting Haiti yesterday afternoon, news outlets have struggled to find the right way to cover this story with precious little information. Judging by last night’s lack of coverage, cable news might only exist when there is footage for broadcast. Of course, a lack of visuals doesn’t make a story any less important, it just makes it harder to cover – which is why both the NY Times and CNN have turned to Twitter feed from individuals