Bridgesourcing: My sincerest kudos to all the local media, citizen and mainstream, who covered the 35W collapse with such veracity. I was unable to see everything, and I don’t have space to sing every outlet’s praise, but what I did see impressed: MPR’s coverage was relentless. All the TV stations had some form of online video, including KARE-11’s feed from CNN of security camera footage of the bridge going down. Like the Pioneer Press, the Star Tribune offered a solid package this morning as a supplement to its comprehensive online multimedia reporting all night, smartly sited under the URL www.startribune.com/bridge/. Buzz.mn, MNspeak,  Metroblogging Minneapolis, and Minnesota Monitor did an excellent job of offering breaking updates. I’d love to hear what you thought was the best and worst of the coverage.

Should must-see ads be banned during tragedies? Media consultant Amy Gahran writes that “maybe news organizations should consider temporarily suspending must-watch ads before granting access to online multimedia coverage of breaking news of a tragedy.” Writing for Poynter.org, she recalls watching a slideshow of images on the collapse at the Washington Post. “I was dismayed to have to watch a short video ad before I could get to the slideshow. That seemed crass to me, given the circumstances of breaking news of a tragedy,” she writes. “It got worse: When I reloaded the slideshow in a separate browser tab, the ad that played was the ’scarf’ commercial, from Nationwide Insurance’s ‘Life comes at you fast’ campaign. Talk about bad, bad taste and timing…“

“Collapsed profession”: Watching from Georgia, former Star Tribune and Minnesota Monthly editor Leonard Witt writes, “We also watch the news from afar to see how awful CNN really is. Here is an unfolding disaster, where footage should be pouring out and instead we have more talking heads with a few minutes of video played over and over.” He curiously applauds online coverage by the Strib and PiPress, before making a parallel between the 35W disaster and his “collapsing profession,” specifically naming the Strib, “which now is a gutted remnant of its past under the ownership of equity firm Avista Capital Partners.”

Covers statewide: The tragedy dominated front pages across the state. See how the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, St. Cloud Times, Duluth News Tribune, West Central Tribune, and Winona Daily News covered it. Hi-res images via Newseum.

Got a tip for Media Monitor? E-mail us your media news.

Related:Bridges, By The Numbers

Related: 35W Bridge Collapses into Mississippi River