( CNN ) -- Wednesday 's release of audio recordings of the 911 calls from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings forced news organizations to make difficult -- and sometimes unpopular -- decisions about what to broadcast and what to hold back . News executives said they were considering both the wishes of the community where the school was located -- Newtown , Connecticut -- and the journalistic impulse to report on one of the biggest news stories of the past year . The recordings were made available to news organizations Wednesday afternoon . CNN aired portions of the recordings in a report Thursday evening , including a 911 call from the school 's secretary . The report was also posted online . The network 's report , preceded by anchor Jake Tapper 's warning of disturbing content , also included a call from a teacher who had been shot in the foot and one from a janitor who relayed information between police and dispatchers . Immediately after the airing , a CNN legal analyst said the decision to air the recordings was wrong . `` Other than pure titillation , I do n't see any public interest served by this whatsoever , '' Mark Geragos said . One of CNN 's competitors , Fox News Channel , also televised some audio clips about an hour after the tapes were released . Fox anchor Shepard Smith told viewers the network would `` not be airing the most gut-wrenching moments . '' CBS said it would use some audio clips , but would not present all of the material or anything including gunshot sounds . ABC and NBC decided not to broadcast or post any of the recordings , but said they would report on the contents . In an internal e-mail to staffers , NBC said that `` it is fine for all programs and the website to report on the controversy related to the release of the tapes and include quotes or information from the tapes , but without audio . '' Of course , in the digital age , the 911 tapes are accessible to anyone with an Internet connection . A number of news publishers that linked to the audio , including BuzzFeed , incorporated warnings that the audio included `` disturbing content . '' Many reporters and media analysts said the tapes were inherently newsworthy , but acknowledged that the calls from the school were emotionally wrenching to hear , particularly for people with ties to the shooting . One Newtown official , Board of Selectmen member Patricia Llodra , said Wednesday morning that the release of the tapes `` will create a new layer of pain for many in the Newtown community . '' Newtown school shooting 911 calls must be released , judge rules . Balancing act . While often criticized for using 911 tapes to exploit human tragedy , news organizations have an obligation to fight for the release of documents and records that can serve important public ends , such as disclosing improper conduct by authorities or insufficient response to emergencies or other issues , said Al Tompkins , senior faculty member for broadcast and online journalism at the Poynter Institute , a journalism think tank . Tompkins said Wednesday that editors had to listen to the recordings and decide whether the news value was sufficient to warrant using them . `` The ethical place to be is to listen and to make your decision on two things , '' he said . `` What is your journalism value in using or not using these things , and two , would the good from using them outweigh the harm ? '' Emergency calls can often prove newsworthy , Tompkins said , as in the case of the Trayvon Martin shooting , in which a struggle and the fatal shot could be heard in the background of one call . CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Wednesday , after CNN aired the clips , that he probably would have opted not to use the recordings , but said their release by the judge was the correct decision . `` I 'm not sure how much this adds to the overall story , but I definitely think this is a decision for journalists to make , not for the government to make , about what gets broadcast and what does n't , '' he said . Sandy Hook killer took motive to his grave . Too much pain ? Llodra , the Newtown official , said in a blog post that as they cover the 911 tapes and the first anniversary of the shootings , reporters should `` recognize that there is great personal pain in this event and little public good to be garnered through the general release . '' She continued , `` Imagine yourself as a parent of a child who was killed , or a family member of one of the six educators . Imagine yourself as a teacher or staff member in that building desperate to save the lives of children . Imagine you are the parent of a child who was able to escape . Then ask yourself , media person , what is the public good and how do I balance that against the hurt ? '' Nearly a year after Sandy Hook , nation remains torn about what to do next .
NEW : ` ` I do n't see any public interest offended by this , '' CNN legal analyst says . Media outlets took a balancing act in deciding how to air the 911 recordings . Some , including CNN , agreed to air portions ; ABC and NBC declined to air anything . A Newtown reporter said that the release ` ` will create a new layer of pain ''