Newtown Asks for Privacy as Anniversary Nears.

I don't blame them, and thanks to ABC and NBC for respecting their wishes.

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The people here are adamant: They do not want a return to their streets of the antenna-topped vans from an international array of news media, and reporters holding microphones to their faces.

The town will not mark the anniversary of the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which occurred on Dec. 14, 2012, with a public remembrance.

“All of these children, they need a chance to be happy,” said Maria Ruggiero, an employee at the Village Perk Cafe, speaking of the town’s children. “This constant reminder of sadness, it needs to stop. That’s why we want the media to stay away.”

But at least two TV networks — NBC and ABC — say they have no plans to dispatch fully equipped crews through Newtown that day. One TV executive said that parents had urged his network to stay away because children were still suffering from anxiety, and the sight of TV vans triggered reminders of the shootings.