Media As an Ally

Louis Baragona
LB699911@ohio.edu

I remember the first time I read the news of the shootings at Sandy Hook. It's hard for one not to remember where they were when they heard of the tragedy, an event that rocks not only our individual outlooks but also the views and experiences of our nation.

I first saw news of the shooting from a tweet. Shockingly I had been in bed scrolling through my phone checking my twitter feed. Being the true journalist I am at heart, I felt compelled to investigate further and continue paying attention to the news cycle, mainly focusing on broadcast news.
Some reporters were so shaken up during their reporting that they seemed unable to hold themselves together and maintain their bearings, a justified occurrence when one has to report on matters of tragedy. In that moment, watching different reporters struggle in doing their job and imparting their message on behalf of the victims, I realized that journalists are human. We feel things and observe things in the same way bystanders do. As people it is our job to be sensitive to victims of life-changing tragedies and treat them as humans, just as we feel empathy for their humanity and loss.

Times of Tragedy
Reporting on tragedies is a multifaceted issue. As reporters we have a responsibility to speak the truth, even when the honesty is painful or the news is a little too fresh, an open wound. We have to do something tough in being frank and honest in the face of experiences that are hard to discuss and experience. We also have the ability to seize an opportunity in using these painful experiences and reporting these truths. We are able to create change, seek justice, and impart important messages both on behalf of victims and their families and on behalf of matters of moral justice and social responsibility.

In the case of Megan's Law, which was mentioned in the article, the victim's family was obviously traumatized by their experiences and the constant reliving of their tragedies, but they also used the media to inform the public and seek change.

The media is a tool for victims to make things better and to spin things in their favor. One of the greatest opportunities was the movement to Stop Kony in 2012, a movement founded on social media to expel an African terrorist named Joseph Kony. The movement picked up speed after the media aired it and promoted it on social media.

The media can be seen as brutal and graphic, but journalists also have brought about change that has helped create a new environment and bring justice for victims, spreading messages of hope and empathy.

Spotty Reporting

Social media has given reporters a new way to do our jobs. We're able to easily communicate important news in a timely manner to a large and attentive audience. When social media is used optimally, it's a major tool and an even greater advancement of our field. When social media is used incorrectly with spotty reporting or any sort of mistakes, it can be detrimental to organizations, networks, and journalists.

We have to make sure we don't let our need for immediate journalism and our ability to report whenever and wherever override our need to seek the complete truth and to honor our integrity.
For more information on reporting and social media, this article has a lot of interesting facts and good graphics to accompany their information.

Mind Over Murderers
In the case of murders, the public is fascinated. People become attached to tuning into reporting about crimes and murders, and often people want direct looks into the minds of killers and sociopaths, hoping to encounter the gruesome details straight from the source's mouth.
As journalists it is our job to be honest without sensationalizing or attempting to move the focus from victim to criminal. The perpetrators of crimes, especially violent ones, tend to be the where the public focuses, shifting the attention from the center of the story which should lie in the experiences of the victims.

It's our job to report the facts but we also have a duty to the victims of crimes to make sure that justice is sought and that in reporting we aren't focusing on the perpetrator in a way that sensationalizes, or even worse, encourages their actions. In providing offenders with attention we are often times giving them attention, which is commonly what they want, and giving them a medium to feel as though they've done something worthy of praise or copying.
Though their names are important, the names of victims, as long as they consent to release, are also important. More important than names is the opportunity to use our platform to seek optimal viewers and to find justice.

I will never forget the Sandy Hook tragedies or where I was that day thanks to the media that immediately reported the shootings and sought to deliver information as quickly and accurately as possible. The most important thing about the media's role was in observing the cases in which journalists displayed class and sensitivity to victims, using their platform to seek justice, leaving room for the voices of those affected and not the perpetrator.