How Media Coverage Impacts Mass Shooting Awareness & Response

 Josh Matney

cm735716@ohio.edu

Illustration by: Doug Chayka - retrieved from: https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/RV-AW750_MassSh_M_20171117122624.jpg

According to Everytown Research & Policy, there have been 271 mass shootings in the United States since 2009. From those 271 events, 1518 people were shot and killed, and 980 were shot and wounded (Everytown, 2022). As journalism shifts toward a never-ending, digitally-driven machine fed with views and shares, the concern for genuine reporting dissolves. That is especially concerning mass shootings; specifically, how irresponsible media coverage of mass shootings can normalize behavior, validate those who support it, and influence imitative behavior.

An article from Columbia Journalism Review has author Emily Richmond addressing some of the resulting issues from media coverage of school shootings. The first is giving notoriety to the perpetrator in social media posts, live broadcasts, newspapers, or any other mediums that could lend public recognition. Sharing the name or photo of the perpetrator might be necessary to report the information in its entirety. However, a journalist should be wary of excessively spreading it, as that only gives the perpetrator more attention. Adam Lankford, associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Alabama, says irresponsible media coverage is "normalizing the behavior and cultivating a fan base for those who do" (Richmond, 2019). Another resulting issue is students' mental and emotional distress on k-12 campuses that engage in active shooter drills. Educator Erika Christakis wrote for The Atlantic on the psychological damage of active shooter drills on children. She claims it is misguided for children 'already bathed in stress hormones' to then be trained for terrifying, low-probability events like mass shootings (Richmond, 2019). 

In an article from the American Journal of Public Health, James Meindl and Jonathan Ivy detail on media's role in influencing imitative behavior, specifically with mass shootings. Meindl and Ivy first clarify the distinction between contagion and generalized imitation. Generalized imitation refers to the behavioral mechanism behind the spread of behavior, whereas contagion is the outcome of that spread (Meindl et al., 2017). Essentially, mass shooters imitating others generally don't imitate specific events. Instead, they imitate the behaviors of those observed. Even in situations with no imitation, many sources accessible to potential copycats are within arms reach. Social media, televised news, and print media can all influence generalized imitative behavior if not responsibly reported.