Minimizing harm: How journalists favorable coverage of some perpetrators could lead to detrimental outcomes

 Savannah Okray 

so278618@ohio.edu 

Journalists must try their best to minimize harm. That is a value pulled straight from the Society of Professional Journalists' (SPJ) code of ethics. 

Many journalists are taught to live by these codes, but still, harmful reporting continues to seep through the cracks. Increasing pressure on journalists to be the first to get their stories out there, combined with the pressure to generate the most clicks on the internet, sometimes leads to inaccurate and stereotypical reporting that could cause more harm than good. 

The victims become scrutinized. 

That is seen through the treatment of black victims vs. white subjects. According to a Huffington Post article, there are many times in the news media where reporters have "suggested that black victims are to blame for their deaths." 

Some significant headlines in the article include, "Trayvon Martin was suspended three times from school," and "Shooting victim had many run-ins with the law." 

This disgraceful tone, in many cases, is not used when talking about white perpetrators. Instead, the media has been found to point out the good qualities of these white suspects in their reporting with headlines such as "Ala. suspect brilliant, but social misfit." 

That becomes especially harmful not only for black people but also for white people who see that white suspects are depicted more favorably in the media. 

Victim versus suspect reporting

According to Statista, about 52% of mass shootings are conducted by white people, while black people only make up 16% of people in this category. Although it can not be said for sure, these statistics can make us question the favorable treatment we give to white suspects and whether or not that leads to more crime.  

Source: Statista

This thought process has led experts to question whether or not the suspect should be mentioned at all when talking about mass shootings. 

According to a Columbia Journalism Review article, Adam Lankford, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice, believes that constant reporting on a suspect could " normalize the behavior and cultivate a fanbase for those who do." 

To minimize the harm that could be detrimental to many lives, reporters must use extra caution when reporting incidents such as mass shootings and especially pay attention to the way they talk about the perpetrators of these acts. 

When talking about mass shooters, "Present facts about the shooter and describe their behavior as illegal and harmful." That is one suggestion given by massshootings.org to journalists for reference. By doing this, viewers are less likely to see these shooters as favorable, which will lead to fewer "copycat" crimes and therefore reduce the potential harm that journalists could inflict on their viewers.