The details included during the media coverage of school shooting events has been a topic of interest, as studies suggest that focusing on the perpetrator and details of a crisis event can increase the frequency of these tragedies (Towers, 2015).

 

Impact of Media on School Shootings

• Jetter and Walker (2018) suggest a positive and statistically significant effect of coverage on the number of subsequent shootings, lasting for 4-10 days between 2013-2016.

• Race/ethnicity and victim counts are the most salient predictor of whether or not a shooting was covered, with perpetrators of Asian and other descent and those events with higher victim counts generating more prominent coverage (measured as higher article and word counts), whereas incidents occurring in locations other than schools yielded less coverage (Schildkraut, Elsass & Meredith, 2017).

• We are able to conclude that media coverage on perpetrators does have an impact on the occurrences of mass shootings, as the amount attention surrounding perpetrators has been shown to be correlated with the number of shootings (Chen, 2018).

 

Campaigns

The following are campaigns aimed to influence how the media covers the details of mass shootings. These campaigns are simply recommendations, as the Constitution protects freedom of the press (Towers, 2015).

 

“No Notoriety” Campaign

• Goal: To reduce rampage acts of mass violence due to media-inspired fame.

• Key Principles of Campaign:

  • Minimize Harm - balance dissemination of information for public safety purposes versus possible harm

  • Be cognizant that what is reported to the public may be an inspiration for copycat crimes

  • Report the facts. Do not idolize the perpetrator or his/her actions.

  • Focus on the victims. Their lives are more important than the actions of the perpetrator. Limit the use of the perpetrator’s name, picture or identifying information (unless it is a safety issue)

  • Report data from experts (mental health, public safety, etc.).

• For more information about the No Notoriety Campaign, visit https://nonotoriety.com/.

“Don’t Name Them” Campaign

• Goal: shift the media focus from the suspects who commit these acts to the victims, survivors, and heroes who stop them.

• Key Principles of Campaign:

  • Don’t sensationalize the names of the shooters in briefings - or in reporting about active attack events.

  • Focus on the victims and heroes.

• For more information about the Don’t Name Them Campaign, visit https://www.dontnamethem.org/

 

Purpose of the Campaigns

• Some suspects are motivated by a desire for fame, notoriety, and/or recognition. When the media focuses on the attacker, they provide this fame, notoriety and recognition. This focus allows the attacker to accomplish one of their goals, and validates their life and actions. Media coverage can create a contagion effect producing more shootings. Some shootings/attacks may be prevented by removing one of the incentives.

 

Overall Recommendations

• Adopt the principles of the “No Notoriety Campaign” (Devos et al., 2018)

• Prevent harm (NASP, 2018)

  • Coordinate with school officials and relevant community authorities about how and where media people can have access to school events and/or students, staff and families. • Respect the wishes of the school community for privacy and the protection of students’ wellbeing. • Require parental consent for youth interviews. • Permit youth interviews to be conducted only when a parent or professional mental health professional is present. • Remember that children with parents in the military or emergency services may feel at risk during times of war or high alert. • Inform victims and their families of sensitive reports that are about to be made in advance of their release.

• Report the information responsibly (Cowan, 2018)

  • Refrain from providing intensive and graphic details of the incident.

  • Avoid focusing on details about the perpetrator.

  • Focus on students, staff, and families who are positively coping, and avoid overdramatizing the crisis impact.

  • Seek out experts and facts related to school safety and crisis intervention services.

  • Emphasize that schools are safe, and report on the appropriate, evidence-based measures schools are taking to make schools even safer.

• Do not glamourize the event (NASP, 2019)

  • We caution against unintentionally glamourizing the extremely high risk of confronting an armed assailant head on, particularly when it involves youth

  • We realize that there is a fine line between rightly recognizing the actions and celebrating the lives of the victims and unintentionally creating the perception that heroism in and of itself is a goal for our children in these situations

 

 

References

Chen, L. (2018). The Effects of Media Coverage on Mass Shootings in the United States. Advanced Writing: Pop

     Culture Intersections. 31

Cowan, K. (2018). NASP Leader Addresses the Effect of Media Coverage on School Violence at Federal Safety

     Commission Meeting. National Association of School Psychologists.

DeVos, B., Nielsen, K. M., & Azar, A. M. (2018). Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety. Presented to

     the President of the United States. US Department of Education.

Jetter, M. & Walker, J. (2018). The Effect of Media Coverage on Mass Shootings. IZA Institute Of Labor Economics.

National Association of School Psychologists. (2019). NASP Urges Continued Caution in Media Coverage of School

     Shootings.

National Association of School Psychologists. (2018). Responsible Media Coverage of Crisis Events Impacting             

     Children and Youth.

Schildkraut, J., Elsass, J. & Meredith, K. (2017). Mass Shootings and the Media: Why All Events are not Created Equal.

     Journal of Crime and Justice.

Towers, S. (2015). Q & A: Sherry Towers on the Contagion Effect of Mass Shootings. Arizona State University.

     https://asunow.asu.edu/20151005-contagion-effect-mass-shootings