Staff Editorial
Recently, video footage of the Parkland shooting suspect was released by the Washington Post, in which he boast-ed about his plans for the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, which left 17 dead and 14 wounded. Although the horrific details of the video are sickening, nothing is more disgusting and horrifying than his statement: “When you see me on the news, you’ll know who I am.”
There have been 23 school shootings since the beginning of 2018, averaging out to once a week as of May 25. It’s becoming clear society has become desensitized to gun violence as these shootings continue to occur. While the fierce debate over gun control continues, many have started to look elsewhere to stop the cycle from continuing, and their solution lies within fixing the way that the media covers these tragedies.
In 2012, a gunman killed 12 and injured 70 at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado. The family of one of the victims, Alex Teves, became outraged over the news coverage which focused on the perpetrator of the attack, and launched a campaign called No Notoriety. The campaign seeks to minimize the role of the suspect in media coverage after a shooting.
The No Notoriety campaign recommends that the media limit the name and likeness of the suspect unless they’re at large, re-fuse to broadcast self-serving content or manifestos made by individuals and keep copycat potential in mind while reporting. These recommendations can prevent future tragedies, according to the campaign.
“Copycat potential” refers to the idea that the prospect of infamy could serve as a motivating factor for other individuals to kill others and could inspire copycat crimes,” according to the No Notoriety campaign website. When the media specifically out-lines the way that an individual has carried out a mass shooting, there is danger of bringing attention to the shooter, inspiring future attacks.
Survivors of the Parkland shooting have also expressed their support for the No Notoriety campaign. MSD student Cameron Kasky tweeted, “School shooters can NOT be treated like celebrities. [Nobody] wants to hear their names or see their faces.
”According to various MSD students, seeing images and videos of the alleged shooter can bring up memories of the tragedy. News outlets and the media should include warnings before coverage that uses the likeness of alleged perpetrators of mass shootings to ensure that it is not harmful to any survivors. When images are necessary for coverage the media could censor out the faces of the suspects in order to keep the mental health of the survivors in mind. As suggested by Parkland survivors, perpetrators of mass shootings can also be identified by a number to remain nameless.
As implied in the Parkland suspect’s video, one of the main reasons that acts of mass gun violence are carried out is an individual seeking recognition and notoriety from the public. Thus, when media serves to only cover information and specific de-tails about the shooter, the perpetrators are able to reach their goal of attaining celebrity status. Instead, the media should devote more coverage to focusing on the victims, the lives they lived, and how they should be remembered.
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