Comments on: News orgs should deny mass killers the attention they crave

By: Observations about the media from Dan Buttry’s memoir, Peace Warrior | The Buttry Diary

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:29:08 +0000

[...] for denying media coverage to attention-seekers who picket soldiers’ funerals and to mass murderers. But I was always troubled by editors’ decisions to downplay (or refuse to provide) coverage [...]

By: Journalists under scrutiny for posting names of Sandy Hook shooters « Public Affairs Journalism

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 02:26:56 +0000

[...] such as posting the name of the Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza. It is believed that part of the motivation for mass killers such as Lanza comes from the wanting of attention and that by posting the names publicly, the media is catering to such [...]

By: When Does Reporting Become Rubbernecking |

When Does Reporting Become Rubbernecking | — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:54:32 +0000

[...] do I agree with the notion, offered by David Brooks on All Things Considered Friday afternoon and Steve Buttry in his blog, that the media should refrain from naming gunmen, because it just feeds the desire of [...]

By: Reviewing 2012, my busiest blogging year « The Buttry Diary

Reviewing 2012, my busiest blogging year « The Buttry Diary — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:45:12 +0000

[...] forum to discuss journalism ethics in the digital age. I also blogged about whether to name mass murderers, the use of the term alleged victim, about a plagiarism quiz I developed to teach proper [...]

By: Sandra George

Sandra George — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 00:41:18 +0000

Remember that Michael Moore film which compared Canadian gun violence to that in the US? He didn’t analyze the difference in Canadian news coverage, but they have unacceptable limits on coverage…and fewer gun deaths. I think the wackos are attracted to our attempts to understand. We need to understand that our need to understand might be a big reason for the violence in the first place…it’s their need to be understood.

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 05:19:23 +0000

Thank you for your thorough view of a difficult subject. I believe if we stop glamourizing these events with their names we may be able to prevent future actions.

By: Thoughts on Newtown shooting coverage: Misinformation, media oversaturation and naming the killer « Behind the Press

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:11:26 +0000

[...] After mass shootings there seems to be a debate on if the media should be naming the killer. It happened after the Aurora movie theater shooting and it happened again after Friday’s events. Steve Buttry had a blog post about the issue. [...]

By: Schroder

Schroder — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 20:08:10 +0000

Yes and I have been saying this since Columbine. There are lots of unstable people out there that see the killers become “famous” and fantasize that they want the same. The Virginia Tech is a perfect example. The shooter before killing over 30 mailed a “Media Package” to the networks with photos, video, manifesto etc…the media happily put it out there for everyone to see it in the name of ratings. They did EXACTLY what the shooter wanted.

Notice that at Baseball games of someone runs onto the field the TV station wont show the fan on screen. Why to prevent copy cats. But when its a mass murdered they are like it or not made famous or infamous. This triggers others to do the same. The media has blood on its hands just like the NRA and others.

Like you said its not ONE thing that causes this but a variety of things and Yes the MEDIA IS one part of the problem.

By: Cynthia Parkhill (@CynthiaParkhill)

Cynthia Parkhill (@CynthiaParkhill) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:49:00 +0000

This is possibly off-topic here but is relevant to your argument that the bar should be set high for use of undisclosed sources:

Why were unidentified sources permitted to “diagnose” the shooter?

“A family member told investigators that he had ‘a form of autism,’ according to The Washington Post, which cited a law enforcement official. …

“The Associated Press also reported that Lanza is believed to have suffered from a personality disorder, citing a law enforcement official apparently briefed on the investigation.”

(Adam Lanza: Who is the gunman behind the Connecticut school shooting? http://www.record-bee.com/news/ci_22194544)

From the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network on Friday: “Autistic Americans and individuals with other disabilities are no more likely to commit violent crime than non-disabled people. In fact, people with disabilities of all kinds, including autism, are vastly more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators. Should the shooter in today’s shooting prove to in fact be diagnosed on the autism spectrum or with another disability, the millions of Americans with disabilities should be no more implicated in his actions than the non-disabled population is responsible for those of non-disabled shooters.”

(http://autisticadvocacy.org/2012/12/asan-statement-on-media-reports-regarding-newton-ct-shooting/)

By: When Does Reporting Become Rubbernecking? | NJ News Commons

When Does Reporting Become Rubbernecking? | NJ News Commons — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 06:59:26 +0000