Regardless of one’s political beliefs, I think society can come to a universal consensus that the amount of gun-related disasters that have occurred throughout the United States in 2015 is completely out of hand. 294 gun-related incidents resulting in four or more people being killed or injured have occurred in the United States in 2015. We are 274 days into this year. This is not an article about the weapon being used to create these tragedies. Rather, this is about what we as a society are doing to cause these incidents to become more and more frequent.
The extensive coverage of the perpetrators of these crimes in the media is doing nothing but inspiring more people to commit similar acts. A common theme among mass shooters is the feeling that they’re unknown and wanting to do something that will make people notice them. In their minds, whether or not they’re there to see it, making worldwide news by doing something horrible is the answer. The infamy that comes with an act like this is exactly what these people are searching for, and we are giving them the answer to their questions. Whether it’s due to mental illness or simply a person with the worst intentions, projecting the faces of shooter after shooter on endless news stations and throughout the media is giving these people the same idea: this is what will get them noticed. It needs to stop.
Why are we focusing on the perpetrators of these acts? Unless there is a rare situation where the person is still at large, there is no logical reason why society needs to know anything about the person who senselessly injured and killed innocent people going about their day to day lives. And yet, over and over again on the news, we are shown the faces, told the life stories, and given the personal anecdotes of these people who have committed horrible crimes, who are almost always already either in custody or deceased as a result of their actions. The fact that we almost always know more about the shooter than the victims is an extremely concerning aspect of modern media. Journalism involves walking the line between right and wrong more than often enough, but we shouldn't have to question what the focus of coverage in situations like these should be. The shooter shouldn’t be the star of the show; this way, society is just giving them exactly what they wanted: recognition. Sure, you hear the stories about a hero in these situations here and there, but these also suspiciously tend to come from lesser known media outlets, while the ones dominating our televisions and computer screens are still blaring minute details about the shooter on their front pages. The victims are a mere side note to the perpetrator themselves.
American media needs to take a step back and re-analyze what it should be focusing on. All politics aside, it’s sad to think that we live in a society where media giants are willing to fuel the issue of increased mass shootings in this country because it will provide them with a larger audience. Congratulations, you got the highest ratings for the day. But if everyone would stop competing for the most information on the people committing these crimes, they would almost without a doubt become less frequent, regardless of the political battles regarding gun control. The media needs publicity control, and it needs it fast. This shouldn’t be a world where commercial success is more important than the safety of our society.
