Coni Sanders, whose father was a teacher killed in the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, poses for a photo at her home Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Denver. A growing movement is urging news organizations to avoid naming the gunmen responsible for mass shootings. The idea is to avoid inspiring more shooters who seek infamy and notoriety. "The media was so fascinated, and so was our country and the world, that they really grasped onto this every detail.
The 1999 Colorado attack continues to motivate mass shooters, including the two men who this week stormed their former school in Brazil, killing seven people. The notion hit close to home for Sanders. Seemingly everywhere she turned — the grocery store, a restaurant, a newspaper or magazine — she would see the faces of the Columbine attackers and hear or read about them. Even in her own home, she was bombarded with their deeds on TV.
These attackers, he argued, are trying to outdo previous shooters with higher death tolls. Media coverage serves only to encourage copycats. James Alan Fox, a professor at Northeastern University who has studied mass shootings, said naming shooters is not the problem. Instead, he blamed over-the-top coverage that includes irrelevant details about the killers, such as their writings and their backgrounds, that “unnecessarily humanizes them.”
MarkDice Why not use the media to report on criminals that are stopped by lawful gun owners in the same sensational way the MSM does when guns are used in a crime? Powerful programming after all, imagine if it was used for good? Every report, criminals being stopped by lawful gun owners.
dmdinukamadusak I don't think it would matter if the gunmen were named or not. Reports of these incidents would inspire some sick people to copy these crimes anyway. As long as there is hatred towards a certain group of people there will always be a chance for another incident to happen.
Not going to happen... Kind of like when they showed and named the woman (the famous basketball star) C*** raped, though it was under court order they were to conceal her identity, yet they were allowed to. Apparently they don't care and are not accountable!
Mass killers should be handled like natural disasters with designations like storms. I suggest we track their number with a naming system like: piece of crap 1, piece of crap 2, etc.
BREN_thirty30 Don’t name or show pics they want notoriety, stop all KellyannePolls JudgeJeanine KimStrassel charliekirk11 mercedesschlapp michellemalkin
I don’t believe a word of it. You newsies are in a competitive business and the clicks are irresistible and critical to your interests.
hmm. interesting theory
Glad you are finally getting on board with fox
Yes, never mention their name and post pictures of them covered in feces.
No
And stop naming any groups they stand for too. Stop giving these people a stage.
MarkDice How about not being atpol for the dnc...that would be another big problem with lamestream media today.
MarkDice Yes.. stop naming these animals!!!
FINALLY!!!!!!! I've been yelling this for the past two years, because that is what is supposed to be done...... Same with terrorists and terrorist acts. Same with the patent BS being swung by Donald Trump, his son, his daughter, and the cortege of wind machines at FoxNews
MarkDice No
Why? Then the Democrats won't know who to turn into fake gods.
MarkDice How do you look up the truth if you have no clue who the person is. Sounds like a way to cover up many things.
deray No, we should be able to hear their names and see their faces. At least for a few days.
MarkDice Thinking it’s not the names that inspire evil acts. Check the media’s propaganda.
If he was man enough to do the crime. The public has right know to name of person who lost his mind!!😵😵😵
Yes
UniteWomenOrg No—because these bastards have like-minded duds who need to be ferreted out from under their rocks so people need to know who the hell they are!
MarkDice No.
Difficult to do in practice, but worth making policy for media outlets. Even if the name gets out from social media or whatever, it shouldn't be the media giving out names. It's what most of these killers want.
Start calling them what they are... cowards.
It's called public information. That doesn't inspire ppl that already had plans.
But what would the left do without their favorite talking point in order to ban guns?
MarkDice And they need to stop placing blame.
MarkDice That doesn't fit the liberal agenda
The theory that mass casualty perpetrators do so to become famous is far too simplistic! Doesn’t fit terrorism, workplace violence, the church, movie, night club, or school events! But they all have are delivering their message & they are screaming as loud as they know how!
While the media can and possibly should do this.. In the internet age it'll still get out. It is the least we can do, tho.
MarkDice We don't need you.
Plain stupid.
There was a movie about this in the early 90s called Natural Born Killers.
Why not? This must only apply because the majority of mass shootings are done by white men
It just makes more sense to honor the fallen!
All facts must be disclosed. This is a terrorist not a gunman. The right wing mafia behind these attacks must be unmasked.
I think that it's a good idea. Not only would it reduce aspirations of infamy; it would also reduce the impact on their generally innocent families. Much more focus should be placed on the why and how rather than the who.
Restricting freedom of press
Probably
If they are caught red handed, shoot them in the head and wipe who they are from existence. Brutal and inhumane, but maybe an effective deterant to mass shooting.
MarkDice Expose and mass killer's name and let the public know exactly motivated them. Perhaps we have a change to identify and stop one.
Yes
MarkDice That's the first sign of common sense I've seen from the MSM! Never glorify the bad guys. Report his name once then just refer to him as 'the perp'.
Yes. Do not name them. Do not show their images unless they haven’t been captured. Deny them notoriety.
tell Fox's show,
That's not a new topic. Could potentially work.
How about banning assault weapons instead. Makes more sense.
Live-steam their executions
MarkDice Duh.
Yes
I agree. Completely and no pictures.
MarkDice Yes
Makes sense. It's the same in court - the bad guy receives more attention than the victim(s).
Agreed. Sick ppl look to these murderers for direction.
MarkDice In the demented mind, any attention, is preferable to none. Feeding it with coverage only reaffirms wrong thinking. I’m for one am glad to hear this.
They shouldn't be given a platform to feel popular and others to follow their example. Can't the media realize that on its own?
MarkDice Should the Media Censor Your Information and/or OPINION?
Yes, and DO NOT print or read their manifesto!
This is another All talk type of situation. It really has to do with how many ads they can show on the click bait articles
Lets just pretend WWII never happened...
I'm old enough to remember when newspapers didn't publish the names of gangs for the same reason. Guess what. It's 30 years later and they're still here.
They need to stop throwing questions live at Trump....and letting him ramble through a roll-a-dex of lies unimpeded.
MarkDice No. The media shouldn't do that. They should identifying them as always. What do you want to do? Defend them? Lol
MarkDice Something Laura Ingram did on the Angle and I applaud her. These scumbags do not deserve to have any recognition.
Psychologist have been telling you this for decades...
Tell the truth By directly involved parties & stakeholders Not by media, governments & officials
MarkDice Yeah let's not even investigate whether it's a false flag or not..
MarkDice they gona keep doing it... it generates more views
I’ve been saying this since this madness started.. every time news outlets name them show pics and videos of the killers, all you’re doing is giving them a voice and a platform. They don’t care about getting caught; just mass casualties and notoriety
No reason to name these idiots so they can be famous. Really stop showing there faces too
MarkDice Absolutely news agencies should not use their names. They aren't worthy of the notoriety.
Will they show his photo?
Absolutely. Do NOT name them or show their picture. They don’t deserve any acknowledgement of their actions. Focus on the victims instead.
I think it is important for us to know the names of the Trump supporters who commit mass murder. I think it is also my right to know this so I can keep myself safe.
Stupid idea
As I said earlier, put a black bag on their head, and keep it there for life if necessary. It would be an insult to use John Doe. Name virus Unknown.
Yeah, omitting the names will definitely solve the problem of gun violence......SMH
Yes! Media, twitterverse, everyone should avoid naming a shooter. The male ego is the root to all evil for these gunmen. Starve them of fame and watch incidents reduce.
MarkDice Lol, the hoax is being picked apart, 'don't look' 🤣
I think we need to adopt modern and logical ways to categorize people. Categorization based on nationality, religion and race should become obselete. There r good and evil ppl in every country, religion and ethnicity. So why dont we use categories like good, bad, criminals.. etc
MarkDice How about this: name them only when reporting on their executions.
It will never happen. Even if all major networks refuse to name gunmen, people still will on social media, etc.. It’s a losing battle. I’d say there’s better things to spend time & money on...
MarkDice This should be a rare partisan issue that people of all political beliefs would support.
Its a welcome ideology, they believe after death thier name remain forever.
In free and democratic societies the public has the right to know who is doing these types of crimes. If you want to remain uninformed don't listen to the news .
Good luck with that!...🙄
Yes, don’t show their faces or their names.
Uh...this isn’t a growing movement. This has been suggested by many many people for a number of years. Stop making these people famous and you would see these type of mass shootings go way down.
MarkDice How about not covering and sensationalizing these stories at all? If it weren’t for media coverage of these shootings, we wouldn’t have near the problems we do. The blood is on everyone in the media’s hands.
It's encouraging!
They also should not list them as a victim
You can’t just erase them. I get it. But it doesn’t help anyone be safer. People have the right to know.
Problem is that the perpetrators will find a way to publicize themselves through the Internet. The Media isn't quite the talking horn it used to be.
So in other words...they don't do it simply because they have guns.
Media should push the agenda of changing the law. Because clearly the problem extends beyond that
The media with fight this. It will lower there ratings and that lowers there ad revenue.
If you don't mention their names you shouldn't mention their ideology. I can't count how many times I've seen the headline 'far-right extremist conspiracy theorist' and figured out the person was actually a fanatic socialist left-leaning-lunatic
Deep down the Left relies on them being named.
MarkDice I call BS. The event occurred and everyone knows about it so what does withholding a name do? NOTHING. Except if you’re Muslim you get to be protected. People have a right to ALL information. The MSM can’t stop CRAZY.
MarkDice Won’t work
That’s not a good idea. It’s history, some of its good, some bad . What’s the next move, don’t mention Hitler or Stalin . Let us not forget our hero’s
MarkDice So killers are allowed anonymity but the rest of the law abiding citizens are not? Yeah, that makes sense.
Yea, that'll fix the mentally ill. It's like a child who plays hide and seek by putting thier hands over thier eyes while saying 'you can't see me'! SMH.
Terrorists is spelt with a T. Stop monkeying about with shooters, gunmen and other malarkey. Anyone looking to spend terror or causing it through violence is a terrorist - law enforcement excluded in so far it's in performance of their duties
Stop showing his face stop making murderers famous
Interesting how your article asks the question, but you have comments disabled? getongab Dissenter
That information would leak anyway. Then. likely, there would be no protection for innocent co-workers or family who were truly unaware of the horrific plans.
The people have a right to know. Isn't this suppressing the news?
MarkDice But that’s like telling a business to put a wrench in it’s profit cycle.
'Growing Movement' People have been saying this for years but you greedy clickbait MSM will do anything to made more money, including getting people killed!
MarkDice Finally a good idea published by AP that I can get behind. I've been saying this for years.
MarkDice We’ve been saying it for years. But it sells ads so.... gun control benefits from these tragedies and the media supports gun control. Double win for them. ;)
When the American President spews vitriolic thoughts, deranged LUNATICS will carry out violent acts with the fictitious thought that they are, “saving America.” NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. Divided we fall. United we stand strong.
Pompous asses the media, it’s the American media that’s slow to have learned this
MarkDice Yes
Oh crap ... now AP is going to start spoon feeding the news to da liddle pipple? Yaz, the mighty Giffords institute for the blaming of violence on the tool instead of the fool has spoken.
No fame, no glory, just derision over the cowardice for the f’ing nobodies who do this
YES!!! Stop giving them the spotlight and start telling the victims’ stories if the families choose to share.
Media should continue to report the news.
Is that going to stop attacks on soft targets...not knowing who is engaging in terrorism? Fuk no..😐
The Christchurch shooter literally knew that the media would plaster his face and name all over and that’s how he would win. He said this in his manifesto. If the media didn’t deify mass shooters then there’s a chance he may not have done this.
Yeah trumpian racist white dude is descriptive enough
Yes, media should not name the idiots
Why don't they address the root cause ?
Well they blame everything but the person that actually committed the act so might as well.
MarkDice NO!
I disagree with this. It is the job of the news to report who the shooters are. Not reporting the names makes the press complicit in their crimes. They should be called out for their vile actions.
And while you are at it , remove the word “terrorist” from use when referring to persons engaged in senseless killing. The word terrorist suggests there could be some redeeming purpose for their evil action, as in changing a wrong doing somewhere. They are murderers. ‘Nuf said
And not talking about them at all.
I've been saying this for a while too. It's not the solution, but they don't deserve any kind of recognition for this action. Perhaps just refer to them as anonymous coward.
I don't see this happening. Not in our present state. Hard to keep anything like this from becoming public. Nothing is secret or private - not today.
This is the way it was for a very long time - just like choosing to NOT give face time to those who displayed or said obviously deranged and inappropriate things. The rule was to not embarrass them or try to make money off the mentally ill. It would be good to get back to that.
Media must stop treating killers like celebrities. They become inspiration to others. Their NAMES, PICTURES & STORIES should not be published, broadcast and/or televised. This could be hard to implement due to the fact that the media loves to report tragic/negative stories.
Thats not what inspires copycats ... try the 24/7 news cycle. YOU people perpetuate their behavior, dissecting every killer's comments and past with fine tooth combs, reading intent into every comment or act, RELATING every comment or act, but sure ... 'names.'
MarkDice Name the victims. Tell me about them so they aren't lost.
MarkDice Let’s burn down the library in Alexandria and tear down statutes as well. I’m sure that rewriting history will make things better. Dumbasses....
I agree with this. They should remain nameless.
I wrote about this last March. Hope news orgs enact simple policies to prevent dissemination of the shooter's name and goals - they do it all the time for other reasons such as not including the names of rape accusers or minors. This is equally important
I would add to not communicate the number of fatalities either.
Let’s just read his manifesto day in and day out on CNN
No...their names should be said loud and clear.
MarkDice Now do Rolling Stone
Pretty basic stuff. Deny them the notoriety they seek through the only means they believe will deliver it (violence). Largely a too high minded concept for the US, where news is based on profits.
Good idea! You don't need his name & photo to tell what happened or why, if known. You don't need to air interviews with family & friends. Summaries of statements are ok to air, then give the tapes to law enforcement to be studied.
the smartest thing said and thought of after SO much senseless killings ! where can i sign the petition for this movement !
I say, show a photo of their shot up, mangled body. For me, it’s the best snapshot of the end of a pathetic existence
About fricken time..I’ve been saying this since 1975.
As it should be!
Posted before posting again: Media needs to follow: That is just starting be be considered by media outlets is tragic. STOP making celebrities of these creatures for your ratings.
4chan and 8chan seem to have a more profound influence over mass killers than mainstream media.
Impossible to do, so many different independent media outlets, you can't control the entire internet
I say call them out let the world see what group of people are the real racist terrorist
deray Only when it's white dudes. The same way I see people cutting off the bottom of the blurred picture of the shooter so we can't see him making that same white power gesture that cops, media figures, and politicians across the US have been making for month, now.
I can honestly say I don’t know this guys name and I’ve seen like one photo of the guy taken into custody. They may have mentioned his name in some of the articles but not in any of the headlines.
MarkDice names dont motivate...agendas do.
If the punishment was very painful and swift, that would be enough to deter a crime. Banning names won’t change ideologies. These people are f’ing stupid!!!
We don't need to make 'stars' of murderers like Trump made of Kim.
You can still give up his name while maintaining transparency. The media needs to be more intelligent about how they display the information, but that means less viewers and less money so why would they?
Now that will have an effect. Stop making it a glorious badge of recognition
This would be a great idea. After reading an article about how mass murderers in prison get thousands of letters weekly from “fans” it sickened me. These people deserve no fame, only prison.
Total black out on them and their ideologies. Only brief mention of their acts. We did it with the I.R.A, which was the only thing Margaret Thatcher did right. Black them out.
While we do need to report these sick events, not giving name recognition any I'd, anything to boost these preditors, is good advice.
I agree. I have never understood why people do horrible things and then the media makes them famous.
Better idea- strip them naked and publicly hang them ,without a head cover, within a week. When copycats see them pooping and peeing themselves they will reconsider
It's a ploy to keep the gun companies or corporate establishment unaccountable. When nobody knows how they got the guns or weapons or what kind of person killed people then ignorance pervades. secondly, it keeps some of the politicians unaccountable for not enforcing the laws.
Bout time
Censorship is bad, always.
PhillyD has been doing this for years.
MarkDice Idk about this. Won't it just be easier for [them] to hide stuff?
MarkDice This should be the law for every crime. Don’t name the suspect unless a conviction is made. This is especially true for sex crimes.
MarkDice Absolutely agree & should have happened a long time ago.😔
MarkDice That will just cause blame on the device use instead of the responsibility of the perp! Consequences need to be addressed on the living being, not an inanimate object!
MarkDice MSM won’t stop. This crap is their bread and butter.
MarkDice That’ll do it
I thought it was always the agreement to play down that part of the story.
And you think this will somehow stop white supremests from finding out and idolizing the shooter. This is a Pollyanna fantasy. All it will do is stop the general public from understanding the depth of the threat this ideology poses.
MarkDice They are not doing it to get their names in the news, they are doing because they truly believe their cause.
MarkDice Facebook live streaming may move to the forefront of importance now.
M: Soon your past will be as nonexistent as your future.
Hopefully it will still be okay to name the people behind the shootings?
MarkDice Holly s%t an idea that actually makes sense!!!!!
Please follow... they want noterity (sic) ABC CBSNews NBCNews CNN MSNBC politico FoxNews
MarkDice Wonder why the news isn't reporting:
MarkDice Agree, do not use their names or show photos of them!
As it should be. They do it for fame and attention. If we stop the attention they no longer will fulfill those gross acts with manifestos filled with hate.
Media has no moral development, FB will post anything & then say oops
Running out of news stories? Here are a few you should cover and make famous.
MarkDice They don't need to name the shooters. The whole point of the coverage is to blame 'white males' anyway, so they can just get straight to the point.
MarkDice That’s just another way of suppressing news. They will use this tactic to cover up a shooter that politically goes against the democrats narrative.
Outstanding! Stop posting their names & pics!
We need MORE information on these mass killers, including naming the psychotropic Rx pills they consume, like SSRI’s & Benzos that have known psychotic side effects. Can’t fix the problem if U hide it in the dark.. unless of course fixing the murderous epidemic is not ur priority
MarkDice NO SHHHHHHIT
There's also a growing movement not to give the bigots a platform in the name of 'both sides'. And to call the bigots out on their bigotry. And actually call racists racist instead of white washing it away.
If you name & shame, families in the future might be more likely to seek help for members who might do such heinous acts
Is this a passive way of the media admitting their part if fanning the radical flames?
Ooorrrr.. Regulate gun laws.. This is a sad precaution and way down on the list of how to curb these terror attacks..& make no mistake..thats what they are.. So the only thing we can do..is not give terrorist the media coverage?! *Sorry..thats not gunna work for me. FuckTrump
Give them a bland number, lock them up (or execute them) and forget about them. No notoriety!
It'll never happen though, the media needs to cash in on all the sensationalism and clicks it can. Ads dont show themselves afterall
'sympathetic to journalists’ impulse to cover important and newsworthy events and to get at the truth. ... But there’s a balance that can be struck between ensuring the public has enough information ... and not giving undue attention to perpetrators of heinous acts' --sums it up
How about Also Not doing EXACTLY what they WANT ..right after words.. READ the FULL manifesto ... ONLY morons with a Communist agenda would do his Bidding
So report the shooting details just not the name of the shooter? The media will never not do that as that does let them “get the scoop” on other outlets
Wont make a difference when you have leaders of countries instigating the violence
deray Funny how this comes up when the shooters are white
This is silly, like covering your ears to avoid hearing something.
Lol yes the mainstream media is everyone’s only source of news. Your job is to REPORT the news, not decide what we can and cannot know. If you start selecting which content I’m allowed to see and which I’m not, I will go elsewhere, and trust me, there are plenty of other options
Disagree. Public has the right to the news.
Because most gunmen in Mass shootings are whitemales WhitePrivilege . Remember I said MOST
Unless they are black or brown
shoot, is is about a specific shooter with a specific gun a specific time? no time element could be any where really any place there is a new zeal and love for rape murder! it's just a shot away it's just a shot away listen to her at 4:05
But then how will media push political narratives?
Experts have been saying this for literally decades. Goes to show how irresponsible mass media can be.
Took long enough
protectthewhitesupremists
That’s not proper reporting and dumb.
Will withholding their name change anything? The media will still report the details of the crimes, so I don't see how not knowing a name will stop copycats.
This is stupid. Their names need to be known and the manifesto publicized. Do not Haida anything. They the racism, hated and bigotry be exposed.
Especially the NZ shooter, who continues to troll the world after death.
Yeah cause that will work
-________-
Snowflake
nothing to see here just accept the right smear
Duh!
Is it because “shooters” are white? How about avoid naming Muslim terrorists as well?
hang mass shooters and live stream it
Um how will that stop inspiring mass shooting? Stoopid
Only about 15 years too late but we gotta start somewhere I guess
Uh no, we have the right to know.
Daily wire has been doing this for about a year now