MASS SHOOTING FATIGUE --I'll Call it That
I LAUGH at these media outlets (primarily the cablers) who've chosen not to name the shooters of the latest mass-casualty shootings, as if by doing so they'll not provide the gunmen's desire for publicity. What a crock.
Part of this lies on the news media. CNN and its holier-than-thou policy not to name the shooter(s) names. You know what? If CNN (and others) had some cajones they'd STOP regular programming, say on a Monday night in August, (humn) and have a special, NATIONAL 2-hour dialogue, an open forum in one of the massacre cities; invite the president; the speaker of the house; the local mayor; senators; and two thousand or so people; victims; their families and hold a town forum. It would be GREAT PROGRAMMING. It would be timely too because there's a whole lot of people talking about this crisis in America, but it won't happen, sadly.
Here's the truth: Someone on talk radio predicted that "on Friday, nobody will be talking about Dayton and El Paso." He's right. And Gilroy? Other then here, have you heard a word about the Gilroy shooting? Even Trump didn't come to Gilroy so much for that measly little massacre.
There's a point here: like the guy on talk radio said, we'd be talking about something else on Friday and Friday is here. It's not so much the people who by midday already have Dayton and El Paso in their rear-view mirror and are now thinking about post-work cocktails with their friends at the local watering hole or restaurant. Gilroy? What? Dayton? El Paso? Huh?
We can understand the general public wants to change the subject but the overall news media? CNN, your local TV stations? MSNBC, FOX? The networks? They've pretty much moved on.
It's called Multi-Mass Shootings Fatigue. They happen so often now they've become sort of ho-hum. I thought little kids in elementary school in New Town would be a game changer. Silly Me.
America; its people; its media; Radio and TV have Massacre fatigue. We've become accustomed to this all and it's right there in the playbook. Sure, we also need badly, leadership. That ain't happening either.
So CNN, here's your opportunity but I doubt it takes place. The fatigue has taken over.
Thoughts and prayers though.
I was working in Denver when Columbine happened. One station decided not to mention the names of the shooters (Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold) and soon the other three followed suit along with the main Denver newspaper. The idea was to make the news outlet look virtuous and responsible. So we mentioned the no-names policy as often as possible. Corporate even had us do promos saying we weren't naming names.
ReplyDeleteThis stupid policy, adopted by all the stations, didn't do any good. After Columbine, Colorado was hit by more than its share of mass shootings -- the Aurora "Dark Knight" movie theater shooting in 2012, Highlands Ranch 2017 and 2019, Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood 2015, and others. My old news director scrapped the policy of not naming shooters a couple of years ago. She agreed with you that it was a joke.
CNN is desperate for ratings, so they will do anything.
Trump's visits to Dayton and El Paso are visits to Red-maybe-Purple states. Gilroy in a Blue state was not going to attract that kind of action from this kind of president.
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