Once again we are facing the horror, fear, and deep sadness that accompany a mass murder. Of course we all crave information, and seek some way to understand and to possibly prevent this from happening again.
But I wonder: Does splashing the name and photo of the alleged perpetrator on front pages and websites’ home pages appeal to other disturbed individuals’ fantasies of power and fame?
We all wonder what we could do to reverse this terrible trend. As one step, wouldn’t it send a powerful message if the media were to all voluntarily refuse to participate in playing into these fantasies?
Media could cover the incidents and the victims’ stories, but limit coverage of the alleged perpetrator to a mere mention of the basic facts, such as name and hometown.
Let’s keep the victims’ memories alive, but bury the names and likenesses of mass murderers.