You may have seen the hashtag #NoNotoriety in response to the latest mass killing at the community college in\u00a0Oregon. The idea has plenty of support from well-meaning and thoughtful people who want the violence to stop. If only, they argue,\u00a0the perpetrators could be\u00a0banished from\u00a0the front page and forced\u00a0out of the limelight. Unfortunately it’s not quite that simple. Yes, media coverage likely contributes to copy-cat killings. But\u00a0media coverage contributes to lots of things, good and bad.<\/p>\n
What is a\u00a0realistic alternative? Are we going to selectively decide to cover some stories when we think it will lead to positive outcomes and not cover other stories when we have reason to suspect that readers\/viewers\/listeners will \u00a0take the information and use it inappropriately? The dictionary definition of “slippery slope” might as well use this scenario\u00a0to illustrate the concept.<\/p>\n
Steve Henson,\u00a0CSU-Pueblo Mass Communications alumnus, editor of the Pueblo Chieftain, and guest speaker to our class last week, wrote a column recently addressing this very issue. You can read it here<\/a>. In his column Mr. Henson lays out his argument for why the Chieftain will not refrain from naming killers. Henson argues that more information, not less, is likely to help us prevent future instances like these.\u00a0What do you think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You may have seen the hashtag #NoNotoriety in response to the latest mass killing at the community college in\u00a0Oregon. The idea has plenty of support from well-meaning and thoughtful people who want the violence to stop. If only, they argue,\u00a0the perpetrators could be\u00a0banished from\u00a0the front page and forced\u00a0out of the limelight. Unfortunately it’s not quite … <\/p>\n