Media Ethics

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but an article I just came across has prompted me to get back online. The article is about how the media treat mass slayings by always publicizing the name of the perpetrator. As the article points out, the recent​ Parkland shooter was bragging in his vidoes about how big a deal this would be.

I’m old enough to recall that this is not the first time that murderers have included a desire for fame among their motives to engage in such heinous behavior. And our mass media do nothing to stop it. Instead, they encourage it.

It’s time for us all to start reaching out and demanding that the media stop publicizing the names of the killers. Yes, I know that things like arrest records and certainly legal proceedings are subject to public records and that countless​ idiots out there will be more than happy to release the names anyway. But their public impact is a far cry from that of the likes of our major and minor “licensed” news networks, both online and off.

What the likes of ABC, CBS, NBC, the CW, and Fox do in this regard is quite legal. But just because something is legal does not mean it is ethical.

Here’s the article from the National Review: https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/06/mass-public-shooters-shouldnt-be-named-media/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Exit%2020180601_GFile&utm_term=GFile