Changing the Way Media Reports on Gun Violence
MONTEREY PARK, CA - JANUARY 23: A mourner attends a candlelight vigil for victims of a mass shooting on January 23, 2023 in Monterey Park, California. Eleven people were killed and 9 people were injured during a mass shooting that took place at a dance studio in Monterey Park. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images) VCG/VCG via Getty Images hide caption
MONTEREY PARK, CA - JANUARY 23: A mourner attends a candlelight vigil for victims of a mass shooting on January 23, 2023 in Monterey Park, California. Eleven people were killed and 9 people were injured during a mass shooting that took place at a dance studio in Monterey Park. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
VCG/VCG via Getty ImagesAmericans have grown accustomed to hearing about the latest mass shooting. And recently news coverage has been focused on two tragic events in California.
Last weekend eleven people were killed and nine injured in Monterey Park near Los Angeles. And on Monday, seven people were killed and one wounded in Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco.
In the past 72 hours alone, seventy-one people were killed and 114 were injured by shootings in different incidents all across the country - including another mass shooting this morning near Los Angeles. Three people were killed and four were injured.
Beyond getting the facts right, which is crucial, news outlets put careful thought into how best to cover these stories. But as gun violence continues to rise, is it time for the media to rethink their approach?
NPR's Michel Martin talks to Nick Wilson, the senior director for Gun Violence Prevention at the Center for American Progress. And Dr. Jessica Beard from Philadelphia Center For Gun Violence Reporting discusses ways the media can avoid retraumatizing survivors of gun violence.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Marc Rivers. It was edited by Jeanette Woods. Our executive producer is Ciera Crawford.