Mass Shooting Essay

The article Shootings by Adam Gopnik depicts the correlation between mass murders and media to be a social gathering in which citizens from all around the world bandwagon onto debates to form “crusades”. Adam emphasises that media sources only shine light upon topics of gun violence and mass shootings in a overly exaggerated tone, rather than finding an appropriate solution. Adam attepmted to propose that media only brodcrasts pinpointed topics that grabs public attention to make headlines by focusing the characteristics of the Virgina Tech’s shooter’s mental illness. According to Adam (2007) “... much of the conversation was devoted to musing on the treatment of mental

Over the past couple of decades, school shooting have seemed to occur often-- continuously shocking the nation and reminding everyone that no community is exempt from such horror. One main contributor of this hysteria is found within the media. At the catalyst of this hysteria, lies the horrific Columbine shooting in 1999. Since then, school shootings have received ample coverage-- some argue that this has romanticized school shootings, others argue that is has provided condemning coverage of the often insane perpetrators. In the first year after the Columbine shooting, over 10,000 articles were written about the event, likely setting the stage for the nationwide desire for constant coverage of such events (Elsass et al, p. 445-446).

From this quote, it is clear that, despite worldwide news coverage, mass school shootings or what may be described as rampage shootings, are actually rare events. They only make up a small proportion of the thousands of gun deaths per year in America as a whole.

  Mass media's vital role in the public perception of school shootings is seen as a social problem, and social scientists

School shootings have become well known around the world due to the coverage by the media. . These shootings are a serious concern and have parents constantly concerned about their child’s safety when they are at school and also have students thinking twice about any unusual or suspicious behavior. The media appears to play a large part in school shootings and it is important to analyze the deviant behaviors of the shooters in these horrific instances and the fear they create in schools. Does the media play a large part in school shootings or does the media play a large part in the sensationalism of school shootings and the fear they create both in schools and with parents?

Since people are mostly only able to participate in catastrophes such as this mass shooting at a distance, news media is the primary source of information, which therefore creates the audiences’ reality of the events that occur.(Wheeler 80) With this, the mass media has the control of what people are exposed to, and the choice to amplify awareness to what they choose as important. In an interview conducted with Sarah, an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she recalled her exposure to the news of the shooting: “The only reports I had access to, was what I saw in the news”. When asked how she thinks the media had an effect on her perception of the shooting, she stated: ”Well I believe that since the only information I was able to get was from news sources, what I saw in the news is what I believed. So I really do think the media had a strong effect since I was exposed to mainly what they chose to present to me.” With this, media messages, such as the reporting on the Las Vegas shooting, exert a strong influence on audiences and the cultivation of people’s perception. The frequent exposure to these stories of mass shootings and the use of descriptors based on race are fed to the audience and become a common knowledge. Ultimately, the promotion of racial stereotypes through the disproportionate representation of perpetrators of mass shootings influences public opinion and perception.(Lankford) With the strong effect that media has on the people, it is

Over the last decade or so, the United States of America has been shaken by an epidemic of terrifying mass shootings, devastating slayings of unexpecting victims, and unnerving annihilations of the innocent. There is no specific target, no explicitly sought-out group, nor definite individual. From a classroom of first-graders, to a crowded movie theatre, to a U.S. Naval yard, the location seems at most, random, other than that it is almost always a public place. The perpetrators responsible for these horrific murders also vary, and often surprise those who thought they knew them. However, while the occurrences of mass shootings are unpredictable and always shocking, most have one thing in

Viewers across the nation are affected by the social media causing stress on the subject by bombarding the public with media stories, rumors and “a sense of mass panic”. Victims have to relive that horrible moment because the media wants to

Nine students were killed at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. A man opened fire in a church, in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine people, including the pastor. Twenty-seven were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Twelve were killed in the Washington Navy Yard. This is only a few examples from a very long list. The grim truth is that mass shootings are becoming the new normal. Every few months, another mass shooting occurs and the public goes through the same routine of mourning, honoring, and ultimately debating. What causes these manic episodes of multiple, indiscriminate gun deaths? Some push for more gun control, others argue that the U.S. mental health system is a failure. Controversy aside,

The United States will not soon forget the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that occurred just two weeks before Christmas in 2012. This tragic results in the death of twenty students and eight adults. These public acts are bloodcurdling. They create an invisible fear to society. Mass shootings are usually very frightening and receive nation attention because they are often unpredictable. Although the massacre shocked the nation, they are nothing new. In the United States, mass shootings do not happen quite often. Nevertheless, the media coverage often overstates the incident through various methods to hype the scare. When a shooting occurs, the media would not only report the bloody details, attach horrible pictures,

There is an assumption that if you understand the minds of serial killers, or persons who commit mass shootings, that it may help prevent mass shootings. “Mass shootings are not on the rise, but have held steady over three decades, randomly clustering in time to trick our brains into finding a pattern of increase where none actually exists” (Shermer 3). Mass shootings happen at varying times without rhyme or reason. Some think that a psychological disorder or some genetic defect could be the reason people commit these crimes. Although we cannot prevent mass shootings, we can educate on how mental health issues can be a precursor to such a tragedy, and how better laws can create a safer environment.

When news outlets broke the news on “Who was Stephen Paddock?”, headlines followed by "He was a quiet man. He liked to gamble, and enjoyed country music.” Oh and let’s not forget that he also had just murdered 50+ people. When tragic events occur, reporters and editors agonize over the words they will use to present the news to the eyes of the reader. As the United States is still recovering from the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, news coverage is steadily emerging focusing on the tragedy itself and the debate over gun control; however, another genre emerged as well: the examination of the shooter based on stereotypes. As the occurrence of public shootings has increased over the years, the way in which media cover these violent stories can have broad social implications, in that media often include an implicit bias when reporting leading to the creation and perpetuation of racial and mental health stereotypes. In this case, various media outlets have presented the 64-year-old shooter Stephen Paddock in a different light than past mass shooters have been presented. The media’s framing of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, and specifically the shooter, influence people’s perception of the individual and his crime, and the persistent exposure of certain characteristics cultivate a common understanding for the audience, and therefore the media has a strong effect on the individuals.

On October 1, 2017 America was, yet again, devastated when Las Vegas suffered the United States worst mass shooting. One man killed over 50 people and injured 527. After he was finished firing from the 39th floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort, he committed suicide. His name was Stephan Paddock (Yan and Park). When most people think of a mass shooting, they think of a terroristic act or someone shooting at a large group of innocent citizens, like Columbine High School or Sandy Hook Elementary School. In actuality, most people do not realize that whenever two or more people are injured or killed by a gun, it is considered a mass shooting. These “mass shootings” happen every day in America and they are one of the leading causes of death in

There have been so many mass shootings on US soil since I’ve been born. I researched it and found out that in my 16 years of life there have been 37 mass shootings in the United States. All of them at the hands of some “unstable’ person who we often create a biography on in which they become a villain in our history or some misunderstood person that was the victim of bullying and a harsh society. After any horrific event, the media will

When news outlets document media in great detail, such as a shooting or a suicide, by the news and other media, according to the article “Media coverage of mass violence” page 1, “there is a two-week period following in which imitations become significantly more likely.” (1) This is called the contagion effect. To circumvent this, media reporters should follow guidelines, such as being more brief with their report, or omitting the person's information.