Covering Mass Shootings: Journalists’ Perceptions of Coverage and Factors Influencing Attitudes

• In Event: Journalistic Norms in the Face of Terror and Extreme Violence

Abstract

Using data from a national survey of U.S. newspaper journalists (N = 1,318), this study examines attitudes toward news coverage of mass shootings. The study also considers how individual characteristics, journalistic routines, and organizational attributes influence these attitudes. Participants generally agreed that coverage has become routine. Journalists were largely supportive of coverage of perpetrators, but were hesitant to agree that coverage contributes to “copycat” shootings. Regarding attitude influences, a participant’s age was generally the strongest predictor. A journalist’s role perception, meanwhile, was the most powerful determinant of attitudes toward victim/survivor coverage. Findings also indicate differences in attitude according to job title and coverage beat. Taken as a whole, findings indicate that traditional libertarian ideas about mass shooting coverage are still prevalent; however, journalists also want to see more comprehensive reporting, including coverage of solutions and community resilience.

Authors

• Nicole Smith Dahmen, U of Oregon

• Jesse Abdenour, U of Oregon

• Karen Elizabeth McIntyre, Virginia Commonwealth U

• Krystal Noga-Styron, Central Washington U