(C) Poynter Institute
This story was originally published by Poynter Institute and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Media coverage of the Nashville school shooting intensifies [1]
['Tom Jones', 'Tom Jones Is Poynter S Senior Media Writer For Poynter.Org. He Was Previously Part Of The Tampa Bay Times Family During Three Stints Over Some']
Date: 2023-03-29 11:30:46+00:00
While mass shootings have become far too frequent (there have been more than 130 this year in the United States), Monday’s shooting in Nashville continues to dominate the news cycle.
It’s not unusual for mass shootings to renew the fierce debate about guns in this country, with half the nation calling for stricter gun laws and the other half offering thoughts and prayers and comments about mental health. That debate magnified this week seemingly more so than usual, possibly because of the setting of the shooting (a Christian grade school) and the victims, which included three 9-year-old children.
Media coverage has been intense.
In the aftermath of Monday’s horrific news, my Poynter colleague Kelly McBride writes, “How news organizations can responsibly report on the Nashville mass shooting.”
Among her thoughts are to minimize the shooter’s identity, meaning avoid using it in a headline. Also, McBride wrote, “Steer clear of images that might glorify the shooter.” (More on this in a moment.)
Another point is to avoid using the “overblown term” of “manifesto.” McBride writes, “By definition, a manifesto is clear and logical. Most documents left behind by shooters are confusing, illogical attempts to justify their behavior.”
But this was the part of McBride’s piece that I found most interesting: “The police reported on the day of the attack that the shooter was transgender. That may turn out to be wrong or incomplete. And it’s unclear what that has to do with the shooting. Yet some news organizations are publishing photos and social media posts that spotlight the shooter and suggest a causal relationship between gender identity and this act of violence. There is no evidence to support that at this point. Both news and entertainment media have contributed to the inaccurate characterization of trans people as dangerous and unhinged. Be cautious of contributing to that trope. Until it’s known what pronouns are appropriate, just avoid them. This is doable, given the best practice of minimizing information about the shooter unless it’s clearly connected to the attack.”
Here are more thoughts and stories regarding the Nashville shooting:
We call to the stand …
Some of Fox News’ biggest names are being asked to take the stand in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion lawsuit against the network over coverage of the 2020 presidential election. The case is expected to go to court in mid-April. In court filings, Dominion is asking for a who’s who of Fox News to testify, including Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott, network president Jay Wallace, and on-air hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Maria Bartiromo and Bret Baier. Dominion also wants testimony from former executive Bill Sammon and former politics editor Chris Stirewalt.
Several of those names include those whom Fox might also want to testify, including Scott, Wallace, Hannity, Carlson, Bartiromo and Baier.
In a statement, Fox News said, “Dominion’s needlessly expansive live witness list is yet another attempt to generate headlines and distract from the many shortcomings of its case. Ultimately, this case is about the First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”
King to CNN?
The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti reports that CNN is close to finalizing a deal that would have “CBS Mornings” anchor Gayle King hosting a weekly prime-time show. In addition, basketball analyst Charles Barkley could be involved in the show with King. Puck’s Dylan Byers reported in early February that CNN was in talks with King and Barkley.
CNN boss Chris Licht is looking to boost the network’s falling prime-time ratings.
As Simonetti wrote, “Mr. Licht has been struggling to find the right formula for prime time since he took over last May. The network was on track to average 535,000 primetime viewers for the first quarter as of March 24, down about 35% from a year ago and its lowest quarterly ratings average since 2015, according to Nielsen data. In March, CNN is set to post its lowest monthly rating in at least three decades among adults 25 to 54, a key demographic for advertisers.”
Would King, perhaps along with Barkley, give CNN the lift it is looking for? I would be skeptical. Not because of King and Barkley, both of whom are talented TV people, but because of the current cable news landscape. Conservative viewers flock to Fox News, and MSNBC seems to be the preferred destination for what’s left of the prime-time cable news followers. MSNBC’s prime-time viewership often doubles up CNN.
Then again, adding King is worth a shot. Licht needs to try something.
Simonetti wrote, “Inside CNN, some staffers said that they wished the network’s journalism got more attention than the ratings decline and that CNN’s struggles have taken a toll on morale. Still, some employees said they are optimistic about Mr. Licht’s leadership and noted that he has been more physically present in meetings and in the hallways since the beginning of the year, after tending to corporate matters earlier.”
Conviction of ‘Serial’ subject reinstated
Adnan Syed was 17 years old when he was arrested in 1999 for killing a former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee. In 2000, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He always maintained his innocence and in 2014 the case became the subject of the popular podcast “Serial.” The podcast looked at the possibility that Syed was wrongly convicted.
Then, last September, after 22 years in prison, Syed was released when a judge vacated the verdict because of questions over how prosecutors had turned over evidence to the defense years ago.
But on Tuesday, another twist in the case. A Maryland appellate court, by a 2-1 vote, reinstated the murder conviction, saying Lee’s family had their rights violated because they weren’t informed and did not attend the hearing where his conviction was vacated.
Now what?
The court’s ruling on Tuesday said, “We remand for a new, legally compliant, and transparent hearing on the motion to vacate, where Mr. Lee is given notice of the hearing that is sufficient to allow him to attend in person, evidence supporting the motion to vacate is presented, and the court states its reasons in support of its decision.”
CNN’s Sara Smart has more.
Psaki’s strong ratings
Speaking of cable news ratings, Jen Psaki’s new Sunday MSNBC show followed up strong opening week ratings with solid week two numbers this past weekend. Her noon Eastern show won the time slot among cable news outlets. Psaki’s show had 1.061 million viewers, beating out Fox News (900,000) and CNN (574,000). In addition, Psaki’s second episode drew more viewers than every telecast on CNN last week.
An apology over slavery
The owner of The Guardian has apologized for the roles the newspaper’s founders had in transatlantic slavery. The Guardian’s Aamna Mohdin wrote, “It follows an independent academic research commissioned in 2020 to investigate whether there was any historical connection between chattel slavery and John Edward Taylor, the journalist and cotton merchant who founded the newspaper in 1821, and the other Manchester businessmen who funded its creation.”
Details of the research can be found in “The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement report.”
The Guardian ran a special series called “Cotton Capital” — which looked at “how slavery changed the Guardian, Britain and the world.” It includes this transparent story: “The enslaved people linked to The Guardian.” The piece identifies more than 300 people enslaved on plantations connected to The Guardian’s founders.
In addition to the apology, The Guardian also announced a decadelong program of restorative justice. The Scott Trust said it will donate more than $12 million with “millions dedicated specifically to descendant communities linked to The Guardian’s 19th-century founders.”
Media tidbits
Recommendation of the day
After a four-year probe, ESPN’s T.J. Quinn and Nicole Noren with a superb and heart-wrenching story: “Listen. A story about what happens when the people and institutions that are supposed to protect, fail.”
The massive report chronicles the institutional failures that led to the murder of University of Utah student and track athlete Lauren McCluskey, who was murdered by a man she had been dating.
Aside from the lengthy story on ESPN.com, the murder is the subject of a documentary that debuted Tuesday night on ESPN+ and ESPN+ on Hulu. In addition, ABC’s “20/20” will cover the story, including interviews with the reporters, Friday night at 9 p.m. Eastern.
The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch calls it “ESPN at its investigative journalism best.” Scott D. Pierce of The Salt Lake Tribune called the documentary “chilling.”
Quinn told Deitsch, “Chasing down all the documents and video was time-consuming, to say the least, and sometimes had to be resolved through state open-records hearings. But ultimately we were able to get what the public was entitled to under the law. With people, however, it was a different story.”
Carve out some time to read the ESPN.com piece, and then seek out the documentary.
Hot type
More resources for journalists
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at
[email protected].
The Poynter Report is our daily media newsletter. To have it delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2023/media-coverage-of-the-nashville-school-shooting-intensifies/
Published and (C) by Poynter Institute
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons .
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/poynter/
