The Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary not only raised important questions about gun control but also sparked a national conversation about the supposed demise of media ethics.
When news broke of the shooting, many networks including CNN, CBS and Fox wrongfully reported Ryan Lanza as the killer. Business Insider later revealed the actual killer was Ryan’s brother, Adam Lanza, who was carrying Ryan’s ID when his body was found in the school.
As Edward Schumacher-Matos of NPR points out, “I think most Americans are smart enough to realize that mistakes are inevitable in the early reporting.” Still, many people took to their blogs and other social media sites to complain about how revered news outlets could commit such errors.
According to The New York Observer, there was more than an hour gap between the time that CNN reported the killer to be Ryan Lanza and the time that The New York Post correctly reported the shooter as Adam Lanza. A supposed Facebook friend of Ryan’s tweeted a screenshot of his timeline where he had posted statuses in response to hate mail. In a time when Ryan should have been mourning the death of his mother and brother, a mistake of the media made him feel the need to defend his innocence. Furthermore, his name will forever be connected to this tragedy, though no evidence thus far can prove he had any involvement with the incident.
Many of the errors made by the media are a result of competition between new outlets, which can be blamed on the creation of 24 hour news coverage. The rush to break the story first led many to forget the importance of media ethics.
Another instance of this came when reporters interviewed the elementary-age children who had just witnessed the shooting. Chris Weigant wrote a blog that appeared in The Huffington Post pleading, “Stop interviewing children. It’s exploitative and it’s not journalism… Ethical standards change and get better over time. This is one area that needs some immediate attention.”
The previous are mistakes from which the media should learn. However, the day of the shooting, my Facebook and Twitter feed exploded with another crack at the media. Many complained that the media was making Adam Lanza famous by reporting his name. Some made the argument that fame is what motivated him to commit this crime and therefore by speaking or typing his name, we are falling into his trap and satisfying his wish.
The lack of empirical evidence suggesting that people commit homicide in order to become famous makes these complaints irrelevant. Not only are they irrelevant, but they are asking to withhold information.
Although the media have made ethical and factual mistakes, reporting the name of someone who has committed a massive crime is not one of them. The public has a right to know. This idea fuels the media and therefore, it is unreasonable to request that the media not inform the public.
Send your thoughts to viewpoint@technicianonline.com
