Correct Media Coverage of Events

On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. According to PBS NewsHour, nineteen year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire in the school killing seventeen people and wounding others. The seventeen people include the school’s football coach, athletic director, and young students. Nikolas Cruz used an AR-15, which is a semi-automatic assault rifle. He was armed with extra magazines of ammunition in his backpack. In addition to the AR-15, Cruz wore a gas mask into the school and was equipped with smoke grenades. He pulled the fire alarm in the school, and he began to shoot. It was noted after the events took place that Cruz was an ex-student of Stoneman Douglas who was expelled for “disciplinary reasons.”

According to TIME, Cruz has been charged with seventeen counts of premeditated murder. TIME also reports that as of February 14, 2018, there had already been six school shootings that resulted in injuries within the start of the 2018 year. Since 2000, there have been over forty “active shooter” incidents in American schools. That being said, the Stoneman Douglas shooting is the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012. Gunman in similar mass shootings, such as Sandy Hook and Pulse Night Club, also used a similar style assault weapon.

While the shooting was taking place at Stoneman Douglas, the students were on lockdown. However, they remained active on social media. They were reporting the events that were taking place in the school. They were using platforms such as Twitter and Snapchat. Members of the high school’s newspaper, The Eagle Eye and their broadcast club WMSD, also took the initiative to report the events that were taking place within the school.

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As stated, students of Stoneman Douglas High School were reporting on the mass shooting as the mass shooting was taking place in the school. Specifically, members of the school news organizations The Eagle Eye and WMSD were active on social media. As stated by the Columbia Journalism Review, the students were posting photos and videos. They were covering the moments in which students and teachers were cramming into the classroom closet. They were covering the moments in which law enforcement entered the school. They were covering the moments in which they were being evacuated from the classroom and the school. The provided the horrific sights and sounds that were happening during and after the shooting. David Hogg, the student news director for WMSD, even conducted interviews from the closet of a classroom while they were hiding [3]. The students themselves were covering what professional journalists could not. They were experiencing the event as it was happening.

Professional journalists did not have access to the story in the same way that the students did. The students were both living the event and reporting it in present time. The students were both victims and reporters. That being said, journalists across the country were flooding into Parkland, Florida to cover the mass shooting. Being professional journalists, they had to get the story. Journalists at the scene were interviewing students and parents. Journalists got emotional and impactful responses. However, were they exploiting the tragedy and the students? Did they become too invasive? There was an incident, as reported by the Washington Post, in which NBC’s Today Show interviewed a Stoneman Douglas student named Samantha Grady. Her best friend and classmate was shot. As Grady was being interviewed by Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotbe, Grady struggled to maintain composure. Much of the social media response to this interview was immediate and negative [4]. Were they exploiting this student who was in a state of shock and grief?

There are numerous ethical challenges that have taken place in regard to the Parkland Shooting. Some of the ethical challenges are still ongoing. For the purpose of this paper, the ethical challenges of journalistic reporting will be covered. Like stated, the students of Stoneman Douglas acted as reporters, while at the same time being victims. This begs the question: Can one be both reporter and victim? Can anyone with a camera and social media account be a reporter? In addition to that, there are questions that could be raised about professional journalists. Are journalists exploiting this tragedy and the students that lived it? What is the line of informing the public and exploiting tragedies for views/clicks?

Students of Stoneman Douglas High School acted both as victims and reporters. Students that were members of The Eagle Eye stepped up. They used their phones and social media as the tragedy was taking place. According to CBS, Stoneman Douglas has a strong broadcast journalism department. They have won awards for their program. Eric Garner is the broadcast journalism teacher at the school. He has helped and prepared these students to be “media savvy.” Many of the students that have been interviewed on the news have been his journalism students and members of The Eagle Eye. Much of the footage released from inside the school are from his students.

That being said, can the students play both roles of victim and reporter? The students themselves believe that they can be both. Christy Ma, a staffer for The Eagle Eye mentioned that they tried to take as many photographs as possible. They wanted to show the “raw emotion that was in the classroom.” She further says that she and her classmates knew that they could show the world the events that were taking place within the school and show why there is change needed. They believed they had the responsibility to tell their own story and the story of their fellow classmates as it was happening. It was their story and they were living it. As Nikhita Nookala stated, they have the power to be an independent news media. By reporting the way they did, Nookla said, “We [student newspaper/broadcast journalist] don’t have an obligation to report on or to fit into the narrative of any left or right lens.” They would remain “independent.” They would tell the story as they experienced it.

Furthermore, many of these students went in front of the cameras. They were interviewed by professional journalists. They were (and continue to be) frustrated with U.S. leaders. They expressed their frustrations on camera. Mass shootings keep happening, and nothing gets done. David Hogg went on CNN and stated, “We’re children. You guys are the adults….Work together, come over your politics and get something done”. Student and staffer Delaney Tarr spoke at a rally which was being broadcasted. She said, “Because of these gun laws, people that I know, people that I love, have died, and I will never be able to see them again”. She, like Hogg, was also calling for change. Together, the students were starting a movement.

This is where it begins to get messy. Between reporting the incidents within the school and appearing on news outlets, the high school students were (and continue to be) subject to backlash. In addition to the trauma they were experiencing in the aftermath of the shooting, they were attracting hate online via various social media platforms. An article from The Washington Post explains that there were accusations that some of the students were “crisis actors.” People were accusing the high school students of being part of a “conspiracy theory.” There were members and supporters of the NRA brutally criticizing these students for standing up and wanting change in gun control and gun laws. People online were disapproving of the ways in which the students were grieving. There were people online discrediting their reporting and activism because of their age. They call the students liars. There are students that were threatened online.

Then comes the question of professional journalist. There were professional journalists, such as Laura Ingraham, that personally attacked students like she did with David Hogg [6]. She publicly mocked and taunted Hogg on her Twitter page. Advertisers withdrew from her show after the attacks. One can argue the ethics behind the professional coverage of the mass shooting. There were other reporters that were insensitive to the situation. While students such as Nikhita Nookala and Christy Ma stress the importance and support of professional journalist, they also mention their disappointments. They mention a reporter that asked a grieving student what city they were in. Nookla stated that she overheard that a student was asked about an “emo gazebo” and was asked if “freaks” sat there.

They were also asked about false conspiracy theories and whether or not they and their classmates were crisis actors. Christy Ma expressed her disappointment with some of the reporting. She believes that some reporters are diverting the story in an irrelevant matter by bringing up such ideas as crisis actors and conspiracies. She says she believes that there are journalists that are redirecting the focus of the event that took place in Parkland.

Evaluation of Situation and Suggestions. Can one be both a reporter and victim? I believe so. The Parkland students were brave in their actions. They reported what other journalists could not. They showed the world what was happening inside of Stoneman Douglas High School as the event was happening. It was horrifying. It started a conversation. It was impactful; it was impactful in a way in which a professional journalists report could not be. It brought us into the situation.

It is also important to note that Twitter verified students of Stoneman Douglas as a way to provide credibility. There were people online pretending that they were students or student reporters. They were giving out false information. It is important to be aware of who you are getting your information from. This is the same in any journalistic case: verify your source. Be sure the information you are getting is true. Avoid getting information from fake or unverified accounts.

Furthermore, this case questions the ethical standards of journalists. Journalists have the responsibility to get the story and get it right. In order to get the story, they have to interview the witnesses. In the case of Parkland, the witnesses were young high school students. It is important to get permission from the interviewee to get an interview. If the interviewee is a minor (like the Parkland students), it would be smart to ask the family before conducting the interview. If they do not want to be part of the interview, do not force it. Also, make it clear to the audience that there was consent for the interview. Take for example Anderson Cooper. Before interviewing a student Cooper said, “I want to ask you some questions and I know your mom has given permission and stuff, but if there’s anything you don’t want to talk about, that’s completely fine. You don’t have to,” [4]. It is important to remember that these interviewees kids that experienced something horrific. Be sensitive to that.

In addition, I can understand the ethical question of bias and credibility. Are these students bias in their reporting? Are they bias in their activism? Perhaps. They experienced something traumatic and unimaginable. They witnessed their peers die. However, it is their story and they took control of it. Their stories lined up with other witnesses. After what they experience, they are calling for stricter gun control laws. They want their representatives and lawmakers to step up. They Want their fellow citizens to step up.

Since no one was stepping up, they stepped up themselves and started the Never Again movement. They organized the March for Our Lives which took place around the country and around the world. Their actions and views can be considered bias, but it is also what they experience. That is something that should be respected. Since they lived through this event, their lens is different. Through their reporting and appearances, they showed the world what they were experiencing in that school and what they continue to experience (ex. Hate speech). They raised awareness to America’s gun problem. They have grown up in a world where mass school shootings happen. The students reporting allowed an even more powerful and emotional response. This case expresses the power of visuals and audio. If the students could have done one thing differently, they could have put a warning on the visuals they released warning of sensitive material.

Professional journalists also have to be careful of bias. Conservative media that has ties with the NRA are likely to be more bias as well, defending the NRA and the Second Amendment. Journalists that are shifting the focus away from the actual event to the idea that there are students that are “crisis actors” can be considered bias and uncredible.

Professional journalists such as Laura Ingraham that taunt students on social media are bias. They are not reporting. They are being judgmental, bias, and extremely unprofessional. They are abusing their role as journalists. Journalists have the responsibility to get the story and report the facts. Many journalists have done this. There are others that have not. There are journalist that let their own feelings, motivations, and agendas get in the way of reporting facts. That is unethical journalistic behavior.

However, the students are rebuking false claims made against them. They do not let attacks get the best of them. They are keeping their movement in the limelight. The Parkland students have decided to pick their battles. As David Hogg says during a Vox interview [7], they just have to laugh some of the criticism off. They have chosen to make jokes out of it, especially on Twitter. They cannot let their critics get the most of them or get in the way of what they are fighting for. Vox notes that this is a good PR strategy too. This gives the students more followers, retweets, and attention. In return, they are able to further their movement and gain support, as well as stay in the news. However, Hogg notes that there are times in which it can be difficult to laugh criticism off. In the case of Laura Ingraham, he posted a list of advertisers that advertise on her show. Within twenty-four hours, advertisers were withdrawing from her program. This in turn gave Hogg more time on the news. He was able find a way to avoid negativity, and promote their cause.

To be a journalist is to report the facts. The Parkland students know the facts better than anyone else; they lived through the Stoneman Douglas shooting. They reported the facts and provided imagery, audio, and updates. They did their best with given the events that took place. They went in front of reporters to share their story with the world. They started the Never Again movement and organized the March for Our Lives. They put their grief into action. They are demanding stricter gun control. They used their reporting to tell their story and to make a difference. They are dealing with hate speech in a way that is productive. When hate speech is in their way, they are given even more promotion to their cause.

Anyone with a camera and a social media account can do their own reporting. That being said, there is a right way  and a wrong way to do it. One cannot jump to conclusions thinking they know the whole story. This goes both ways. The person taking video may not know to the full extent what is going on, yet they record it anyway. The person watching the video may not understand the context in which the video is taking place, yet they watch it anyway. Visuals and audio are powerful. Reporting comes with great responsibility and ethical guidelines. It is important to question everything you see and hear as a consumer of news and media. Verify everything.

For example, in this situation, if you were looking for students that were in Stoneman Douglas reporting, it would be smart to look for the verification symbol on their profile. Otherwise, their profile could possibly be a fake account.

When watching professional reporting, be aware of bias. Make sure they are reporting facts. If they are reporting about conspiracy theories or making fun of students, they are likely an unreliable source. Like everything, watch the news with a critical lens. Listen for the facts. Bias is present in professional reporting. Listen to both sides. Don’t rely on one media source to give the full story.

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