Television news crews in 1966 drove to the location of a breaking news story in an automobile, documented the event with a 16mm motion picture film camera, drove the exposed film back to the station for processing, then threaded it on a projector for broadcast on the local news. The three television networks at that time, (ABC, CBS and NBC), received a recorded feed from an affiliate station.
By contrast, television news crews in 1999 drove to the location of a breaking news story in a van equipped with electronic equipment, which could send a live picture from a video camera back to the local station. The general public could now see a news story live as it unfolded.
The Columbine shooting became an immediate nationwide news story, in large part due to live round-the-clock coverage of the multiple cable television news networks. Within minutes of the aftermath -- and the suicides of the two killers -- it was seen on television from California to New York.
The technological evolution of television news -- 16mm film to live picture -- and its current capability of transmitting breaking news stories coast-to-coast within minutes, can turn a local news event into a nationwide event.
Imagine if the story of the Columbine shooting had not gone outside the borders of the state of Colorado. In the 20 years since, there would not have been 26 copycat shootings. Broadcasting live television coverage of mass shootings coast-to-coast could unintentionally lead to more mass shootings, which have increased over the last four decades from 21 in the 1980s -- the beginning of live television news -- to 120 in the 2010s -- a 471 percent increase. During that same time period, the population of the United States increased by only 45 percent.
Not only have the number of mass shootings increased over the years, but sometimes the number of victims during a shooting. In October of 2017, a lone gunman went to the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on the Las Vegas strip with 23 rifles and shot 1,100 rounds outside a window into a crowd of concert goers below killing 58 people and injuring 422 before committing suicide -- which is eerily similar to the clock tower shooting at the University of Texas in Austin.
While live television coverage plays a role in the increase of mass shootings, so does irresponsible television journalism. Some television news departments, which are eager to be the first to get a breaking news story on the air, may not take the time to stop and consider what effect a story of a mass shooting might have on a suicidal individual. Such individuals don't care about their own lives, and certainly not about the lives of others. And, when you think about it, a story about shooting others with a gun is easy to physically duplicate.
Some television news departments also need to be responsible for the number of days they keep their stories on the air -- especially stories of mass shootings. Almost all 24-hour cable television news networks keep their lead stories in front of the general public for an average of six days after an event has happened. This is most likely the main cause for inspiring copycat shootings. At any time during those six days, anyone can turn on a high definition wide screen television and watch a news snippet or special hour-long program of not only the shooting itself, but also a detailed historical background of the killers and what possibly motivated them to commit mass murder.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
