Name No Names: The Role of the Media in Reporting Mass Shootings

Sidhu, Shawn S.

doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2016.10.004

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Although the coverage of perpetrators is negative in tone, it may still have many unintended consequences, such as making mass killings—as potential opportunities to become famous—and mass killers—as de facto celebrities—more appealing to a small fraction of audience members. The role of contagion and copycat effects as consequences of media coverage of mass killers has been heavily documented in the scholarly literature (Follman & Andrews, 2015; Gould & Olivares, 2017; Helfgott, 2015; Kissner, 2016; Langman, 2017; Lankford, 2016; Lankford & Madfis, 2018; Meindl & Ivy, 2017; Murray, 2017; Perrin, 2016; Sidhu, 2017; Towers, Gomez-Lievano, Khan, Mubayi, & Castillo-Chavez, 2015). Of course, psychologically healthy people do not commit mass shootings based on what they read or see in the news, but there are troubled and at-risk individuals who respond very differently (Follman & Andrews, 2015; Gould & Olivares, 2017; Helfgott, 2015; Langman, 2017; Lankford, 2016, 2018; Murray, 2017; Perrin, 2016; Sidhu, 2017).…”

Section: The Consequences Of Media Coverage Of Mass Killingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media Coverage of Mass Killers: Content, Consequences, and Solutions

Lankford

Madfis

2018

American Behavioral Scientist

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In recent years, major media organizations have wondered if their coverage of mass shooters actually increases the risk of future attacks, and have asked how their reporting could be improved. In response, 149 experts have called for media to stop publishing the names and photos of mass killers (except during ongoing searches for escaped suspects), but continue reporting the other details of these crimes as needed. Here, we review some of the most important scientific findings on (a) the nature of media coverage of mass killers, (b) its consequences, and (c) solutions that could help make this coverage safer, and summarize how new studies published in this special issue of American Behavioral Scientist add to this valuable knowledge base.

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Section: The Consequences Of Media Coverage Of Mass Killingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media Coverage of Mass Killers: Content, Consequences, and Solutions

Lankford

Madfis

2018

American Behavioral Scientist

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“…Research indicates that this influence is complex and includes the analysis of individual, situational, media, social, and cultural characteristics, among others. More recent works are trying to study the existence or not of these effects in other types of violent acts or crimes such as mass killings [33–36], robberies [37], terrorist acts [38, 39] or shootings [40, 41].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and study of a copycat effect in intimate partner homicides: A lesson from Spanish femicides

et al. 2019

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Objectives This paper focuses on the issue of intimate partner violence and, specifically, on the distribution of femicides over time and the existence of copycat effects. This is the subject of an ongoing debate often triggered by the social alarm following multiple intimate partner homicides (IPHs) occurring in a short span of time. The aim of this research is to study the evolution of IPHs and provide a far-reaching answer by rigorously analyzing and searching for patterns in data on femicides. Methods The study analyzes an official dataset, provided by the system VioGén of the Secretaría de Estado de Seguridad (Spanish State Secretariat for Security), including all the femicides occurred in Spain in 2007-2017. A statistical methodology to identify temporal interdependencies in count time series is proposed and applied to the dataset. The same methodology can be applied to other contexts. Results There has been a decreasing trend in the number of femicides per year. No interdependencies among the temporal distribution of femicides are observed. Therefore, according to data, the existence of copycat effect in femicides cannot be claimed. Conclusions Around 2011 there was a clear change in the average number of femicides which has not picked up. Results allow for an informed answer to the debate on copycat effect in Spanish femicides. The planning of femicides prevention activities should not be a reaction to a perceived increase in their occurrence. As a copycat effect is not detected in the studied time period, there is no evidence supporting the need to censor media reports on femicides.

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“…In recent years, copycat violence and contagion effects have become a major research focus (Follman, 2019; Helfgott, 2015; Kissner, 2016; Langman, 2018; Lankford & Madfis, 2018; Meindl & Ivy, 2018; Sidhu, 2017; Towers et al, 2015), but little attention has been paid to how much violent role models and copycats resemble each other.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on copycat violence and contagion effects has primarily focused on a few key issues. For instance, scholars have established that high profile perpetrators can inspire and influence subsequent perpetrators (Follman, 2019; Helfgott, 2015; Langman, 2018); that high profile incidents may increase the likelihood of subsequent incidents (Kissner, 2016; Towers et al, 2015); and that outsized media coverage of perpetrators makes these effects more likely (Lankford & Madfis, 2018; Meindl & Ivy, 2018; Sidhu, 2017).…”

Section: Thresholds Of Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

A Close Examination of the 2016 Dallas and Baton Rouge Police Killers: Identifying Potential Risk Factors and Influences for Copycat Violence

Lankford

2021

International Criminal Justice Review

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Two of the worst targeted attacks on American police officers in recent history occurred within eleven days of each other. Although it seems clear their proximity was not merely attributable to chance, the connection between these incidents, and the implications for understanding copycat violence, have never been fully explored. This study analyzes the perpetrators of these attacks from a “thresholds of violence” perspective, which suggests the first actor in a sequence is more likely to be disturbed and violence prone, while subsequent actors are typically less disturbed but more socially influenced. Results suggest the thresholds model has both merits and limits. The first attacker did have more psychological problems and violence in his past, and the second did seem more influenced by violent role models. However, there were also many similarities between them, and both attacked due to a combination of internal and external factors. If this study's findings are generalizable, higher risks of becoming a copycat offender may exist for individuals who have (1) personal similarities with previous attackers, (2) a history of psychological problems, (3) a history of interest in violent actors, and (4) recent escalation in their online behavior. Recommendations are offered for future research, offender profiling, and violence prevention.

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Name No Names: The Role of the Media in Reporting Mass Shootings

Cited by 9 publications

References 4 publications

Media Coverage of Mass Killers: Content, Consequences, and Solutions

Media Coverage of Mass Killers: Content, Consequences, and Solutions

Evolution and study of a copycat effect in intimate partner homicides: A lesson from Spanish femicides

A Close Examination of the 2016 Dallas and Baton Rouge Police Killers: Identifying Potential Risk Factors and Influences for Copycat Violence

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