One terrible thing about news and news values is how repetition weakens their impact: the shock and awe drain away as horror becomes routine. This process could be seen in action as mass killings in San Bernardino followed mass murders in Colorado Springs. The Pointer Institute monitored reporters’ tweets from the spot.
“We’re now at point where a mass shooting breaks out when the previous one is so recent that it was still lead story in that morning’s New York Times,” said one. “Someone just sent an internal email to our reporters about stories on this shooting with the phrase ‘You know the drill’ in it. Sadly true,” said another. “At this point we could probably create a ‘template’ for journalists breaking mass shootings, eh? Fill in the blanks. So depressing,” gloomed a third.
Deluded or Daesh, religious fanatics or simply confused? The piled bodies, the blood and the mundanity of massacre on the street where you live.
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