It doesn’t matter where you live in North America or what news network you watch, if a violent gun tragedy happens in Somewhere, USA, well then that will be the lead story. If it bleeds, it leads.

I’ve written about this in A new tragedy of the commons,

“Turn on the news and what do you see? Tragedy. You might, in an hour long program, see one ‘feel good’ news report. You will see sadness, destruction and loss (of property, of profit, of freedoms and rights, of life).”

This quote caught my attention today:

But this is an arms race of sorts, with no network wanting to ‘lose out’ by not covering the story. So what can be done? Here are two suggestions that I have, that I think networks can do right now, based on the advice Dr. Dietz gives… taking it one step further:

1. Do not share the killer’s name or photograph.
2. Replace the killer’s name with, ‘Idiot with a gun’. Such as, “An Idiot With a Gun in Somewhere, USA went into a shopping mall and started shooting.”

Don’t interview his parents, don’t troll his social media, don’t show his picture, and don’t mention his name. His name might come out in a courtroom story, long after the event.

Right now, I could name a few cities, and you would likely be able to name the idiots that shot people up in those cities. That’s sad. These idiots do not deserve the notoriety, they don’t deserve the fame. We don’t need to live in a world where we empower idiots with guns! So let’s be realistic and while tolerating the ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ mantra of the networks, remove some of the poison being spread by these idiots. Take away their identity and fame… a small price they deserve to pay for taking away people’s lives.