On how people understand news differently when it's more episodic and less thematic
When a story is told in terms of individual people, our brains are going to be activating constructs about this person in this place at this time. And we're naturally going to want to also protect ourselves and say, "Well, this awful thing wouldn't happen to me, because look it happened over there to those people in this place." And we're going to extrapolate from that and say, "If I don't do these things, I'm not in this place, and I'm not those people, this will not happen to me."
As opposed to when covered more thematically, broadly, in terms of systemic factors that may contribute to this trend, that is going to encourage people to think: What could the system do? What kind of legislation might be passed to address this issue?
On how people understand news differently when it's more episodic and less thematic
When a story is told in terms of individual people, our brains are going to be activating constructs about this person in this place at this time. And we're naturally going to want to also protect ourselves and say, "Well, this awful thing wouldn't happen to me, because look it happened over there to those people in this place." And we're going to extrapolate from that and say, "If I don't do these things, I'm not in this place, and I'm not those people, this will not happen to me."
As opposed to when covered more thematically, broadly, in terms of systemic factors that may contribute to this trend, that is going to encourage people to think: What could the system do? What kind of legislation might be passed to address this issue?
Defines a public mass shooting as an incident in which the motive appeared to be indiscriminate killing and a lone gunman took the lives of at least three people. This language is similar to a 2013 statute that defines "mass killings" as three or more killed in a single incident, though that applies to any weapon.
…database, which dates back to Aug. 20, 1982, counts 91 mass shootings. Of these, 50 were carried out by white men — hence, where Newsweek and other outlets got the statistic that 54 percent of mass shootings carried out since 1982 were done so by white men.
…data show African-Americans accounted for 15 mass shootings, while Latinos and Asians were responsible for seven each. Three attacks were carried out by women, including one of the two perpetrators behind the 2015 San Bernardino shooting.
We should note that some experts expressed concern that if the public debate around gun violence focuses too much on mass shootings, there’s a risk of overlooking the fact that gun murders disproportionately affect minorities, especially African-Americans.
Defines a public mass shooting as an incident in which the motive appeared to be indiscriminate killing and a lone gunman took the lives of at least three people. This language is similar to a 2013 statute that defines "mass killings" as three or more killed in a single incident, though that applies to any weapon.
…database, which dates back to Aug. 20, 1982, counts 91 mass shootings. Of these, 50 were carried out by white men — hence, where Newsweek and other outlets got the statistic that 54 percent of mass shootings carried out since 1982 were done so by white men.
…data show African-Americans accounted for 15 mass shootings, while Latinos and Asians were responsible for seven each. Three attacks were carried out by women, including one of the two perpetrators behind the 2015 San Bernardino shooting.
We should note that some experts expressed concern that if the public debate around gun violence focuses too much on mass shootings, there’s a risk of overlooking the fact that gun murders disproportionately affect minorities, especially African-Americans.
Number of mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and April 2023, by shooter's race or ethnicity
White - 74
Black -25
Latino - 11
Asian - 10
Between 1982 and April 2023, 74 out of the 142 mass shootings in the United States were carried out by white shooters. By comparison, the perpetrator was African American in 25 mass shootings, and Latino in 11. When calculated as percentages, this amounts to 52 percent, 17 percent, and seven percent respectively.
Number of mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and April 2023, by shooter's race or ethnicity
White - 74
Black -25
Latino - 11
Asian - 10
Between 1982 and April 2023, 74 out of the 142 mass shootings in the United States were carried out by white shooters. By comparison, the perpetrator was African American in 25 mass shootings, and Latino in 11. When calculated as percentages, this amounts to 52 percent, 17 percent, and seven percent respectively.
Mass shootings are often national news and prompt warnings about the dangers white men pose to the country. The Virginia Beach shooting was different. The shooter did not fit the angry white man stereotype; he was black.
Whenever there is a mass shooting, we are likely to hear about “toxic white masculinity.” After the Parkland, Florida, school massacre, Stony Brook University sociology professor Michael Kimmel said white men’s “aggrieved entitlement” may be responsible. Sky News asked, “Why are white men more likely to carry out mass shootings?” The article didn’t answer the question, but it did call shooter Nikolas Cruz — who is Hispanic — a white man.
After the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, CNN took the same view: “White men warn the public about vicious Central American gangs invading the United States, even though white men have committed more mass shootings than any other group.” The writer accused white men of projecting their violent impulses onto non-whites.
Media portrayals and assumptions are wrong. Mass killers are not disproportionately white — any more than serial killers are. Craddock is more representative of the typical mass shooter than an angry white man.
Mass shootings are often national news and prompt warnings about the dangers white men pose to the country. The Virginia Beach shooting was different. The shooter did not fit the angry white man stereotype; he was black.
Whenever there is a mass shooting, we are likely to hear about “toxic white masculinity.” After the Parkland, Florida, school massacre, Stony Brook University sociology professor Michael Kimmel said white men’s “aggrieved entitlement” may be responsible. Sky News asked, “Why are white men more likely to carry out mass shootings?” The article didn’t answer the question, but it did call shooter Nikolas Cruz — who is Hispanic — a white man.
After the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, CNN took the same view: “White men warn the public about vicious Central American gangs invading the United States, even though white men have committed more mass shootings than any other group.” The writer accused white men of projecting their violent impulses onto non-whites.
Media portrayals and assumptions are wrong. Mass killers are not disproportionately white — any more than serial killers are. Craddock is more representative of the typical mass shooter than an angry white man.
A city engineer killed 12 people in Virginia Beach last weekend. DeWayne Craddock resigned from his job Friday morning and then shot up his workplace, killing his boss and other co-workers before the police killed him. His motive is unknown.
Mass shootings are often national news and prompt warnings about the dangers white men pose to the country. The Virginia Beach shooting was different. The shooter did not fit the angry white man stereotype; he was black.
Whenever there is a mass shooting, we are likely to hear about “toxic white masculinity.” After the Parkland, Florida, school massacre, Stony Brook University sociology professor Michael Kimmel said white men’s “aggrieved entitlement” may be responsible. Sky News asked, “Why are white men more likely to carry out mass shootings?” The article didn’t answer the question, but it did call shooter Nikolas Cruz — who is Hispanic — a white man.
After the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, CNN took the same view: “White men warn the public about vicious Central American gangs invading the United States, even though white men have committed more mass shootings than any other group.” The writer accused white men of projecting their violent impulses onto non-whites.
Media portrayals and assumptions are wrong. Mass killers are not disproportionately white — any more than serial killers are. Craddock is more representative of the typical mass shooter than an angry white man.
A 2016 New York Times report found that around 75 percent of mass shooters in 2015 were black. The report defined mass shootings as incidents with four or more dead or injured. The Times noted that most of the “high-profile massacres” were by white men, while the vast majority of shootings that did not get wide coverage were committed by blacks. These included drive-by shootings and other routine acts of violence in “economically downtrodden neighborhoods.”
The actual percentage of black mass shooters was probably higher than 75 percent. The New York Times reported that “nearly half of the cases remain unsolved,” and its figures were based only on assailants who were identified.
Most Mass Shooters Are Black
A city engineer killed 12 people in Virginia Beach last weekend. DeWayne Craddock resigned from his job Friday morning and then shot up his workplace, killing his boss and other co-workers before the police killed him. His motive is unknown.
Mass shootings are often national news and prompt warnings about the dangers white men pose to the country. The Virginia Beach shooting was different. The shooter did not fit the angry white man stereotype; he was black.
Whenever there is a mass shooting, we are likely to hear about “toxic white masculinity.” After the Parkland, Florida, school massacre, Stony Brook University sociology professor Michael Kimmel said white men’s “aggrieved entitlement” may be responsible. Sky News asked, “Why are white men more likely to carry out mass shootings?” The article didn’t answer the question, but it did call shooter Nikolas Cruz — who is Hispanic — a white man.
After the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, CNN took the same view: “White men warn the public about vicious Central American gangs invading the United States, even though white men have committed more mass shootings than any other group.” The writer accused white men of projecting their violent impulses onto non-whites.
Media portrayals and assumptions are wrong. Mass killers are not disproportionately white — any more than serial killers are. Craddock is more representative of the typical mass shooter than an angry white man.
A 2016 New York Times report found that around 75 percent of mass shooters in 2015 were black. The report defined mass shootings as incidents with four or more dead or injured. The Times noted that most of the “high-profile massacres” were by white men, while the vast majority of shootings that did not get wide coverage were committed by blacks. These included drive-by shootings and other routine acts of violence in “economically downtrodden neighborhoods.”
The actual percentage of black mass shooters was probably higher than 75 percent. The New York Times reported that “nearly half of the cases remain unsolved,” and its figures were based only on assailants who were identified.
Why Some Mass Shootings — And Their Victims — Go Uncounted
As mass shootings have become more frequent by some measures, the locations, victims, and perpetrators can challenge established media narratives about these types of shootings and the nature of gun violence, some researchers say. African American women and children are often injured in neighborhood mass shootings, for example, although these incidents do not always fit some researchers’ definitions of “mass shooting” — and news outlets don’t always report on them as such.
This is almost surely an undercount, said Beard. “What ends up happening is that people who get shot in cities like Philadelphia don’t get to be considered to be part of mass shootings,” she said. While working at Temple University Hospital, she said she often sees, “two, three, four patients presenting together to the trauma bay and receiving care at the same time. So, from my perspective, this is happening much more frequently than is recognized.”
Critically, the study used a definition of a “mass shooting” that reflected the reality of urban trauma centers: The injury of four or more people by firearms, occurring within 100 meters and within one hour. Using this broader definition, researchers found the rate of shootings almost doubled, from 1,324 to 2,180 people per year. The proportion of mass shootings also increased by 53 percent.
This study’s findings challenge the popular media narrative of a lone-wolf gunman who usually shoots at random in a public setting, said Beard. “You can understand why law enforcement might be interested — or people who are involved in criminology might be interested — in that lone shooter, right? Because that’s the way that they think of crime,” said Beard. Meanwhile, local hospitals, along with traumatized communities, are often faced with something quite different, what some researchers refer to as “neighborhood” or “private” mass shootings.
Why Some Mass Shootings — And Their Victims — Go Uncounted
As mass shootings have become more frequent by some measures, the locations, victims, and perpetrators can challenge established media narratives about these types of shootings and the nature of gun violence, some researchers say. African American women and children are often injured in neighborhood mass shootings, for example, although these incidents do not always fit some researchers’ definitions of “mass shooting” — and news outlets don’t always report on them as such.
This is almost surely an undercount, said Beard. “What ends up happening is that people who get shot in cities like Philadelphia don’t get to be considered to be part of mass shootings,” she said. While working at Temple University Hospital, she said she often sees, “two, three, four patients presenting together to the trauma bay and receiving care at the same time. So, from my perspective, this is happening much more frequently than is recognized.”
Critically, the study used a definition of a “mass shooting” that reflected the reality of urban trauma centers: The injury of four or more people by firearms, occurring within 100 meters and within one hour. Using this broader definition, researchers found the rate of shootings almost doubled, from 1,324 to 2,180 people per year. The proportion of mass shootings also increased by 53 percent.
This study’s findings challenge the popular media narrative of a lone-wolf gunman who usually shoots at random in a public setting, said Beard. “You can understand why law enforcement might be interested — or people who are involved in criminology might be interested — in that lone shooter, right? Because that’s the way that they think of crime,” said Beard. Meanwhile, local hospitals, along with traumatized communities, are often faced with something quite different, what some researchers refer to as “neighborhood” or “private” mass shootings.
“Although public mass shootings are those that typically garner the most attention, mass shootings do not only occur in such public spaces,” wrote the authors, criminologists Jaclyn Schildkraut of the State University of New York at Oswego and Jillian Turanovic of Florida State University.
“Neighborhoods and even private residences have experienced such tragedies, yet these mass shootings rarely make national headlines.”
Understanding gun violence as a public health challenge often requires acknowledging unconscious bias and stereotypes about people who are victims of gun violence, she added. It’s easy to accept that children killed in school shootings are innocent victims, she pointed out. But the media and even researchers may find it harder to acknowledge that “folks in North Philadelphia are innocent victims” too.
One recent study of gun violence in four major U.S. cities found that African American, Latino, and Asian children are all at elevated risk, and that those racial and ethnic disparities increased during the pandemic. African American children were much more likely to be shot than any other demographic, up to 100 times more likely than their White peers. More than 2,600 shootings were captured in the dataset.
The lowest rates of gun violence were seen in White children, whose rates did not increase during the pandemic: Out of every 100,000 White children, 0.54 were shot. In contrast, 21 out of every 100,000 non-Hispanic Black children were shot.
These stark racial disparities were echoed in a study published on May 9, which found that among adults living in Chicago, Black and Hispanic residents reported increased exposure to firearm violence compared with White residents. Specifically, by the age of 40, over 7 percent of Black and Hispanic residents had been shot, compared with 3 percent of White residents. And more than half of Black and Hispanic residents had witnessed someone being shot, compared with a quarter of White residents.
“Although public mass shootings are those that typically garner the most attention, mass shootings do not only occur in such public spaces,” wrote the authors, criminologists Jaclyn Schildkraut of the State University of New York at Oswego and Jillian Turanovic of Florida State University.
“Neighborhoods and even private residences have experienced such tragedies, yet these mass shootings rarely make national headlines.”
Understanding gun violence as a public health challenge often requires acknowledging unconscious bias and stereotypes about people who are victims of gun violence, she added. It’s easy to accept that children killed in school shootings are innocent victims, she pointed out. But the media and even researchers may find it harder to acknowledge that “folks in North Philadelphia are innocent victims” too.
One recent study of gun violence in four major U.S. cities found that African American, Latino, and Asian children are all at elevated risk, and that those racial and ethnic disparities increased during the pandemic. African American children were much more likely to be shot than any other demographic, up to 100 times more likely than their White peers. More than 2,600 shootings were captured in the dataset.
The lowest rates of gun violence were seen in White children, whose rates did not increase during the pandemic: Out of every 100,000 White children, 0.54 were shot. In contrast, 21 out of every 100,000 non-Hispanic Black children were shot.
These stark racial disparities were echoed in a study published on May 9, which found that among adults living in Chicago, Black and Hispanic residents reported increased exposure to firearm violence compared with White residents. Specifically, by the age of 40, over 7 percent of Black and Hispanic residents had been shot, compared with 3 percent of White residents. And more than half of Black and Hispanic residents had witnessed someone being shot, compared with a quarter of White residents.
One recent study of gun violence in four major U.S. cities found that African American, Latino, and Asian children are all at elevated risk, and that those racial and ethnic disparities increased during the pandemic. African American children were much more likely to be shot than any other demographic, up to 100 times more likely than their White peers. More than 2,600 shootings were captured in the dataset.
The lowest rates of gun violence were seen in White children, whose rates did not increase during the pandemic: Out of every 100,000 White children, 0.54 were shot. In contrast, 21 out of every 100,000 non-Hispanic Black children were shot.
These stark racial disparities were echoed in a study published on May 9, which found that among adults living in Chicago, Black and Hispanic residents reported increased exposure to firearm violence compared with White residents. Specifically, by the age of 40, over 7 percent of Black and Hispanic residents had been shot, compared with 3 percent of White residents. And more than half of Black and Hispanic residents had witnessed someone being shot, compared with a quarter of White residents.
One recent study of gun violence in four major U.S. cities found that African American, Latino, and Asian children are all at elevated risk, and that those racial and ethnic disparities increased during the pandemic. African American children were much more likely to be shot than any other demographic, up to 100 times more likely than their White peers. More than 2,600 shootings were captured in the dataset.
The lowest rates of gun violence were seen in White children, whose rates did not increase during the pandemic: Out of every 100,000 White children, 0.54 were shot. In contrast, 21 out of every 100,000 non-Hispanic Black children were shot.
These stark racial disparities were echoed in a study published on May 9, which found that among adults living in Chicago, Black and Hispanic residents reported increased exposure to firearm violence compared with White residents. Specifically, by the age of 40, over 7 percent of Black and Hispanic residents had been shot, compared with 3 percent of White residents. And more than half of Black and Hispanic residents had witnessed someone being shot, compared with a quarter of White residents.
The analysis, conducted by the New York Times with data collected by Reddit’s mass shooting tracker and the Gun Violence Archive, used law enforcement reports on shootings that left four or more people injured or dead in 2015.
Few of the incidents resembled the kinds of planned massacres in schools, churches and movie theaters that have attracted intense media and political attention. Instead, the analysis, defined purely by the number of victims injured, revealed that many were part of the broader burden of everyday gun violence on economically struggling neighborhoods.
Nearly 90% of the zip codes that saw mass shootings had higher-than-average poverty rates.
The analysis, conducted by the New York Times with data collected by Reddit’s mass shooting tracker and the Gun Violence Archive, used law enforcement reports on shootings that left four or more people injured or dead in 2015.
Few of the incidents resembled the kinds of planned massacres in schools, churches and movie theaters that have attracted intense media and political attention. Instead, the analysis, defined purely by the number of victims injured, revealed that many were part of the broader burden of everyday gun violence on economically struggling neighborhoods.
Nearly 90% of the zip codes that saw mass shootings had higher-than-average poverty rates.
Advocates said the report also highlighted the importance of making sure proposed political solutions to gun violence address the majority of the victims – not just the casualties of rare, high-profile massacres that are more likely to raise debate over mental health funding, school safety measures or bans on military-style rifles.
After the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, in which 20 children and six adults were killed, California pastor Michael McBride went to the White House to ask the Obama administration to invest more funding in gun violence prevention programs designed specifically for urban neighborhoods. He was not successful.
McBride, who leads a national campaign focused on gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform, said it was frustrating to see local programs show dramatic results in reducing shootings, but then struggle to spread to new cities or maintain their funding.
“We’ve found very few serious attempts to scale up gun violence prevention programs grounded in public health models for urban communities,” he said.
“If we want to talk about the pathology of black death vis-à-vis gun violence, then let’s also talk about the pathology of failed political leadership from both the Democrats and Republicans to create the conditions for public safety.”
The American gun debate, he said, “can at times feel very disingenuous”.
Advocates said the report also highlighted the importance of making sure proposed political solutions to gun violence address the majority of the victims – not just the casualties of rare, high-profile massacres that are more likely to raise debate over mental health funding, school safety measures or bans on military-style rifles.
After the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, in which 20 children and six adults were killed, California pastor Michael McBride went to the White House to ask the Obama administration to invest more funding in gun violence prevention programs designed specifically for urban neighborhoods. He was not successful.
McBride, who leads a national campaign focused on gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform, said it was frustrating to see local programs show dramatic results in reducing shootings, but then struggle to spread to new cities or maintain their funding.
“We’ve found very few serious attempts to scale up gun violence prevention programs grounded in public health models for urban communities,” he said.
“If we want to talk about the pathology of black death vis-à-vis gun violence, then let’s also talk about the pathology of failed political leadership from both the Democrats and Republicans to create the conditions for public safety.”
The American gun debate, he said, “can at times feel very disingenuous”.
The Way We Think About “Mass Shootings” Ignores Many Black Victims
There was the shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina, in June of last year, where gunmen fired more than 200 rounds into a crowded block party, killing four and injuring five others. Two months later in Washington, D.C., multiple shooters fired into another neighborhood block party, killing one and injuring 21. In January of this year, gunfire erupted during a basketball game at a public park in Miami, injuring eight. None of these shootings prompted multi-day news cycles or condolences from former presidents. But they were just as devastating to local communities as the shootings in Boulder or Atlanta, doing the same kind of damage to residents’ sense of safety in public spaces. As Reverend Keith Butler, the father of one of the Miami shooting victims, told a local reporter, “My son now doesn’t even feel safe at a public park.”
As The Trace has reported, many victims and community activists believe the dearth of coverage of particular shootings owes, at least partially, to the race of the victims. In 2020, mass shootings disproportionately occurred in majority-Black neighborhoods. But even the highest-casualty incidents received limited national media attention.
According to a recent study published in the journal Sociology of Race and Ethnicity about shooting victims in Chicago, this pattern held for local news outlets. It found that Black people killed in predominantly Black neighborhoods in the city in 2016 received roughly half as much news coverage as white people killed in majority white neighborhoods, and were less likely to be discussed as “multifaceted, complex people.”
“The most newsworthy shootings seem to break an assumption that a particular place is safe,” said Shannon Morrissey, a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, who co-authored the study. “Our research suggests that in Chicago, shootings in majority-Black neighborhoods are not breaking those assumptions, at least for the people living outside of them.”
The Way We Think About “Mass Shootings” Ignores Many Black Victims
There was the shooting in Charlotte, North Carolina, in June of last year, where gunmen fired more than 200 rounds into a crowded block party, killing four and injuring five others. Two months later in Washington, D.C., multiple shooters fired into another neighborhood block party, killing one and injuring 21. In January of this year, gunfire erupted during a basketball game at a public park in Miami, injuring eight. None of these shootings prompted multi-day news cycles or condolences from former presidents. But they were just as devastating to local communities as the shootings in Boulder or Atlanta, doing the same kind of damage to residents’ sense of safety in public spaces. As Reverend Keith Butler, the father of one of the Miami shooting victims, told a local reporter, “My son now doesn’t even feel safe at a public park.”
As The Trace has reported, many victims and community activists believe the dearth of coverage of particular shootings owes, at least partially, to the race of the victims. In 2020, mass shootings disproportionately occurred in majority-Black neighborhoods. But even the highest-casualty incidents received limited national media attention.
According to a recent study published in the journal Sociology of Race and Ethnicity about shooting victims in Chicago, this pattern held for local news outlets. It found that Black people killed in predominantly Black neighborhoods in the city in 2016 received roughly half as much news coverage as white people killed in majority white neighborhoods, and were less likely to be discussed as “multifaceted, complex people.”
“The most newsworthy shootings seem to break an assumption that a particular place is safe,” said Shannon Morrissey, a doctoral student at the University of Chicago, who co-authored the study. “Our research suggests that in Chicago, shootings in majority-Black neighborhoods are not breaking those assumptions, at least for the people living outside of them.”
As a result, both stories missed dozens of high-casualty shootings that occurred in majority-Black neighborhoods over the past year. Jackson said that using such a narrow definition of “mass shooting” enforces a harmful hierarchy of gun violence that winds up ranking shootings with Black victims as least newsworthy. By overlooking violence that happened in majority-Black communities over the past year, he said, news organizations send an implicit signal about which forms of violence legislators and the broader public should mobilize to stop. “The most dangerous part about this is that news coverage has the unique ability to prioritize policy and action.”
As a result, both stories missed dozens of high-casualty shootings that occurred in majority-Black neighborhoods over the past year. Jackson said that using such a narrow definition of “mass shooting” enforces a harmful hierarchy of gun violence that winds up ranking shootings with Black victims as least newsworthy. By overlooking violence that happened in majority-Black communities over the past year, he said, news organizations send an implicit signal about which forms of violence legislators and the broader public should mobilize to stop. “The most dangerous part about this is that news coverage has the unique ability to prioritize policy and action.”
As the media, FBI and Anti-Defamation League declare “white supremacy” and “domestic terrorism” the gravest threats to public safety in America, neither played any role in the outbreak of violence in 2020 — one of the deadliest years in American history.
Disingenuous political actors often point to the Charleston Church Shooting in 2015, the Tree of Life Synagogue incident of 2018, or the El Paso Wal Mart killings in 2019 to demonstrate the proclivity of white men to engage in indiscriminate killings. The latest figures on the approximately 603 mass shootings last year paint a radically different picture.
According to demographic data compiled by researchers at Mass-Shootings.info, black men committed 73% of mass shootings in 2020, in contrast whites were only 13% of known culprits.
As the media, FBI and Anti-Defamation League declare “white supremacy” and “domestic terrorism” the gravest threats to public safety in America, neither played any role in the outbreak of violence in 2020 — one of the deadliest years in American history.
Disingenuous political actors often point to the Charleston Church Shooting in 2015, the Tree of Life Synagogue incident of 2018, or the El Paso Wal Mart killings in 2019 to demonstrate the proclivity of white men to engage in indiscriminate killings. The latest figures on the approximately 603 mass shootings last year paint a radically different picture.
According to demographic data compiled by researchers at Mass-Shootings.info, black men committed 73% of mass shootings in 2020, in contrast whites were only 13% of known culprits.
The majority of mass shootings are what would be categorized as “felony” mass shootings (as opposed to “family” and “public” incidents). Fridel found that blacks commit twice as many felony mass shootings as whites (50.49% versus 22.33%), so it’s not surprising that blacks are overrepresented in this group: “In most instances, the murders serve to eliminate witnesses of a robbery, drug crime, or gang-related attack. Due to their general lack of sensationalism, felony killings are not widely publicized despite representing the second largest category of mass murder (Krouse & Richardson, 2015). Perpetrators of felony mass murders tend to be young Black or Hispanic males with extensive criminal records (Lankford, 2016b). With frequent ties to the drug trade or gangs, they operate in pairs or small groups in urban areas (Fox & Levin, 2015; Petee et al., 1997). [References can be found in the original article.] Public mass shootings (such as the three listed above) garner by far the most media attention, but are the least common; for more on this
The majority of mass shootings are what would be categorized as “felony” mass shootings (as opposed to “family” and “public” incidents). Fridel found that blacks commit twice as many felony mass shootings as whites (50.49% versus 22.33%), so it’s not surprising that blacks are overrepresented in this group: “In most instances, the murders serve to eliminate witnesses of a robbery, drug crime, or gang-related attack. Due to their general lack of sensationalism, felony killings are not widely publicized despite representing the second largest category of mass murder (Krouse & Richardson, 2015). Perpetrators of felony mass murders tend to be young Black or Hispanic males with extensive criminal records (Lankford, 2016b). With frequent ties to the drug trade or gangs, they operate in pairs or small groups in urban areas (Fox & Levin, 2015; Petee et al., 1997). [References can be found in the original article.] Public mass shootings (such as the three listed above) garner by far the most media attention, but are the least common; for more on this
Why do shootings seem so common? Much of the answer lies in the news media and psychology. John Ruscio, a social psychologist at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, describes “the media paradox”: The more we rely on the popular media to inform us, the more apt we are to misplace our fears. The paradox is the combined result of two biases, one inherent in the news-gathering process, the other inherent in the way our minds organize and recall information.
James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, said his research showed the number of such shootings has roughly held steady in recent decades. He said that if analysts added a single year, 2014, and looked at four-year intervals instead of five-year intervals, the average number of annual mass shootings actually declined slightly from 2011 to 2014, compared with the previous four-year period. … While the numbers shift from year to year, there has been no discernible trend in the numbers or in the characteristics of the assailants, said Professor Fox, who is also a co-author of Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder. “The only increase has been in fear, and in the perception of an increase,” he said. “A lot of that has been because of the nature of media coverage.”
Why Mass Shootings Seem More Common Than They Are
Why do shootings seem so common? Much of the answer lies in the news media and psychology. John Ruscio, a social psychologist at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, describes “the media paradox”: The more we rely on the popular media to inform us, the more apt we are to misplace our fears. The paradox is the combined result of two biases, one inherent in the news-gathering process, the other inherent in the way our minds organize and recall information.
James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, said his research showed the number of such shootings has roughly held steady in recent decades. He said that if analysts added a single year, 2014, and looked at four-year intervals instead of five-year intervals, the average number of annual mass shootings actually declined slightly from 2011 to 2014, compared with the previous four-year period. … While the numbers shift from year to year, there has been no discernible trend in the numbers or in the characteristics of the assailants, said Professor Fox, who is also a co-author of Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder. “The only increase has been in fear, and in the perception of an increase,” he said. “A lot of that has been because of the nature of media coverage.”
Another aspect of the phenomenon is that people see (and share) misleading statistics. For example, a widely shared meme circulating in mid-February 2018 stated that there had been eighteen “school shootings” so far in 2018. This may help explain the sentiment that Americans have gotten used to these school shootings or have become “numb” to them. It’s easy to think that when you hear an alarming statistic like “a dozen school shootings already this year,” and you’re wondering why you didn’t hear about more of them or how so many shootings could have escaped your attention or not had more emotional impact on you.
Both https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/02/16/parkland-school-shooting-no-there-have-not-been-18-school-shootings-already-year-column/343100002/USA Today and a researcher for the Snopes website investigated and debunked the claim of eighteen school shootings, noting that:
When we looked into it, we found that although all the incidents involved the firing of weapons on school grounds, some bore little resemblance to what most of us would think of when we hear that a school shooting has taken place. Two were solely suicides, for example (one of which Everytown retracted on 15 February after the Washington Post pointed out that it occurred at a school that had been closed for several months). Three involved the accidental firing of a weapon. Eight resulted in no injuries. Only seven were intentional shootings that occurred during normal school hours.
School Shootings
Another aspect of the phenomenon is that people see (and share) misleading statistics. For example, a widely shared meme circulating in mid-February 2018 stated that there had been eighteen “school shootings” so far in 2018. This may help explain the sentiment that Americans have gotten used to these school shootings or have become “numb” to them. It’s easy to think that when you hear an alarming statistic like “a dozen school shootings already this year,” and you’re wondering why you didn’t hear about more of them or how so many shootings could have escaped your attention or not had more emotional impact on you.
Both https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/02/16/parkland-school-shooting-no-there-have-not-been-18-school-shootings-already-year-column/343100002/USA Today and a researcher for the Snopes website investigated and debunked the claim of eighteen school shootings, noting that:
When we looked into it, we found that although all the incidents involved the firing of weapons on school grounds, some bore little resemblance to what most of us would think of when we hear that a school shooting has taken place. Two were solely suicides, for example (one of which Everytown retracted on 15 February after the Washington Post pointed out that it occurred at a school that had been closed for several months). Three involved the accidental firing of a weapon. Eight resulted in no injuries. Only seven were intentional shootings that occurred during normal school hours.
When we examine this feeling, however, the fact that such a meme can elicit this (intended) effect undermines the notion of our numbness: the meme’s message is startling—as it was designed to be—because viewers are alarmed when confronted with the fact that so many shootings escaped their notice. This meme would have no effect at all if, indeed, viewers did not care about shootings. It would be met with a shrug and scrolled past rather than induce self-reflection. Instead, the meme caused many to wonder how they missed so many important news events—but did they?
It’s important to understand that the number reflects a very broad definition of “school shooting.” When you look at the breakdown of “school shootings,” you realize that many were not incidents you’re likely to have heard about on national news or really cared about if you had: a suicide in a school parking lot, a gun that accidentally went off into a wall, a school bus window shot out with no injuries, etc. The phrase, as defined by the organization Everytown for Gun Safety—whose statistics are widely quoted—includes not only active shooters targeting students at school (i.e., what most people think of when they hear that phrase) but also accidents, suicides, events that didn’t happen at a school, non-injury incidents, and so on. People shouldn’t feel badly that they don’t remember details of events they likely never heard about.
Some have suggested that it doesn’t matter whether there were one, three, eleven, or twenty shootings at schools or cities over the first two months of 2018; “even one is too many.” This is a common retort, but it is misguided; quantifying a threat is important to understanding it. That’s the position that Trump has taken on many threats to make Americans fearful, including attacks by Muslim extremists, and that’s the basis for his statements such as Mexicans are “bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Framing the scenario dishonestly as “one Mexican rapist is too many” clouds the issue rather than clarifying it with reliable data (such as the fact that immigrants are far less likely to commit a serious crime than natural-born Americans). Putting threats in perspective is one role of journalists and skeptics. A first step in trying to address or solve a problem is determining its scope and nature.
When we examine this feeling, however, the fact that such a meme can elicit this (intended) effect undermines the notion of our numbness: the meme’s message is startling—as it was designed to be—because viewers are alarmed when confronted with the fact that so many shootings escaped their notice. This meme would have no effect at all if, indeed, viewers did not care about shootings. It would be met with a shrug and scrolled past rather than induce self-reflection. Instead, the meme caused many to wonder how they missed so many important news events—but did they?
It’s important to understand that the number reflects a very broad definition of “school shooting.” When you look at the breakdown of “school shootings,” you realize that many were not incidents you’re likely to have heard about on national news or really cared about if you had: a suicide in a school parking lot, a gun that accidentally went off into a wall, a school bus window shot out with no injuries, etc. The phrase, as defined by the organization Everytown for Gun Safety—whose statistics are widely quoted—includes not only active shooters targeting students at school (i.e., what most people think of when they hear that phrase) but also accidents, suicides, events that didn’t happen at a school, non-injury incidents, and so on. People shouldn’t feel badly that they don’t remember details of events they likely never heard about.
Some have suggested that it doesn’t matter whether there were one, three, eleven, or twenty shootings at schools or cities over the first two months of 2018; “even one is too many.” This is a common retort, but it is misguided; quantifying a threat is important to understanding it. That’s the position that Trump has taken on many threats to make Americans fearful, including attacks by Muslim extremists, and that’s the basis for his statements such as Mexicans are “bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” Framing the scenario dishonestly as “one Mexican rapist is too many” clouds the issue rather than clarifying it with reliable data (such as the fact that immigrants are far less likely to commit a serious crime than natural-born Americans). Putting threats in perspective is one role of journalists and skeptics. A first step in trying to address or solve a problem is determining its scope and nature.
Media coverage of mass shootings notably varies based on the race of the shooter and therefore influences public perception of crime related to race. Lankford (2016) explored the popular assumption that most mass murderers are white by assessing data from 242 cases of mass murder from 2006 to 2014 in the United States involving 308 mass murderers. After also comparing this to data detailing the race and ethnicity of 87,052 other murderers, Lankford (2016) concluded that the racial composition of mass murderers and all other murderers is approximately equivalent, with a disproportionate amount of black and Latino persons in each category.
White offenders comprise a larger portion of mass murderers, which may be why many people assume that the majority of mass murderers are white. Lankford (2016) further explains that racial and ethnic stereotypes negatively influence viewers’ beliefs regarding people who commit crimes, and these stereotypes can be either conscious or unconscious biases. Lankford’s (2016) article provides a foundation for the discussion of several sources that expand on particular instances of stereotyping.
Popular Beliefs about Race and Mass Murders
Media coverage of mass shootings notably varies based on the race of the shooter and therefore influences public perception of crime related to race. Lankford (2016) explored the popular assumption that most mass murderers are white by assessing data from 242 cases of mass murder from 2006 to 2014 in the United States involving 308 mass murderers. After also comparing this to data detailing the race and ethnicity of 87,052 other murderers, Lankford (2016) concluded that the racial composition of mass murderers and all other murderers is approximately equivalent, with a disproportionate amount of black and Latino persons in each category.
White offenders comprise a larger portion of mass murderers, which may be why many people assume that the majority of mass murderers are white. Lankford (2016) further explains that racial and ethnic stereotypes negatively influence viewers’ beliefs regarding people who commit crimes, and these stereotypes can be either conscious or unconscious biases. Lankford’s (2016) article provides a foundation for the discussion of several sources that expand on particular instances of stereotyping.
The addition of racial or ethnic identity to the discussion further complicates the issue. Racism, racial profiling, and negative or prejudicial stereotypes occur on a regular basis despite an influx of progressive efforts as part of the Civil Rights Movement and more recent reforms in the criminal justice system. The disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities exists in all areas of the criminal justice system from initial police contact to imprisonment, and this includes mass shooters. Notably, the misunderstanding that racial and ethnic minorities are more involved with criminal activity does not extend to mass shootings. This might seem beneficial, as it implies that people may recognize that the majority of mass shooters are white males but, unfortunately, this is not the case. Authors of two studies comparing the media’s coverage of the Columbine High School massacre and the Virginia Tech shooting conclude that racial differences of a shooter are acknowledged and reported by the media even if it is unintentional (Chen, et. al, 2015; Sung-Yeon, et al., 2012). More concerning, however, is the extent to which media coverage of the shooter’s race can and does influence viewer opinion about an entire group of people, unjustly based on one widely reported story or event.
The addition of racial or ethnic identity to the discussion further complicates the issue. Racism, racial profiling, and negative or prejudicial stereotypes occur on a regular basis despite an influx of progressive efforts as part of the Civil Rights Movement and more recent reforms in the criminal justice system. The disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities exists in all areas of the criminal justice system from initial police contact to imprisonment, and this includes mass shooters. Notably, the misunderstanding that racial and ethnic minorities are more involved with criminal activity does not extend to mass shootings. This might seem beneficial, as it implies that people may recognize that the majority of mass shooters are white males but, unfortunately, this is not the case. Authors of two studies comparing the media’s coverage of the Columbine High School massacre and the Virginia Tech shooting conclude that racial differences of a shooter are acknowledged and reported by the media even if it is unintentional (Chen, et. al, 2015; Sung-Yeon, et al., 2012). More concerning, however, is the extent to which media coverage of the shooter’s race can and does influence viewer opinion about an entire group of people, unjustly based on one widely reported story or event.
Diversity in Devastation: Media Myths and Mass Shooter Demographics
Another part of the answer is that popular fallacies tend to be perpetuated and self-replicating, especially when stereotypical assumptions are made and not questioned. For example children’s book author (and niece of Kamala Harris) Meena Harris wrongly assumed that mass shooter Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was Caucasian in a tweet that got 6,500 Likes and 35,000 Retweets. In later correcting her error she perpetuated another, that “the majority of mass shootings in the U.S. are carried out by white men.” It’s of course common for people to comment ahead of the facts, but it was a revealing mistake that demonstrates how ingrained the assumption is. Many commenters on social media suggest that 90% to 95% of mass shooters are White, but as we will see the true number is less than half that.
the public’s (and journalists’) understanding is clouded by the fact that the topic of mass shootings is fraught, not only with political agendas but also with rampant misinformation. Facile comparisons and snarky memes dominate social media, crowding out objective, evidence-based evidence and analysis. This is effective for scoring political points but wholly counterproductive for understanding the nature of the problem and its broader issues. The public’s perception of mass shootings is heavily influenced by mass media, primarily news media and social media.
Diversity in Devastation: Media Myths and Mass Shooter Demographics
Another part of the answer is that popular fallacies tend to be perpetuated and self-replicating, especially when stereotypical assumptions are made and not questioned. For example children’s book author (and niece of Kamala Harris) Meena Harris wrongly assumed that mass shooter Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was Caucasian in a tweet that got 6,500 Likes and 35,000 Retweets. In later correcting her error she perpetuated another, that “the majority of mass shootings in the U.S. are carried out by white men.” It’s of course common for people to comment ahead of the facts, but it was a revealing mistake that demonstrates how ingrained the assumption is. Many commenters on social media suggest that 90% to 95% of mass shooters are White, but as we will see the true number is less than half that.
the public’s (and journalists’) understanding is clouded by the fact that the topic of mass shootings is fraught, not only with political agendas but also with rampant misinformation. Facile comparisons and snarky memes dominate social media, crowding out objective, evidence-based evidence and analysis. This is effective for scoring political points but wholly counterproductive for understanding the nature of the problem and its broader issues. The public’s perception of mass shootings is heavily influenced by mass media, primarily news media and social media.
Because White mass shooters tend to attract more news media coverage than do non-White shooters, it creates a misperception about mass shooter demographics, a subject I previously wrote about.
An analysis of recent mass shootings bears this out. Of the 46 mass shooters in the Gun Violence Archive database for March 2021, 2% (1) was committed by a White male; 8% (4) were committed by Hispanics; 45% (21) were committed by African Americans; and in 43%, or 20 cases, the attacker’s race is unknown.
In January 2019 I conducted an identical analysis, finding total of 25 American mass shootings. Of the 25 mass shootings in the Gun Violence Archive database, 16% (4) of them were committed by white males; 4% (1) was committed by a Hispanic man; 64% (16) were committed by African Americans; and in 16%, or 4 cases, the attacker’s race is unknown.
A year later in January 2020 I conducted an identical analysis, finding total of 25 American mass shootings. Of the 25 mass shootings in the Gun Violence Archive database for January 2020, 4% (1) of them was committed by a white male; 4% (1) was committed by a Hispanic man; 68% (17) were committed by African Americans; and in 24%, or 6 cases, the attacker’s race is unknown. All the data are publicly available for anyone who would like to review the source material or examine other months.
It’s clear from even a cursory glance at the Gun Violence Archive demographic data that White shooters are, if anything, under-represented in mass shootings. Obviously it varies by month, but in the three months sampled above, the percentage of mass shooters that were White ranged from 2% to 16% with an average of 7.3%—despite comprising about 60% of the American population.
We can compare these numbers with data in peer-reviewed publications, including a recent analysis in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, by Emma E. Fridel. Using a different dataset Fridel found that about 40% of all mass shooters (across three categories, as I described in a previous article) were White, compared with 37% Black and 23% Other/Mixed race.
A Closer Look at Mass Shooters
Because White mass shooters tend to attract more news media coverage than do non-White shooters, it creates a misperception about mass shooter demographics, a subject I previously wrote about.
An analysis of recent mass shootings bears this out. Of the 46 mass shooters in the Gun Violence Archive database for March 2021, 2% (1) was committed by a White male; 8% (4) were committed by Hispanics; 45% (21) were committed by African Americans; and in 43%, or 20 cases, the attacker’s race is unknown.
In January 2019 I conducted an identical analysis, finding total of 25 American mass shootings. Of the 25 mass shootings in the Gun Violence Archive database, 16% (4) of them were committed by white males; 4% (1) was committed by a Hispanic man; 64% (16) were committed by African Americans; and in 16%, or 4 cases, the attacker’s race is unknown.
A year later in January 2020 I conducted an identical analysis, finding total of 25 American mass shootings. Of the 25 mass shootings in the Gun Violence Archive database for January 2020, 4% (1) of them was committed by a white male; 4% (1) was committed by a Hispanic man; 68% (17) were committed by African Americans; and in 24%, or 6 cases, the attacker’s race is unknown. All the data are publicly available for anyone who would like to review the source material or examine other months.
It’s clear from even a cursory glance at the Gun Violence Archive demographic data that White shooters are, if anything, under-represented in mass shootings. Obviously it varies by month, but in the three months sampled above, the percentage of mass shooters that were White ranged from 2% to 16% with an average of 7.3%—despite comprising about 60% of the American population.
We can compare these numbers with data in peer-reviewed publications, including a recent analysis in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, by Emma E. Fridel. Using a different dataset Fridel found that about 40% of all mass shooters (across three categories, as I described in a previous article) were White, compared with 37% Black and 23% Other/Mixed race.
A new analysis of 358 mass shootings in America in 2015 found that three-quarters of the victims whose race could be identified were black. Roughly a third of the incidents with known circumstances were drive-by shootings or were identified by law enforcement as gang-related. Another third were sparked by arguments, often among people who were drunk or high. The analysis, conducted by the New York Times with data collected by Reddit’s mass shooting tracker and the Gun Violence Archive, used law enforcement reports on shootings that left four or more people injured or dead in 2015. Few of the incidents resembled the kinds of planned massacres in schools, churches and movie theaters that have attracted intense media and political attention. Instead, the analysis, defined purely by the number of victims injured, revealed that many were part of the broader burden of everyday gun violence on economically struggling neighborhoods. … Many gang-related mass shootings began as fights over small incidents of perceived disrespect.
Nevertheless, some memes circulating on social media go so far as to claim that white males are solely responsible for mass shootings; one from Occupy Democrats circulating in July 2018 claimed “154 mass shootings this year and not one committed by a black man or an illegal alien. Let that sink in.” It’s a bold and damning claim—and it’s also completely false.
It found that the majority of shooters were young white males (average age about fifteen), many of them current or former students of the schools where they opened fire. The analysis noted that such “active shooter” incidents, though generating much media coverage, “account for only a small fraction of the episodes of gun violence that children experience in American schools. Other cases might include a student showing off a gun to friends in the hallway, the accidental discharge of a school resource officer’s gun, or a gang-related drive-by shooting at a school bus stop.”
A new analysis of 358 mass shootings in America in 2015 found that three-quarters of the victims whose race could be identified were black. Roughly a third of the incidents with known circumstances were drive-by shootings or were identified by law enforcement as gang-related. Another third were sparked by arguments, often among people who were drunk or high. The analysis, conducted by the New York Times with data collected by Reddit’s mass shooting tracker and the Gun Violence Archive, used law enforcement reports on shootings that left four or more people injured or dead in 2015. Few of the incidents resembled the kinds of planned massacres in schools, churches and movie theaters that have attracted intense media and political attention. Instead, the analysis, defined purely by the number of victims injured, revealed that many were part of the broader burden of everyday gun violence on economically struggling neighborhoods. … Many gang-related mass shootings began as fights over small incidents of perceived disrespect.
Nevertheless, some memes circulating on social media go so far as to claim that white males are solely responsible for mass shootings; one from Occupy Democrats circulating in July 2018 claimed “154 mass shootings this year and not one committed by a black man or an illegal alien. Let that sink in.” It’s a bold and damning claim—and it’s also completely false.
It found that the majority of shooters were young white males (average age about fifteen), many of them current or former students of the schools where they opened fire. The analysis noted that such “active shooter” incidents, though generating much media coverage, “account for only a small fraction of the episodes of gun violence that children experience in American schools. Other cases might include a student showing off a gun to friends in the hallway, the accidental discharge of a school resource officer’s gun, or a gang-related drive-by shooting at a school bus stop.”
Selective Media Reporting Further Fuels Our Racial Divide
On Saturday, a man drove his car onto a Seattle freeway that had been closed by a Black Lives Matter crowd. The driver killed one person and seriously injured another after going the wrong way up a ramp and then around a barricade. Reports noted that police “don’t believe impairment was a factor.” Over the weekend, news outlets replayed the brutal hit, but there’s one thing you won’t learn from their coverage: The driver was black and his victims were white.
NPR linked this attack to other car-ramming incidents by “right-wing extremists targeting Black Lives Matter protesters.” They quote a researcher about how these right-wingers were “trying to intimidate the most recent wave of BLM protesters, to stop their movement.”
The driver was a Seattle local named Dawit Kelete. But you’ll find scant mention of the driver’s ethnicity in mainstream media coverage. You might have more easily learned that Kelete was black by going to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation. The American national media also doesn’t note that Kelete’s two victims were white. You can find that out over at the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
Selective Media Reporting Further Fuels Our Racial Divide
On Saturday, a man drove his car onto a Seattle freeway that had been closed by a Black Lives Matter crowd. The driver killed one person and seriously injured another after going the wrong way up a ramp and then around a barricade. Reports noted that police “don’t believe impairment was a factor.” Over the weekend, news outlets replayed the brutal hit, but there’s one thing you won’t learn from their coverage: The driver was black and his victims were white.
NPR linked this attack to other car-ramming incidents by “right-wing extremists targeting Black Lives Matter protesters.” They quote a researcher about how these right-wingers were “trying to intimidate the most recent wave of BLM protesters, to stop their movement.”
The driver was a Seattle local named Dawit Kelete. But you’ll find scant mention of the driver’s ethnicity in mainstream media coverage. You might have more easily learned that Kelete was black by going to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation. The American national media also doesn’t note that Kelete’s two victims were white. You can find that out over at the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
Among the few U.S. outlets to mention the race of the driver is Heavy.com. The rest of the news media seemingly would rather just have people assume that a white driver attacked two black protesters. Acknowledging the driver’s and victims’ ethnicity wouldn’t advance their narrative of oppression, so it apparently isn’t newsworthy.
One case doesn’t prove a pattern. It could just be that while the American media knows almost everything about this killer, including his name, age, and where he lives, they couldn’t find information on his race. Possibly the foreign news outlets were just lucky to discover that information.
Of course, the media outlets might honestly not view race as essential to the story. But their selective reporting of it shows that they think race is important when it involves certain races. The problem is that it gives readers a biased perspective, inflaming prejudice and creating stereotypes.
Research conducted by the Crime Prevention Research Center, of which I am president, on all police shootings from 2013 to 2015 found that while local news coverage will often mention the race of the officer and the suspect, the national coverage is much more selective. While the evidence indicates that black officers are no less likely to shoot suspects than white officers, local news coverage of black officers shooting black suspects gets picked up by the national news in just 9% of cases. By contrast, 38% of the cases in which local news reported on a white officer shooting a black suspect get national coverage.
The selective coverage creates the belief that white officers are the problem -- they are the ones shooting blacks, presumably because white officers treat black suspects differently than white ones. Watching the news, you would never guess that the research found that black officers were just as likely as white officers to shoot an unarmed black suspect.
Among the few U.S. outlets to mention the race of the driver is Heavy.com. The rest of the news media seemingly would rather just have people assume that a white driver attacked two black protesters. Acknowledging the driver’s and victims’ ethnicity wouldn’t advance their narrative of oppression, so it apparently isn’t newsworthy.
One case doesn’t prove a pattern. It could just be that while the American media knows almost everything about this killer, including his name, age, and where he lives, they couldn’t find information on his race. Possibly the foreign news outlets were just lucky to discover that information.
Of course, the media outlets might honestly not view race as essential to the story. But their selective reporting of it shows that they think race is important when it involves certain races. The problem is that it gives readers a biased perspective, inflaming prejudice and creating stereotypes.
Research conducted by the Crime Prevention Research Center, of which I am president, on all police shootings from 2013 to 2015 found that while local news coverage will often mention the race of the officer and the suspect, the national coverage is much more selective. While the evidence indicates that black officers are no less likely to shoot suspects than white officers, local news coverage of black officers shooting black suspects gets picked up by the national news in just 9% of cases. By contrast, 38% of the cases in which local news reported on a white officer shooting a black suspect get national coverage.
The selective coverage creates the belief that white officers are the problem -- they are the ones shooting blacks, presumably because white officers treat black suspects differently than white ones. Watching the news, you would never guess that the research found that black officers were just as likely as white officers to shoot an unarmed black suspect.
The media's selective coverage has done real harm. It has heightened racial divides and sown distrust of the police in the communities that need them most. Now, with police sidelined and facing "defunding," gun violence is rising fast in major cities around the country.
The media similarly seems intent on claiming that mass public shooters are disproportionately white and right-wing, when nothing could be further from the truth. While 58% of the mass public shooters from 1998 to 2019 were white (excluding people of Middle Eastern descent), about 75% of the total U.S. population was white. Middle Eastern Arabs made up just 1% of the population, but accounted for 8% of shooters. Of all the mass killers, 72% have no known political affiliation or views – only 3% are known to be conservative or Republican.
Race and politics increasingly divide Americans, and selective media reporting is largely to blame. The media, not Trump, is fanning the flames of violence. The destruction and the long-term harm that is being done to heavily minority parts of our cities is their responsibility.
The media's selective coverage has done real harm. It has heightened racial divides and sown distrust of the police in the communities that need them most. Now, with police sidelined and facing "defunding," gun violence is rising fast in major cities around the country.
The media similarly seems intent on claiming that mass public shooters are disproportionately white and right-wing, when nothing could be further from the truth. While 58% of the mass public shooters from 1998 to 2019 were white (excluding people of Middle Eastern descent), about 75% of the total U.S. population was white. Middle Eastern Arabs made up just 1% of the population, but accounted for 8% of shooters. Of all the mass killers, 72% have no known political affiliation or views – only 3% are known to be conservative or Republican.
Race and politics increasingly divide Americans, and selective media reporting is largely to blame. The media, not Trump, is fanning the flames of violence. The destruction and the long-term harm that is being done to heavily minority parts of our cities is their responsibility.
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