Using the Names of Mass Shooting Suspects

If you do not use his name, how do you as a reader know if you ever crossed paths with the person? If you went to school with him?

 

I applaud this decision and hope to see people go much further. Not using the name by itself is a silly token. But I absolutely believe that future mass murders could be avoided with a concerted effort by all involved to stop turning these people into mythic anti-heroes and giving them all the attention and notoriety they crave.

Heck, if you are outside of Colorado, stop reporting on it all together. It's not news anymore other than pure voyuerism.

 

I didn't remember these two names either. Nor do I remember the name of the Virginia Tech shooter. Like everyone else, the Colorado shooter will fade away in time.

 

Because I worked at a newspaper in 1999, I remember the names Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. Because I didn't work at a newspaper after 2004, I don't remember the names of the Virginia Tech shooter or the guy who shot Gabrielle Giffords. I suspect I'll forget this guy's name too at some point.

The news value of these mass shootings does drop fairly precipitously after the initial event. I do think the need journalists have to know *everything* and pass on said knowledge is open to question. I don't need to see this guy's complete college transcript and know what he had for breakfast some morning in 2002. All I need to know is when he gets whatever punishment his state allows.

 

Excellent idea and inexpensive, too.

 

Understand the sentiment, but who is to say all these killers want their name out there? And can you really intellectually deal with someone who dresses up like a clown and shoots 70 people? That logic means we shouldn't use Hitler's name. We also list sex offenders' addresses. I don't get the point of naming suspects of various crimes all the way up the ladder up until they kill a bunch of people.

 

If some criminal sociologists studied it and decided that mass murder shooting spree perpetrators did do it for the notoriety, or at least it encouraged them, would that change your mind?

 

No. It likely wouldn't stop them from the act in the first place. You can't reason with insane.