The Newsworthiness of Mass Public Shootings: What Factors Impact the Extent of Coverage?

• DOI: 10.1177/1088767920974412
• Published date: 01 August 2021
• Date: 01 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767920974412

Homicide Studies

2021, Vol. 25(3) 239 –255

© 2020 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/1088767920974412

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Article

The Newsworthiness of

Mass Public Shootings:

What Factors Impact

the Extent of Coverage?

James Alan Fox1, Madison Gerdes1,

Grant Duwe2, and Michael Rocque3

Abstract

This study examined the characteristics of mass public shootings from 2000 through

2019 that impacted the extent of news coverage. A negative binomial regression

predicting AP story counts indicated substantially greater coverage of shootings with

a high number of casualties; that target government facilities, schools, or houses of

worship; that are perpetrated by younger assailants, particularly with indications of

mental illness; that involve terrorism or hate-motivation; that end in the assailant’s

arrest rather than death; and, to a lesser extent, that include larger shares of victims

who are White, women, children, and strangers. Overall, the disproportionate

coverage contributes to distorted perceptions of risk and reinforces inaccurate

stereotypes about these crimes.

Keywords

mass public shootings, news media coverage, public perceptions, negative binomial

regression, offense characteristics

Introduction

Beliefs and attitudes concerning the nature of crime and functioning of the justice

system are influenced by a variety of sources, including family members, peers, teach-

ers, and the media. However, since most people have little or no firsthand experience

1Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA

2Minnesota Department of Corrections, Saint Paul, MN, USA

3Bates College, Lewiston, ME, USA

Corresponding Author:

James Alan Fox, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Email: j.fox@northeastern.edu

974412HSXXXX10.1177/1088767920974412Homicide StudiesFox et al.

research-article2020

240 Homicide Studies 25(3)

as perpetrator or victim of a serious crime, news reports in print, online, and on-air

significantly shape public opinion and perception with regard to crime and punishment

(Graber, 1980; Kubrin & Grosholz, 2007; Kupchik & Bracy, 2009; Surette, 2007; Warr,

2000). Although social media have expanded their role in the public consumption of

news, both factual and fictitious, they very often serve as a secondary means of trans-

mission for stories originating in traditional outlets.

Unfortunately, the information contained in news coverage of crime and criminal

justice issues does not always provide an accurate portrayal of prevalence and pat-

terns. Because the news business is indeed a business and must be at least somewhat

responsive to profitability concerns, decisions on which stories to cover, and to what

extent, have dual objectives: to inform and to entertain the audience (Graber, 1980;

Kubrin & Grosholz, 2007; Robinson, 2014; Surette, 2007; Warr, 2000). Sensational,

graphic, and violent stories are particularly captivating, and such events therefore are

highlighted and remain longer in the news to attract and hold public attention (Kubrin

& Grosholz, 2007; Lawrence & Mueller, 2003). However, the extent to which such

crimes are covered can impact public perceptions of risk and opinions concerning the

appropriate criminal justice response. It is important, therefore, to explore the offense

correlates of newsworthiness. In this study, we examine coverage of one particularly

high-profile crime type—mass public shootings with at least four victim fatalities.

Newsworthiness of Homicide

Since it would be impossible for media outlets to report on every crime-related story,

editors and news directors must make judgments concerning their relative newswor-

thiness (Chermak, 1995; Surette, 2007). A crime’s newsworthiness and its rarity tend

to go hand-in-hand: the more unusual and extreme, the more compelling it is as a news

story (Chermak, 1995). However, covering stories based on audience interest, rather

than actual occurrence, paints a distorted picture of crime patterns. For example,

because of its severity and the fear associated with it, homicide is more newsworthy

than property crime, despite being far less common (Baranauskas & Drakulich, 2018;

Chermak, 1995; Robinson, 2014). Further, many homicides receive little, if any, news

coverage, depending on characteristics of the incident and those involved (Chermak &

Chapman, 2007).

Certain offender, victim and incident characteristics have been found to increase

the newsworthiness of homicides, regardless of their representativeness. For example,

homicides committed by juveniles or offenders over the age of 35 are more newswor-

thy than those committed by offenders between the ages of 18-35 (Chermak, 1998),

even though nearly two-thirds of homicide offenders are in this age range (Fox &

Fridel, 2019). Furthermore, while most homicide offenders are male, female offenders

receive a disproportionate amount of media coverage (Chermak, 1998). Whereas nine

out of ten homicides are committed by a single perpetrator, incidents with multiple

offenders have been deemed more newsworthy (Lundman, 2003; Paulsen, 2003).

Additionally, although fatal encounters in which the victim is killed by a stranger

represent only about one-quarter of all homicides, they are considerably more