This should be the headline every time: Innocent people killed by armed coward

Scott Warnock,

I’m not blaming the news. But I do wish news sources would do more to siphon at least some of the fuel out of mass shootings. The generic headline template each time: Innocent people killed by armed coward.

Put the victims first. But don’t feature body counts. Don’t give us comparison charts with previous cowards. Don’t say “most” or “worst.” We can get to the facts as we read or listen to the story, but provide as little as possible to encourage the next coward to raise the bar as a vent of rage or a twisted statement of hate.

Keep the story simple and straightforward. There are too many guns out there, too many movie trailers with people all tough-like pointing guns at the screen, to say it’s all the media’s fault.

But I think media outlets can do their part, can do better in their ledes as they introduce the next in our culture’s endless string of mass shooting stories. They can use language to drain these events perhaps of some of their power so some coward out there has to sniff real hard to get any potential whiff of misbegotten glory.

Scott Warnock

Scott Warnock is a writer and teacher who lives in South Jersey. He is a professor of English at Drexel University, where he is also the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences. Father of three and husband of one, Scott is president of a local high school education foundation and spent many years coaching youth sports.
ends & odd