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Madelyn Mahon

How should the media cover mass shootings?

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San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan speaks with the media regarding the mass shooting that occurred at the Inland Regional Center on December 2, 2015 in San Bernardino, California.
Sean M. Haffey | Getty Images

The rise in mass shootings poses new challenges for media organizations looking for ethical ways to cover these news events.

NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik and the Dart Center's Executive Director Bruce Shapiro joined MPR News host Bob Collins to discuss if news organizations have moral and social obligations beyond reporting the facts of these stories.

"We've always given the most attention to the least representative events and if you try to make public policy based on what people are afraid of based on the news you're going to end up with what we've got, frankly, which is a lot of nonviolent offenders crowding prisons," Shapiro told Collins

"Our over-reporting and politicians over-seizing of fear connected to this reporting on the least representative crimes can lead to bad public policy," he added.

Listen to the full conversation by using the audio player above