False framing
A third familiar issue raised by the coverage is the over-hastiness to report what has not yet been confirmed. As we saw with the coverage of the wounding of White House Press Secretary James Brady during the attempted assassination of President Reagan in 1981, and with the wounding of Representative Gabrielle Giffords in 2011, some outlets were reporting Flanagan’s death while others were telling us that he was in critical condition or that he “still had a pulse.”
Reporters were also quick to frame the story as part of a growing pattern of violence against journalists, but since the shooter turned out to be a journalist himself, this appears to be a case of a “disgruntled former employee” who just happened to be a journalist.
Finally, it is worth noting that in headline after headline, the incident is referred to as an “on-air” shooting. Clearly, the fact that this crime was committed as the camera rolled vastly increased its newsworthiness.
Horrified as we are, or claim to be, by real violence, televised real violence that we can watch as it unfolds is realer than real and, therefore, vastly more fascinating than the kind we find out about after the fact.
Or so the mainstream news media believes.
Article Appeared @https://theconversation.com/the-virginia-on-air-shootings-all-too-real-46725