According to an ABC News review of reported cases, there was, on average, one shooting incident per week on a school or college campus last year. This week, Monday, a 14-year-old student opened fire in Madison Junior/Senior High School in Butler County. Two students were shot, two more suffered other injuries.
Each time a school shooting occurs, news outlets rush to the scene and begin live reports. Some news organizations limit their reporting to the initial breaking story and then provide updates when they become available. Others, especially television stations, devote hours to live coverage of the story.
Joining us to discuss how newsrooms decide how to cover a school shooting, what information to report and images to show, and if intense media attention on a shooting could have a copycat affect, are head of the Journalism Department and Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Jeffrey Blevins; FOX19NOW News and Content Director, Steve Hyvonen; and WVXU Radio and TV writer John Kiesewetter.
To get the latest in radio, television and local entertainment news, check out JohnKiesewetter: Media Beat, on wvxu.org.