Spreading the blame for VA Tech

In the event of a massacre or tragedy, after reporting the facts, what is the news media’s role in analysis of the event? There has been a trend in media reporting on tragedies, stretching from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina to the shootings at Virginia Tech. News casters focus on how the event could have been prevented, or at least damage minimized, and then proceeds to place blame.
Civic journalism focuses on solving societal problems. How does placing blame solve problems? It is beneficial to analyze how a tragedy, such as the Virginia Tech shootings, could have been prevented. However, the source of a problem should not be laid on the shoulders of a handful of individuals. By placing blame, it gives the public a focal point for their rage. Especially in the case where the perpetrator is dead, it is easier to have a tangible person for placing blame and public outrage.
Anger is a rational response to a massacre, however public outrage impedes on solving problems. By saying one person’s actions allowed for this event to get out of control, it is easier for someone to say that would not be the way I act in the same situation. By blaming the university president for not locking down the campus after the first shootings in the dorm of Virginia Tech, it is easier for other university officials to say to themselves, “I would not act in that way – I would shut down the campus.”
This is not to say the media did not do their share to analyze the problem itself – which is more along the path of civic journalism. A beneficial use of time on public airwaves for the media would be to take a close look at the emergency response plans for universities across the nation. After the shootings at Columbine, the media focused some on this issue, however emergency plans for university campuses is vastly different from high schools because the campus is so stretched out. The media, after the shootings at Virginia Tech, did focus air time on this issue; however, it seems that newscasts were more consumed with placing blame.
Furthermore, placing blame on university officials, I would guess, makes them less cooperative in speaking with the media for purposes of analysis – beyond just releasing facts of the situation. In discussing emergency response strategies on the news, it would be beneficial to discuss with Virginia Tech officials how these strategies were developed – such as, if there was a formal plan for responding to an on-campus shooting, when was it developed, and if the faculty was well-informed concerning this plan and other emergency response plans.
Further analysis – that I did not encounter when watching the news – was the conflict concerning widely circulating a plan to respond to school shootings. For instance, if a shooter was familiar with an institution’s plan for response then he/she might be able to plan their shooting with more success – knowing that classrooms would be locked or that students were gathered in one area, etc…
When watching The View last week, shortly after the shootings, Rosie O’Donnell could do nothing but place blame. (For the record, The View was the first thing that came on when I woke up in the morning and I do not make a habit of watching it.) She was infuriated at the university officials for not locking down the university. Further she went on a rant about the university not using the fire alarm system to inform the entire campus about the first shooting. This frustrated me because she didn’t seem to understand that the fire alarms across campus would signal to students and faculty that they must exit the buildings and wait outside. In this case, it seems the shooter would have an easier target and be able to shoot more people since they would be amassed in a crowd outside the buildings.
Then Rosie went on to make the shootings a political issue. She ranted about gun control – which she has long been an advocate for. In this rant, however, she said she had given up on any hope of tighter gun control in the country. Rosie implied, in her rant, that this shooting was the fault of the NRA directly, and this interest group is so large that gun control is futile.
What was the purpose of Rosie’s rant, in this case? At first guess, she would seem to be attempting to guilt firearms advocates into changing their position. In doing so, however, she was convincing people who might advocate tighter gun controls that there was no hope. Every time one of her co-hosts tried to emphasize the importance of this issue, Rosie would insists that the power of the NRA makes any efforts ineffective. Aside from personal elation by yelling at the NRA and VA Tech officials, there was no worth in anything Rosie said.
The placing of blame – whether it be individual blame or turning the issue political – is only beneficial in providing an outlet for frustration and rage. This method of reporting does not serve the purpose of civic journalism. Reporters need to be focused on solving societal problems and not deciding who is at fault. Otherwise, journalists are not performing their duty of serving the public good and being a beneficial public informant in a democracy.