The high school shooting that took place at the Columbine High School on 20th April 1990, is regarded as the deadliest high school shooting that has ever occurred in the history of the US. 12 students and one teacher were killed while at the same time 21 more people were attained serious injuries when they were trying to escape. The mass shooting was done by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who were learning in the same school. There is still a controversial debate about what could have motivated the perpetrators to kill their colleagues and teachers (Cullen, 2012). However, what is certain is that the shooting left a lot of pain among survivors and the victim’s families. At the same time, families of the shooters are also subjected to psychological torture and pain. Therefore, the paper mainly discusses the role of the media in covering the events like the shooting that occurred in Columbine.
There are a number of reasons why the media was motivated to cover the story involving survivors, victim’s families, and families of the shooters. One primary role of the media is to inform the public on what is happening in the society (Sommers et al ., 2006). As a result, the media could have been motivated to cover the story in order to let people know what exactly happened during the mass shooting at the school. This can be seen on how it gives one of the survivors an opportunity to narrate when the shooters attacked the school library.
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At the same time, the media covered the story to reduce the tension and animosity between the survivors and the victim’s families and families of shooters. There is always the tendency to blame parents whenever their children commit a crime, which was also the case in the Columbine shooting. The anger was directed towards the families of the shooters. Therefore, by giving survivors and families of victims and shooters the opportunity to tell their stories to the public, the media aimed at quelling the animosities between the parties involved (Katie Couric, Personal communication, April 20th, 2016). Hence, the media aired the story to inform the public and to reconcile survivors, victims’ families, and family of the shooters in order to enhance peace in the society.
The victims in the video were interviewed by Couric in order to narrate how the shooting occurred and how the families of the victims feel after the murder of their loved ones. Couric, when conducting the interview, gives the survivor and opportunity to tell the public about what he saw and how he managed to escape, which is clearly narrated by the young boy (Katie Couric, Personal communication, April 20th, 2016). Couric also gives the opportunity to the parents of the victims to share their pain. Therefore, the victims are mainly interviewed in the video to share their sides of the story.
The coverage of the stories like the victims of Columbine shooting is beneficial to both victims and the community. Importantly, the coverage helps the people to understand what happens to the victims and survivors, and how such events affect them and their loved ones psychologically, emotionally, and financially as well as physically (Sommers et al , 2006). Such coverage is also important because it assists in validating victims who want their stories to be heard by the public. Besides, the coverage humanizes crimes and depicts them as events that affect a lot of people in the community. In addition, the coverage enhances public awareness and understanding of the plight of crime victims, which can lead to increased public support and the need to prevent a mass shooting from occurring in the community (Sommers et al , 2006). As a result, the coverage is beneficial to both victims and the community.
The media was largely acted responsibly when interviewing the victims. At the same time, the interviewer put herself in the victim’s situation. However, there were a few irresponsible acts during the coverage. First, I think the media was irresponsible by showing the man in the interview was in pain and shedding tears. The interview could have given him the chance to talk instead of just showing him grieving. Secondly, the media could not have shown the photo of one of the shooters because it was like glorifying him, which was their main intention of the shooting.
Therefore, it is possible for the interview to negatively affect the victims. For instance, the trauma of victimization can be enhanced by speaking publicly about the experience. Studies have shown that it takes a lot of time for a victim to cope with the shock associated with painful events. Therefore, it was possible for the interview to cause secondary victimization that can lead to additional pain and trauma.
As a result, the primary role that victim advocate could have played in the scenario is to provide emotional support for the victims, which is also one of their main duties (Mekjian & Varughese, 2005). The video clearly shows that the victims are still emotionally unstable and they need emotional support. In addition, he should advise the victims in making a decision on whether to participate in the interview or not because the man in the interview seemed to not be prepared to interview, as he is still suffering from emotional trauma.
However, a victim advocate could have faced some challenges while working with the media. According to Cullen (2012), one of the main challenges is that the media can publish some of the inaccurate information about victims, which may interfere with the justice. Secondly, the media may force victims to share some information that implicates them in the future. Therefore, the only way to counter the challenges is to ensure that victims share information after consulting advocate and make the media accountable for the information they publish about victims.
In conclusion, the media plays important role in the justice system in any given society. It has the role of reducing animosity in the society by reconciling victims and perpetrators. The media also disseminate important information to the public, which can be used to prevent various types of crimes. Therefore, both the media and the victim advocate have a role in a play in the life of a victim.
References
Sommers, S. R., Apfelbaum, E. P., Dukes, K. N., Toosi, N., & Wang, E. J. (2006). Race and media coverage of Hurricane Katrina: Analysis, implications, and future research questions. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy , 6 (1), 39-55.
Mekjian, G. J., & Varughese, M. C. (2005). Hearing the victim's voice: analysis of victims' advocate participation in the trial proceeding of the International Criminal Court. Pace Int'l L. Rev. , 17 , 1.
Cullen, D. (2012, April 20). The Depressive and the Psychopath: At last we know why the Columbine killers did it. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2004/04/the_depressive_and_ the_psychopath.html
