The media organization will:
• Refuse to promote the identity of an alleged assailant by withholding their name and likeness from all forms of public communication.
• Acknowledge that the prospect of infamy could serve as a partial motivating factor for disturbed individuals to cause the death of innocent victims.
• Concur that individual names and likenesses are irrelevant to media coverage of such acts, where an emphasis should be placed on specific details of the act, alleged assailant’s background, and possible motivations.
• Raise public awareness of the root cause for such acts, as to increase the likelihood of their future prevention.
• Agree that in cases where an alleged assailant is still at large, their name and likeness should be published to aid in the capture and incarceration of this individual. Once incarcerated, the assailant’s name and likeness will be withheld from future communications.
• Recognize that The Alex Teves Challenge is an initial step in the process of eliminating random acts of mass violence. As such, we agree to promote data and analysis from experts in mental health, public safety, and other relevant professions, where this will support further steps in the elimination of this type of criminal behavior.
In a statement on the site, Teves’ father, Tom, makes this point: “If we all don’t stand together to save our children and our friends then we are, by doing nothing, culpable to a certain extent.” Is there room for media organizations to take such a situation seriously? And how does that play into the current situation?
Personal take: I like the heart behind this idea (especially considering the video Anthony posted is so accurate), but I will be the first to admit that there are many challenges to enacting it — one, that media organizations who run this kind of info have a natural encouragement to do so, and two, that social media makes it easier than ever for this sort of info to spread. But is there something to be said for points like this? — Ernie @ SFB
(ht @stastnyisnasty)
One of the reasons why I have mixed feelings about covering these kind of stories.
I think a lot of people feel this way today.
This is why getting the suspect’s name right is important. (FWIW, Ryan Lanza is in custody — for questioning — while Adam Lanza is the alleged suspect according to the Associated Press, though the Connecticut state police won’t confirm. He was found dead. The two had their names inverted in earlier reports. It is not clear if Ryan Lanza had a role or not.)
UPDATE: The AP reports that Ryan Lanza appears not to have a tie to the shooting. Which makes this point even more relevant.
Here are some resources to help parents and caregivers speak with children about today’s events. (PDF): http://www.sesameworkshop.org/assets/1192/src/HereForEachOther_vEng2012Modified.pdf
Sesame Street as public service.
As a country, we have been through this too many times…we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.President Obama, in a statement on the Sandy Hook shooting. While we don’t mean to be crass at a moment like this, the phrasing of this could suggest an increased focus on gun control within the administration, which would be a major development.
(Source: youtube.com)
One was his mother, who was a teacher at the school. The other was his brother, who was found dead in his home today in Hoboken, NJ.
UPDATE: The shooter’s brother is alive.
SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, JUST STOP
Yes, this. Remember, “Ryan Lanza” is probably a rather common name.
UPDATE: Bob Orr reports, based on preliminary info, that guns appear to have been purchased legally and belong to Ryan Lanza
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 14, 2012
President Obama is set to speak on the incident within the hour.
NEWTOWN, Conn. (CBS Connecticut/AP)— CBS News is reporting that 27 people are dead, including 14 students, after a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The gunman is among the dead.
CBS News’ John Miller reports there is preliminary information that the gunman was the father of one of the students. Miller also says that at least a couple dozen people were shot.
Please keep these families in your thoughts and prayers. Holding off on posts for a few hours to stay tuned into this.
Take a moment to ponder those lost today in this awful tragedy.
Gunman dead, teacher injured after elementary school shooting in Connecticut
A school shooting in Connecticut ended with the shooter dead Friday, with at least one teacher wounded and frightened students fleeing outdoors.
The shooter was killed and apparently had two guns, a person with knowledge of the shooting said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.
It wasn’t clear how many people were injured at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. A dispatcher at the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps said a teacher had been shot in the foot and taken to Danbury Hospital. (AP)
There are some early reports that the school’s principal and psychologist were killed in the shooting, along with a number of children.
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Shooting reported at Connecticut elementary school
(Photo: Shannon Hicks / The Newtown Bee)
State police were responding to reports of a shooting Friday at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., State Police Lt. Paul Vance told NBC News.
Vance had no information as to possible injuries and no information on the apparent shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The Newtown Bee reported that one child, apparently wounded, was carried from the scene by a police officer.
Such a terrifying photo. Kids should not have to deal with this, ever.
BREAKING NEWS: A school shooting has been reported at an elementary school in Newtown, CT. More details from the Newtown Bee:
State and Newtown police, ambulance, and emergency response personnel responded to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shortly after 9:30 am, Friday, following reports of a shooting. One child was carried from the school by a police officer, apparently seriously wounded.
The other children in the school are exiting the school under state police protection.
All of Newtown’s schools are in lockdown, and the private schools have in town have been notified of an alleged shooting being reported at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson said the schools were placed on lockdown the morning of Friday, December 14, “until we hear what is going on there.”
Dr Robinson said it is best if parents do not try to call the district at this time, and the school district will release a message once further information is known.
The situation is evolving.
(Above: Google Maps image of Sandy Hook Elementary School, via @CT1Rick; ht @TheMatthewKeys)
UPDATE: Newtown Patch reports that there may be two shooters in the school.
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