Perspective on Mass Shootings

By Dean Weingarten

By Dean WeingartenBy Dean Weingarten

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- This graphic gives needed perspective on the “epidemic” of mass shootings. The question an unbiased observer might ask is “Why is such enormous attention given to such a tiny fraction of deaths?

The answer is fairly easy to understand. The media gains both monetary and political benefits from hyping these shootings. They gain monetary benefits from increased attention to their programs and advertiser base, but that does not explain why similar mass killings get far less coverage. Clayton Cramer wrote a paper showing that mass killings with guns gets far more coverage than would be warranted by their numbers. He explores the political motivations for the media to sensationalize mass shootings. Though his paper is now 20 years old, it is worth reading to see that the problem was well understood decades ago.

I have not seen a recent study of the amount of time that the old media devote to mass shooting. But the stated desire of President Obama to politicize the shootings, and the response of the old media to facilitate his desires, is clear.

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Source:: AmmoLand