A viral posting under the name of Morgan Freeman reached over one million people this weekend, with the post condemning the media for their coverage of horrific events such as the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
It was discovered on Monday that a Vancouver man named Mark Price actually wrote the post about the Connecticut shooting. Since that didn’t stop the post from reaching over a million people, I feel I should address Price’s argument.
While I agree with some aspects of the argument, such as the idea that mental health research needs a greater deal of attention and funding, or that statistics do not alone make one shooting worse than another, I believe his overall argument is undone by his rhetoric.
Not only do I see Price’s post as flawed, I feel he exemplifies the qualities of the sensationalized media outlets that he condemns. While trying to represent himself as better than sensationalist media, he lowers himself to its level.
One thing that makes a media outlet “sensationalist” is the act of speculation, or pushing ideas before they become facts for the purpose of driving up ratings.
Price speculates that, “Disturbed people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way.”
While it is true that journalistic ethics and guidelines typically discourage reporting on suicide but allow for coverage of murder-suicides, I have found no evidence to support the idea that murder-suicides are committed for headlines, and there are currently no facts pointing to the Connecticut gunman’s motives.
Regardless, Price is telling his readers that this act of horrific violence occurred solely because the gunman wanted some sick form of celebrity, while providing absolutely no evidence to support his claim, except to say killers in the past did the same thing, with an equal lack of supporting evidence.
Here is another excerpt from his argument: “Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer's identity? None that I've seen yet. Because they don't sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you've just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.”
First of all, there have been numerous stories that focus on the victims, such as the tragic but heroic story of 27-year-old Victoria Soto who died hiding her students in cabinets from the gunman. Here, Price is jumping to a conclusion based solely on personal opinion and speculation, and I believe that too would fall into the category of sensationalist.
Second, Price accuses the media of giving the disturbed individuals that commit these heinous acts ideas to “top it by doing something worse”, and follows it up by giving two examples of places where a shooting could have been even more tragic.
So what is Price suggesting to the public? That we as the democratic electorate should elect to shun the news in favour of Twitter and Facebook for information, where anyone in the world can make any claim they want with even less evidence to support it than Fox News?
Social media is media without restrictions, and if Price in fact did not intend to have his posting attributed to Morgan Freeman, it proves the point that social media simply cannot be trusted as a reliable source for facts.
Yes, there are over-sensationalized media outlets out there, but they have grown to the point that they are seen as just that, and should be taken with a grain of salt, to say the least. I know the only time I ever see Fox News is through excerpts on The Daily Show or Youtube, where its sensationalist hackery is held under a microscope and criticized. It has become common knowledge that such outlets practice partisan journalism and to watch these broadcasts is a choice, not a mandate.
If you, as a news reader, viewer or listener, are seeking the facts about a particular situation, take the time to find a reliable news outlet that you can trust. If you’re looking to speculate on things we simply cannot know, feel free to visit Facebook, Fox News or Twitter.
While Price’s post initially brought me a great deal of aggravation, in the end, I can’t help but see it as beneficial. So thank you Mr. Price, for showing us all that random Facebook posts cannot be trusted, and if it's facts that you seek . . . look to a reliable news source.
