I Saw Thought Out News Coverage of the Michigan School Shooting; But What of Copycats?

News of the Oxford High School shooting that left four dead this week made me scramble for a map of my home state. Nearly all my family still lives in Michigan, many in Oakland County where the shooting occurred. It reminded me of a day a dozen years ago or so when I panic upon learning the Virginia Tech shooter had live a few blocks away and - among those killed - two from my own daughter’s high school.

I spoke to several national news agencies as they debated how to cover the story. I’m impressed with their thoughtfulness and as how far we’ve progressed in the way mass shootings are covered. It seems that the splashy headlines and gratuitous pictures are fading from the mandatory list. Even with a live shooter, in the ensuing dates I saw limited photos of the shooter and more of the victims and survivors. Yay, this thoughtful perspective on the kind of coverage is key.

In my book, I detail a handful of new research efforts that have put data behind the concern that intense news coverage of shooting is actually causing other shooters to strike. We already know this contagion, or copycat effect, occurs after news coverage of suicides.

Two particular research efforts mark the increased risk of subsequent mass shooting in the time period up to 13 days after an incident. Everyone should be on high alert next week, looking for behaviors of concern.

And in Michigan, as school officials, teachers and parents worry another shooting might be right around the corner, the sheriff’s office has identified an added problem to manage.

“In the aftermath of the Oxford High School shooting that led to the death of four students Tuesday, ‘a flood’ of ‘completely false, intentional’ threats have resulted in the closures of at least 60 Michigan schools, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Thursday to Gus Burns | fburns@mlive.com. MLive is an online news service and a staple for Michiganders. “The sheriff believes the majority of the culprits are making baseless threats, either because they think “it is funny,” or they’re trying to ensure classes are cancelled,” he wrote, adding that Bouchard said at a news conference that the false calls were overrunning department resources.