Investing Journalistic Resources

It has been hard not to notice, over the past few weeks, the incredible amount of energy—and human resources—that CNN has invested in the disappearance of Malaysia Flight 307.   Their coverage of other tragedies pales by comparison.

This was brought home today when a six-year-old boy brought a 45mm handgun to school in the same district where my grandson goes to kindergarten.  It reminded me of all the school shootings that have made the headlines on CNN and elsewhere over the years, from Columbine to the knifings in the Murrysville, Pa., high school earlier this month.  The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in December 2012 gained a fair amount of coverage, but that, too, became old news after a few weeks. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if CNN—or MSNBC or CBS or Fox—decided to stay with these stories, keeping them in the public consciousness (and conscience) and exploring the implications.  I am not suggesting a continuing rant on gun control (Piers Morgan tried that, to his detriment), but follow-up investigation about the impact of this and other massacres on the individuals and communities involved.  How have the families of the murdered children fared in the 18 months since Sandy Hook?  What new policies are schools around the nation implementing to avoid a similar disaster?  How has the family of the perpetrator responded?  What new laws, if any, are being considered?  What kinds of counseling services were implemented?  How has the event affected home sales or business start-ups in the community?  In other words, how has the Sandy Hook massacre affected, long-term, life in that community?  What can other communities learn from the experience? 

Since Sandy Hook in December 2012, there have been at least 58 additional school shootings—at both public schools and higher education—in the United States.  This does not include the knifings in Murrysville, just shootings.  Given how common this sort of thing is in the U.S., perhaps it would even be good to compare events and look for commonalities that might help us better predict and, perhaps, avoid future killings.

It seems to me that this would be much more in the community interest than a continuing story line about a lost airplane.   Responsible news agencies, one could argue, should invest their resources in stories that have a true public impact.   The continued violence in our culture is worth at least as much attention.