This week the anchor of Meet the Press acknowledged he would avoid mentioning the name of the recent community college shooter out of concern for television’s unintended consequences. And yet he did not put this critical issue on the table for his expert panel of journalists to analyze and discuss.
It seems that each time another shooter goes on the rampage his unstable mental situation is the only factor pundits and politicians can agree on. And yet the more I study such situations, the more it seems to me that the celebrity making potential, and mass visibility of going out in a blaze of glory, are likely to be important contributing factors in stimulating copycats.
There is little doubt that television is at it’s best when it makes drama. It’s in its very nature. Otherwise it’s boring. Live 24/7 television coverage requires drama to hold audiences. Competition between media for side stories enhances that drama. And emotional victim interviews add even more drama.
What does it take for sick-minded, angry and isolated individuals to also want this kind of mass visibility and celebrity? The temptation to copy this drama could be overwhelming. And yet while all of this is unfolding on television, the issue is never discussed.
So what implication does this have for higher education? Ever since the television revolution of the 1960s I have been discussing “media literacy” with anyone who will listen. Media revolutions always change how everything works… from family interaction, to what it takes to win elections, to individual behavior.
If a global higher education industry can educate international leaders and help solve world problems, it can also advance media literacy. And with so much dramatic violence in the world to report, understanding media must become still another core competency.
Larry D. Lauer 
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