Opinion | The media should stop giving notoriety to shooters and focus instead on victims’ voices

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As America continues to suffer from gun violence and mass shootings, it has been well established that it is best to limit the amount of notoriety and infamy of the shooters by restricting the use of their name and image.

That’s why I was disturbed to see the Minnesota Star Tribune give so much airtime to the alleged assassin of Mark and Melissa Hortman in the article, “Assassinations place [the suspect’s] religion in the spotlight.” The article largely serves the suspect and the religion he spent so much time evangelizing, effectively proselytizing and spreading the fringe worldview further than he ever could have alone.

I understand the impulse to want to dissect the motives of someone accused of committing such a heinous act. We all want answers, but articles like this are absolutely the wrong way to go about it.

What I saw were several quotes that allowed his colleagues to spin this political assassination as something with deeper meaning or as less of a tragedy. One person is quoted as saying that night was a miracle because there weren’t more victims. Another said, “‘I think something else is going on here. ... He is someone who has a story to tell.”’

Why is the Star Tribune boosting the story of the suspect, even trying to paint him as sympathetic? This fails to serve our state and is a slap on the face to the survivors and to those of us who knew and loved Melissa and Mark.

To be clear, this is not a misstep that is exclusive to the Star Tribune. Numerous news agencies fall into similar traps all the time.

In the wake of this week’s tragic shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis, it is imperative that the Star Tribune and other flagship media outlets do better. While it is still early, there are indications that the shooter idolized past mass shooters and sought increased notoriety. This is evident in the shooter’s alleged posting of a manifesto online in hopes of spreading their message further.

When reporting on these events, there are strong examples that can be followed. For instance, a criminologist quoted in this Associated Press story noted that many shooters seek celebrity treatment, “[s]o the key is to not give them that treatment.”

Adhere to the No Notoriety media protocol — written by an organization founded by victims of the Aurora shooting — which prioritizes harm reduction and minimizing infamy. Stop sensationalizing. Stop centering the despicable actions of mass shooters. Their perspectives do not matter. The only voices that matter here are those of the victims and the loved ones left behind by these heinous crimes.