Here we are again. Another mass shooting. And another one at a school. This time, it’s Michigan State University. Three more dead. Five more injured.
It happened Monday on the eve of the anniversary of another notable mass shooting.
It led to this haunting tweet from The Washington Post’s John Woodrow Cox, who reports about gun violence and its impact on young people: “A number will soon be released, tallying the dead and wounded at Michigan State, and that will frame how ‘bad’ this one was. But many other students have hidden for hours, hoping not to die. Parents are unraveling. Parkland survivors are reeling. Hundreds of victims. Every time.”
Tuesday was the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were murdered and 17 more were injured. It’s one of the most remembered mass shootings in recent history, but hardly alone.
Cox and Steven Rich wrote this story for the Post: “After Parkland: What we’ve learned tracking school shootings for 5 years.”
In the aftermath of the shooting in Parkland, Cox and Rich reported that from 1999 to 2018, the number of children who had endured a shooting at a K-12 school was 187,000. “Now just five years later,” they wrote, “and despite a pandemic that closed many campuses for nearly a year, the number has exploded, climbing past 338,000.”
Cox and Rich added, “Neither of us anticipated that we would still be doing this work in 2023 — on Parkland’s fifth anniversary — but it’s never been more urgent. The subject of school shootings often makes people feel hopeless, especially at a time when America is experiencing its worst stretch in history. But we have now studied 366 separate incidents of campus gun violence, and the data, along with dozens of stories on the damaged children it represents, has taught us that there are reasons to remain hopeful, none more so than this one: Most school shootings are preventable.”
Read this important story.
Also, President Joe Biden had this message on this dark anniversary.
According to Gun Violence Archive, this is the 70th mass shooting in 2023. It’s only mid-February.
The Michigan State shooting
For the latest on the Michigan State University shooting, start with this from the Detroit Free Press’ Darcie Moran, Paul Egan, David Jesse, Emily Lawler and Andrea May Sahouri: “Suspect dead, 3 killed, 5 injured in Michigan State shooting: What we know.”
Also in the Free Press, Lily Altavena with “Michigan State University student: I survived Sandy Hook, now this shooting.”
From The Washington Post’s extensive coverage: “Gunman lied about having firearm inside home, father says.”
And from The New York Times, Anushka Patil and Amanda Holpuch with “What We Know About the Michigan State Shooting Victims.” It started with this heartbreaking paragraph: “They all went to high school in the Detroit suburbs: a 19-year-old who planned to become the first doctor in her family, a ‘quiet leader’ who modeled poise and humility, and the chapter president of his fraternity.”
Indiana gets more journalism
For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague Kristen Hare.
The launch of the Indiana Local News Initiative was announced Wednesday morning. It will bring more than $10 million into the state, according to a press release.
This one is exciting because it looks like a true ecosystem approach that will create new newsrooms, support existing ones and widen access for the community.
The project, from a group of community ambassadors and the American Journalism Project, will do a few things, including: launching a newsroom to cover central Indiana; creating a Capital B newsroom in Gary to cover the Black community; supporting the Indianapolis Recorder, an African American newspaper launched in 1895, with the edition of two new staff positions and dropping its paywall; and it will make the work of TheStatehouseFile.com, which publishes coverage of state government from Franklin College journalism students, free for members of the Hoosier State Press Association.
“With these initial investments, we are adding some 30 local news jobs and hope to add many more,” said Karen Ferguson Fuson, former publisher of The Indianapolis Star, in a press release. The Star is also a partner in the initiative. “We’ll be working together with partners to amplify existing coverage, close coverage gaps and drastically increase the amount of unbiased original reporting in Indiana. Community and collaboration are the core of this initiative.”
Other statewide collaborations aimed at shoring up local news include the Colorado News Collaborative and the Ohio Local News Initiative.
Tweet of the day
Tuesday was Valentine’s Day and check out this tweet, with photos, from legendary Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward about his equally legendary journalist/friend Carl Bernstein:
“Celebrating Carl’s 79th birthday on Valentine’s Day in New York City. We met in the @washingtonpost newsroom 51 years ago to work on a story. 51 years of genuine friendship. @carlbernstein”
Morgan confronts Lake
I’m not the biggest Piers Morgan fan in the world, but he deserves credit for confronting Kari Lake, who lost her bid to become governor of Arizona last November and has wrongly claimed since then that the election was a fraud. Lake was a guest on “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”
Now, one could ask why Morgan had Lake on in the first place. Why even give her a platform to make her outrageous claims? That’s a fair point.
But when she did make such false claims, Morgan called her out, saying, “There’s been no independent corroboration that there was anything fraudulent about this election. In fact, it’s pretty clear that you lost to Katie Hobbs.”
Lake huffed and puffed and Morgan eventually said, “… there does come a point when for the future of democracy, you and Donald Trump have to accept at some point you lost an election. Otherwise, the entire system collapses.”
Mediaite’s Candice Ortiz has all the details.
A new pod
The Athletic has a new podcast series called “Between the Lines,” which explores what it means to be Black in the NFL and how race impacts every level of professional football. It’s hosted by Tashan Reed and includes interviews with current and former NFL players, coaches, executives and league officials.
The first episode includes conversations with Doug Williams, Bomani Jones, Jim Trotter, Marcus Thompson II, Devin McCourty, and two of the originators of the Rooney Rule — Cyrus Mehri and Dr. Janice Madden — which was put in place to, theoretically, give people of color better opportunities to become a head coach.
The first episode is out now and new episodes will drop weekly on Tuesdays.
They really hate me
Sarah Silverman, shown here in 2019. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman hosted Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” this week and started her Monday monologue by running a montage of conservatives, many appearing on Fox News, bashing her and her comedy.
Silverman then said, “These right-wing people really (expletive) hate me! I mean, what am I, a gender-neutral bathroom over here? What am I, a Starbucks cup that just says ‘Happy Holidays’ over here? What am I, a grown woman with an opinion? Oh yeah, that’s probably it.”
Media tidbits
- Outstanding work from The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz with “These women journalists were doing their jobs. That made them targets.”
- Axios’ Sara Fischer and Kerry Flynn with “Lee Enterprises forces furloughs in latest cost-cutting move.”
- If you’re trying to avoid or lessen bad press, Risa Heller is in the business of crisis management. New York Magazine’s Shawn McCreesh with “Get me Risa Heller!”
- The Verge’s Emma Roth with “Twitter is just showing everyone all of Elon Musk’s tweets now,”
- CNBC’s Alex Sherman reports NBC Sports is interested in reacquiring rights to the NBA. Apple and Amazon are also interested. Current NBA broadcaster ESPN/ABC would like to keep their rights, but it’s not known if TNT also will extend beyond its current deal. NBC last carried the NBA from 1990 to 2002. Hey, if NBC does get the NBA again, here’s hoping they bring back John Tesh’s “Roundball Rock” theme song. (And you have to love Tesh’s live version of “Roundball Rock.”)
Hot type
- I cannot recommend this piece from USA Today’s Suzette Hackney enough: “This football coach spent years saving his city’s kids from gun violence. Then someone shot him.”
- Vice News’ Keegan Hamilton with “Inside the Scandal That Took Down the DEA’s ‘Cowboy’ Chief in Mexico.”
- Let’s close with a lighter story about a former Major League Baseball player, John Jaso, who gave up the game for a life at sea. For The New York Times, David Gardner with “No More Spring Trainings.”
More resources for journalists
- Subscribe to PolitiFact’s weekly newsletter. Get facts delivered straight to your inbox.
- Poynter’s Beat Academy (March-Oct.) (Webinar series) — Enroll now.
- Leadership Academy for Diversity in Media (Seminar) — Apply by Feb. 17.
- Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders (Seminar) — Apply by Feb. 27.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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