The Patriot Post® · Pull the Plug on Publicity Machine

Mona Charen: “The press can choose not to publish the names or show the faces of shooters. A quick survey of popular news sites in the days following the Santa Barbara atrocity showed that all used the name of the murderer. … In a celebrity-drunk culture like ours – one that, moreover, frequently makes no distinction between those who gain fame for good reasons and those who deserve infamy – invites the unbalanced to bid for attention with huge crimes. In the shallow world of news sites and social networks, everyone jockeys for attention. All the petty egos stretch for their moment of glory. The YouTube video apparently filmed by the killer was the ultimate ‘selfie’ guaranteed to reach a mass audience. Pull the plug on the publicity machine for killers. It’s cost-free. It’s easy. It can be done immediately, and it might very well remove one of the chief lures of the killing spree.”