If there is something wrong...

...those that have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action —Thomas Jefferson

There are few things that rub me the wrong way than the blame the conservatives put on the media for numerous woes.  From the moment editors decide what events to cover, there is bias in the media.  Everything has to have some value to their mission.  I am grateful the media is there to shine the light on government.  I don’t mind unnamed sources because those sources still have to get past the new agency’s legal people.  Mistakes will happen. Use your noodle, folks.

Now, the media can and has made agreements to embargo information for national security reasons.  This should extend to community safety matters such as mass shootings.

At the risk of appearing less liberal, I believe there needs to be some consensus among news agencies - and I do not hold a negative view of them - to limit coverage until the event is over. The local agencies should use text and emergency broadcast systems to keep locals up to date. Setting up a perimeter should include airspace, and news agencies should keep their reporters and mobile units home.

When we were young there were many plane hijackings. Filming the action on the tarmac stopped. Reporting real time details stopped. Hijackings, for the most part, stopped. There is too much information given on the news that supports the next event, and jeopardizes the safety protocols in place. 

This is a public health and security concern that news agencies have to join the community in finding their role in responsibly solving it. The events are fueled and perpetuated by access to information, illusions of revenge, infamy and power for the powerless. We are just giving the next unstable person a primer on what to do and not do.

Everyone has some responsibility to act.