On Friday, the comic advocated for a “media blackout” of school shootings, arguing that the constant attention given to them can inspire others to act violently themselves. Friday night on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” a listener asked Maher why he didn’t want to see anything about the alleged shooters.
Maher responded that he hoped that by not giving them the exposure they coveted, it would deter others from choosing to carry out a school killing. A lockdown on the offenders and their actions might be a good idea while we wait for information about the shooter,” Maher began, to cheers from the crowd.
“You know, this is… The start of the baseball season was yesterday, and when a player sprints across the field, the camera doesn’t follow them. The media has ignored this person. Why can’t we at least do that as a country?In fact, I’d rather not talk about it at all.
What happened is a done deal. I’m not curious about this person’s sexual orientation, age, or beliefs. He went on to say, “They all feed on each other, so I see no point in worrying about any of it,” which is the absolute least the media owes its audience.
The Daily Wire, at the behest of editor emeritus Ben Shapiro, enacted a policy in line with Maher’s suggestion in the days following the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The risk of encouraging more mass killings far outweighs the benefits of making public information about specific names and photos of mass shooters, Shapiro wrote at the time.
Researchers found that “media coverage of mass shootings can have a significant impact on the psyches of potential mass shooters,” because those who are predisposed to commit such atrocities have a “cognitive craving for attention.”