During the first week of 2016, President Obama made his New Year’s resolution apparent to the whole country. In a highly emotional speech, our chief executive announced new executive action on gun control, proposing background checks for people who purchase guns online and at gun shows.
Perhaps the time has finally come to expand background checks and screening for gun purchasers, without infringing on our constitutional right to bear arms. The issue obviously holds emotional sway over Obama – this much became evident when he choked up after mentioning the Newtown shooting of 2012.
The emotional influence of the gun control issue does not stop with the President. The issue has undoubtedly crept into the American psyche over the past several years. This is partly due to the news stories people hear about gun violence. These stories have emotional appeal that in turn can stir us to action.
When we first hear of events like the Newtown shooting, we feel a sense of unease. Explanations do not immediately come to us, so we feel the need to make sense of the event in some way. The human mind uses stories to make sense of disorder and chaos. And like it or not, given the numerous tools the media possesses today, no shortage of stories surrounds our mass shootings. Within hours of these events, media outlets bombard us with timelines, background stories on the people involved, and endless speculation about motive.
On December 2, a mass shooting occurred at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. On December 3, Time published a video timeline of the previous days’ events. Timelines are a powerful storytelling tool because they show us how events unfold in a clear, logical way. They give us the leisure of pinning separate events in a long chain onto a sequence we can understand. Although a powerful tool, the timeline still leaves much to the imagination of viewers.
That’s where the background story comes in. Soon after the Newtown shooting of 2012, people were reading stories of Adam Lanza’s past – how his classmates described him as a loner, a social outcast. Although it does not excuse the act, background stories such as this one help us empathize with the human side of a suspect or victim. They help us cope with a tragedy by giving us a possible reason, or motive, behind an action.
In-depth coverage of mass shootings provides consumers with extraordinary background detail. These stories speak to our inherent interest in the lives and experiences of others. They capture our attention in the same way that literary figures from novels do. And by extension, these powerful stories can stir us to produce positive change – whether that change involves expanding mental health coverage for all Americans, or increasing background checks for gun purchasers.
Regardless of your opinion on how the media should cover mass shootings, the stories journalists tell have a huge influence on our emotions. These stories have brought the issue to the forefront of American politics, even drawing a tear from our chief executive.
What impact do you think journalistic storytelling has had on the gun control issue? Leave us a comment below!
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Sam Bojarski is an associate at WordWrite Communications. He can be reached at sam.bojarski@wordwritepr.com.
