Analysis of 48 Hours of Television News Coverage Following the Columbine High School Shooting

On April 20, 1999, two Columbine High School students started a shooting rampage, ultimately killing 12 students and one teacher, wounding 21 victims, then completing suicide. Using media frame analysis (MFA), we examined 265 transcribed major network television news stories aired during the 48 hours following the shooting. In these stories, we investigated the frequency of warning signs of youth violence. Though later disputed, stories included warning signs that fortified the myth of the juvenile superpredator. Television news coverage of school shootings often spotlights perpetrators, fuels false narratives, creates an inflated sense of risk and vulnerability, and fails to place such events in the larger context of youth violence. We urge professionals to contextualize news stories within a broader framework of youth violence; to support fact-based communication between the media, school administrators, and law enforcement; to eliminate the spotlight on perpetrators; and to carefully consider reactionary responses that are not evidence-based nor proven effective.