Tragedy in Danvers

Friday morning I read an article in the Boston Globe that said classes at Danvers High School were finally resuming after the tragedy that occurred there just a few days before resulting in the loss of young math teacher.  I had been following this story quite closely throughout the week because it was relatively close to home and it has been a pretty major story on the national news in general.  This tragedy, which came so soon after the shooting in Nevada, illustrates a lack of security in high schools and once again brings to mind what role the media plays in these instances.  Especially with mass shootings, people argue that the media's coverage spends too much time talking about the perpetrators and that this celebrity and coverage provoke more violence because copy cats see the celebrity they can become if they cause havoc.  While this specific tragedy in Danvers didn't have much to do with that, as the boy in question didn't seem to want to cause as much damage as possible, situations like these beg various questions like what is the media's role in society? Is there another way the media could cover tragedies? Should the media tone down its coverage of mass shooters to prevent further tragedies? Is there a link between media coverage and violence?  I believe all these questions need to be pondered as our society progresses and we try to create a safer country in the future.