DeLauro Renews Call for Media to Honor Victims of Gun Violence and List the Names of Every Victim Each Day
WASHINGTON, DC (June 16, 2016) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today renewed her call for every major news network in the United States to honor victims of the nation's gun violence epidemic and list the names, ages, and photos of each victim. Last December, DeLauro—along with twenty of her House colleagues—sent a letter to executives at the major news networks that went unanswered. Since that time, an estimated 16,000 more Americans have been killed by guns.
"The mass shooting in Orlando targeting the LGBT community has rightly received the attention of the nation and the media. However, the violence against the LGBT community, as well as the gun violence that is a daily occurrence in America, largely goes uncovered by the media," said Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. "We must never forget that for every shooting, there is a victim as a result of our inaction on the gun violence epidemic. We must also read their names, show their photos, and tell their stories."
"Earlier this week, Anderson Cooper on CNN received significant attention when he read the name of each victim of the Orlando shooting on-air," continued DeLauro. "By refusing to name the gunman and focusing instead on the victims, Anderson reported the human cost of the gun violence epidemic. As Anderson said, ‘There were people who have died, and no one really told their story.' Anderson, thank you for your incredible reporting and please keep it up."
Despite an estimated 32,000 people dying per year by guns in this country, many Americans are unaware that gun violence persists in their own communities unless there is an event with mass casualties. News networks have a critical role to play in fighting this epidemic. By broadcasting a list of names and photos of every victim of gun violence, victims will be honored and remembered in their communities, while the public will be informed of the gun violence epidemic in their own backyard.
Daily reporting on a national crisis has been exercised in the past. The most notable example is ABC News' decision to begin a nightly news program focused on the Iranian Hostage Crisis in the 1970s. For more than a year, the network made coverage of the ongoing hostage situation a nightly news staple and today, that news program is known as Nightline.
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