Should TV News Report Names of Mass Shooters?

By Jordan Chariton 

Megyn KellyAs Megyn Kelly opened “The Kelly File” last night, she led with news that the suspected Ft. Hood shooter and four others were dead. She then told her viewers they’d need to go elsewhere to find out the shooter’s name.

“If you are interested, you can get his name on other shows, like the one that preceded this one,” Kelly told her viewers.

Shepard Smith preceded her in the 8pmET hour in place of the “O’Reilly Factor,” which was pre-empted. Smith and other Fox hosts named the shooter.

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“We have decided not to name these mass killers as a policy here on ‘The Kelly File,'” she continued, saying she won’t help them achieve the “infamy they seek.”

After the open, Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin referenced the perpetrator as “the shooter,” while Kelly’s first guest, Rep. Michael McCaul, also declined to name the shooter out of respect for Kelly.

Now we’re asking you.


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