By Mike McCosker | United States

Monday, March 5, 2018, was a day that many people will forget. That is because most major media outlets were not busy sensationalizing the day of prospective violence that does not fit the anti-gun agenda. However, for students at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah, the news that one of their very own students had planned to plant a bomb, and murder hundreds, should be a shock.

Preliminary reports from the Associated Press stated that an unnamed student brought a homemade bomb to his government school Monday. 1 The unnamed student also replaced the school’s American flag with the Islamic State’s flag in February. 1 According to the police investigation, the materials to make the homemade bomb was found at the student’s house. 2

While the bomb caused no damage and resulted in no damage, other than creating a large amount of fear for the staff and students, the most important piece of information pertaining to this event is absolute lack of consistent coverage by most major media outlets. It should be an easy enough question to answer, but why have the majority of news outlets lost or never had interest in this incident from the beginning? To put it simply, this event does not bring attention.

Modern news reporting has become more synonymous with news making, as single events are dissected, and sensationalized to try and bring more attention to an ad watching audience. The February 14 shooting at a school in Parkland Florida continues to be reported on, and dramatized, even though the event took place close to one month ago. 3 But what makes the two so different?

Both events were terror attacks that took place in schools. Both targeted the youth of America, but, in only one of the events did children die, and like Winston Churchill said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Each time a school shooting takes place it is easy to explain away the evil done by a firearm, and that fear of a weapon is turned into cash for gun control lobbying groups. 4 One of the largest, and most aggressive gun control groups, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence has donated $0 to any real lobbying effort, despite roughly $346,000 of donations entering into their business for that sole purpose. 5

Inevitably, it is greed that drives the gun control narrative, and it is greed that drives media outlets to continue to talk about a school shooting from a month ago, instead of the underlying issue of student mental health, that is symptomatic in attempted homicide and suicide.

So, like all “good” news articles, let’s end with the “call to action.” Be a good person, be a good neighbor, and if you see fake, emotionally charged news, ignore it, and suffocate the mass media monster of the one thing it truly needs: your attention.

Image source.