We're all part of it, even those who read just an article or two. The only way out would be to igore most headlines nowadays.

Come on, I bet you watched that first video with morbid fascination. I love reporting now days. Before hand you had to rely on Newspapers and Broadcasters to give their twisted version of events together with what ever spin was required. Now with Twitter and social media you can see what's happening as and when it happens, warts and all.

Newspapers are shutting down left right and centre because people can get their news elsewhere. This type of reporting isn't going to change now as they need to compete in order to survive.

Not sure what you mean by 'the first video' but I haven't watched any videos on this news story. Why would I do that? Imagining what the reporters went through (and their loved ones must be going through) is honestly hard enough to take.
What made you think my impression about media sensationalism was a comment on newspapers allegedly shutting down?

I didn't. You complained about sensationalist reporting. I just explained that now more than ever, this is required so that news outlets are able to survive.

Update.. another shooting today at Mississippi State. Thankfully it didn't result in any injuries.
http://heavy.com/news/2015/08/missis...ooter-suspect/

@Loz1983: Wasn't a complaint, just a remark
I remember reading a study a few years ago about sensationalism in the media. It concluded that for a news story to sell well, journalists have to strike a balance between attention grabbing (yellow) journalism and creating limited emotional impact on readers. At least that's the theory.

But while online newspapers might show the video you mentioned (though I believe this tragedy should not be part of the public sphere), I think social media sites like FB have a certain responsibility toward its members and the victims to ban that video, which frankly is easier said than done.

BBC Discussion on whether it's ethically ok to show graphic images of violence online:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34073939

Tributes for the reporters:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle26122744/

... Texas. Of course. Apparently even surrendering, with your hands clearly empty and above your head, doesn't protect you from being shot and killed by police there.

The report contains the line "The FBI records "justifiable homicides" by police officers. There were 461 such cases in 2013."

If you find it constructive to watch a man's life being ended, you can do so here.

Another selfie bites the dust! https://uk.news.yahoo.com/death-selfie-texas-teenager-deleon-122653103.html#hTxUUt4

Egyptian security forces accidentally shoot dead 12 tourists and guides

Look here.

Shooting at a festival in Cambridge MA

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...vzJ/story.html


and

Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, the man who fatally shot Kentucky trooper has been killed today.

http://www.whas11.com/story/news/cri...ight/72241586/

Another shooting in the US, this time in Oregon ...

http://m.nydailynews.com/news/nation...icle-1.2381711

http://www.news24.com/World/News/15-...001?isapp=true

The usual continues unabated complete with the usual coverage and President blaming the guns and laws/lawmakers...Nothing on the violent culture that is also buoyed by a foreign policy that is responsible for habitual killings or the Islamophobia it perpetuates

Lunacy thrives in the land of the free

Nothing wrong with Islamophobia. However I do agree with the first bit. The problem doesn't lie with gun laws, rather with Americans.

Angry Obama Blasts Congress for Failing America on Guns ...

http://m.motherjones.com/mojo/2015/1...-over-gun-laws

Well if the Americans can't handle their guns, maybe they should be taken away from them? I mean if there is an established violent culture in the US, why throw in guns in the mix? Take them out and let them beat each other to death with baseball bats or something...

I agree, they should be taken away. But I doubt it'd help. Chicago has the strictest gun laws in the country but people are still getting shot.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/82-...united-states/

Looks like this particular fruitcake was a Brit.

In Hollywood the bad guys are always Brits, so reality is just following fiction.

A Brit in the same way that Mo Farah is Somali, Lukas Podolski is Polish and Keanu Reeves is Lebanese.

Absolutely.

Much as I hate to admit it, Australians are not that different to Americans. In 1996, a man named Martin Bryant used firearms to murder 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania. This remains one of the worst mass killings worldwide perpetrated by a single person.

But here's the difference between Australians and Americans: in the wake of the Port Arthur Massacre, the then-Prime Minister of Australia introduced wide-ranging, strict gun ownership laws and national, uniform licensing of firearms. These laws had bipartisan support at all levels of government.

And that's the problem: spineless politicians in America who are afraid to incur the wrath of powerful lobbies like the NRA. It's plainly obvious that firearms need to be kept away from the general public, for the good of all (yes, to the detriment of a few) -- but too few lawmakers have the intestinal fortitude to make this happen.

Look what happened after the September 11 attacks -- sweeping changes to air travel security worldwide, introduction of the USA PATRIOT Act, the "War on Terrorism"... What's the bigger threat to life in the USA, terrorism or gun crime? Does America need someone to use guns to massacre 2,977 people in one day to see that access to firearms needs to be drastically curtailed?

I don't have the impression that American culture seen on an aggregate level is especially violent, and despite the cliché of the typical American being a confrontational twerp with zero contextual radar, my experience and impression with travelling around in the US and well off the beaten track is that they're actually less confrontational than people over here. And I'm including in this assessment bible thumpers and gun rights touters.


So I don't think there is a violent culture per se. there may be a small number of statistical outliers and it is these outliers who do stupid things and cause great damage. But I don't see as this being much to do with American culture.