A story with purpose

Re: “Nerd” from a “Godly family” turned into a serial bomber terrorizing his Texas city, March 22 It occurred to me this mor- ning reading today’s Post to ask what is the purpose of having a front- page picture of the Austin, Texas, bomber with a huge headline that really as far as I read, added nothing to the story. I very much respect the National Post, but it seems to me that one of the prime motivations for these individuals who carry out shootings and bombings is precisely to achieve some notoriety, even if they plan to commit suicide or suicide by cop at the incident’s conclusion.

So my question is what newsworthy purpose did the headline, photo and article serve? I would say it is highly unlikely that a single Canadian will know this person, nor do we really care what his name is, or other details of his upbringing. The full impact of Jim Vertuno and Will Weissert’s story is that no one has any idea why this young man did this. I feel a better treatment would be a one- column inside story that only generically characterizes this disturbed individual and doesn’t feed their need for recognition. If there is a clear motivation, such as a fundamentalist religious motivation, let’s hear it as it adds something to our understanding.

T he Pos t could s how leadership in the media by taking this approach. Maybe have a well- researched article about psychological studies of shooters/bombers that explains their need for validation and recognition. Then take a two-sentence precis of that and attach it to the end of each one of these types of articles to explain why you are not naming or showing Facebook pictures of the perpetrator.