bout gun control and related issues. The quality of reporting and media coverage has been undermined by the competition to broadcast the story first to the public. The shootings that took place in Atlanta have illustrated so far that in the 24-hour news cycle, airing premature claims and generalizations is more important than pausing to double-check the facts (Torobin). Conflicting reports from its Atlanta affiliates convinced CNN to hold back its coverage, claiming that, "Our editorial edition was to be accurate with what we went with, rather than being concerned with being first"(Torobin). However, much of that coverage wasn't nearly as cautious. CNN broadcasters made comments asserting that the gunman had, in fact, murdered his family in a 1993 rampage, a charge which he had been clearly fully of.
             What are the effects of such media coverage? First, you have to consider the immense volume of the coverage being discussed, and then examine how much of the information influence the audience. The Colorado shootings that occurred at the hands of two disaffected classmates generated over 150 stories on the network evening newscasts within one week of the shooting (and a total of 292 stories to date), in addition to the extensive live local and national television coverage of the shooting as they occurred. Similarly, shooting at eight separate public schools around the country generated 378 stories and more than 10 hours of airtime within the first seven days of each incident (Lichter, Holian). The shooting that occurred at Columbine ranked the third most covered story within the decade, only to be beaten out by the Rodney King Verdict and the TWA crash of f
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