April 20th, would have been a difficult task to flip through the channels on your TV and not see the images of police officers surrounding a high school that decades later would still be receiving news coverage after the horrendous incident that occurred that day. The Columbine High School shooting was heavily broadcast across many news channels at the time. The media ever since has done special after special on the various anniversaries of the shooting. The topics of these specials vary from show to show but most of them are centered around two subjects: the shooters and the impact of their actions, or the victims and the survivors.

Years after the Columbine shooting it is a sad truth that school shootings in America have not only not slowed down, they’ve increased. Many of the specials that the news outlets produce center around “looking deeper” into the minds of the shooters and trying to piece together why they did what they did and what can be done in the future to prevent shootings like Columbine from happening. In some of these instances, mental health is discussed, the importance of maintaining it, and the resources available to those who may be going through tough times. The result of this is that news outlets can educate the general population and help to prevent school shootings in some way. We also see another side that makes our stomachs sick. The side of Dylan and Eric’s fan page (pictures below). The tragedy they caused has led to copycat attacks as well as on going fan pages and followers that look up to them. An automatic stigmatization that have so called ‘fans’ defending their actions. There are videos and journals that reveal the fact that it was an ongoing plan.

The other subject of these specials that comes up frequently deals with the victims and the survivors and their stories. In many of these specials, we get to hear from some of the survivors from Columbine High School that were present that day and what they experienced. The horrible and traumatic events they had to suffer that day give the audience a more real life sense of what these horrible school shootings do to not only those who are taken away, but for those who survive. We also get to hear about the victims and what they were like in everyday life. We get to hear their names, their stories, and what their personalities were like. By doing this, these news outlets have helped to show exactly what those two took away that day. 

The news coverage of these events were important to broadcast so that the nation understood the horrible tragedy that was occurring in Littleton, Colorado. However, ever since then it seems that some news outlets since then have done specials to try and help prevent future incidents from occurring and to ensure that the victims are Never Forgotten.