Letter sent to members of the media on January 18, 2015

To Members of the Media and News Organizations,

We are asking for social responsibility and compassion in reporting on the Aurora Theater shooting trial. Beyond the initial identification of the shooter, we ask that you refer to the individual who opened fire in the theater on July 20th as “the shooter” or “the defendant” throughout your story, broadcast or social media posts. We ask that also of your headline writers. In addition, we ask that you avoid using photos of  “the shooter” and put social responsibility and compassion above selling newspapers and ratings. Please do not sensationalize a mass murderer and it’s actions. The reasoning behind this is to deprive the mass murderer of any notoriety. This kind of infamy is one of the motivating factors for copycat killers in this nation. It is also hurtful for the victims of these massacres. By implementing the suggested media protocol on NoNotoriety.com, it will not harm your reporting in any way. Rather, you will be sending a strong message out to others thinking about carrying out a similar attack: “You will not receive fame in this way anymore.”

In the wake of the massacres of Columbine, Virginia Tech, NIU, Tucson, Aurora, Oak Creek, Sandy Hook (and too many others), won’t you pledge to do what’s right in trying to turn the tide in America to prevent more of these mass murders from occurring while also extending the compassion and courtesy to the many victims of these horrific tragedies?  We hope that you will agree to the NoNotoriety guidelines and protocol and respond through the contact link. You will be added to the NoNotoriety.com Approved Media List. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Tom and Caren Teves
Parents of Alex Teves 6.1.88 – 7.20.12
Aurora theater shooting victim.