News media coverage and fear of mass shootings: an examination of public, family, and felony incidents in the United States

This study uses a triangulated approach to examine the statistical reality, news media coverage, and public fear of mass shootings in the United States. Specifically, this work analyzes (i) public, family, and felony mass shootings from 1999 to 2023 (N = 502) and their related incident, victim, and offender characteristics; (ii) media coverage of mass shootings in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Chicago Tribune; and (iii) people’s fear of mass shootings compared to other crimes, according to multiple waves of the Chapman Survey on American Fears (N = 10,745). This study finds family mass shootings are the most common incident type, accounting for nearly half (45%) of all mass shootings; however, public mass shootings are the most likely to receive coverage across all four news sources. Americans report greater fear of mass shootings than of crimes that occur far more frequently, and more fear of being killed by strangers than by people they know. Preliminary analyses suggest a potential association between news media coverage of mass shootings and fear of mass shootings, with public mass shootings being the type that receives the most coverage and generates the most fear.