COMMENTARY: Stop Giving the Murderer the Mic, Honor Melissa and Mark Hortman Instead

In the aftermath of the horrific murders of Melissa and Mark Hortman, headlines have turned their attention to the person who took their lives. I’m pleading with the media to stop centering the story on him.

As a gun violence survivor whose aunt, Shelley Joseph-Kordell, was murdered in a courthouse in 2003, I know firsthand how re-traumatizing it is to see a killer’s name and face plastered across every screen and newspaper.

I sat through the public trial of the person who killed my aunt. Every moment in that time focused on the shooter— their history, their mental state, their so-called motives. Very little was said about my aunt: a beloved mother, daughter, and advocate who spent her life helping others. And often, what little was said about Shelley was wrong.

The constant spotlight on perpetrators not only robs victims of their humanity, it also can fuel copycat violence. I support the principles of #NoNotoriety, a movement founded by Tom and Caren Teves after the Aurora theater shooting that took the life of their son Alex.

#NoNotoriety calls on media outlets to stop naming and showing images of mass shooters unless absolutely necessary, and to instead focus coverage on victims, heroes, and solutions.

Melissa and Mark Hortman’s children, in their beautiful and heartfelt public letter, asked us to speak the names of their parents — to honor their lives and legacies, not to amplify the man who murdered them. They asked us to remember their mother’s joy, her service, and her love for their family. They deserve that respect. The community deserves that healing.

It’s time for every newsroom — national and local — to adopt a #NoNotoriety policy. Refuse to elevate killers. Stop feeding the cycle of infamy that so many of them seek. The public has a right to information, but we also have a right to responsible journalism that doesn’t deepen trauma or inspire further violence.

The next time you write about this tragedy, please remember: attention is a currency we don’t have the luxury of spending on those who choose violence. Let’s instead spend it lifting up the people whose lives were stolen too soon.

Focus on Melissa.

Focus on Mark.

Focus on what comes next.