WEBVTT

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Every parent's worst nightmare:

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July 20, 2012,

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my phone rings at 4:30 in the morning.

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It's my son Alex's girlfriend, Amanda,

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saying hysterically,

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"Tom, Tom, there's been a shooting,

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and they dragged me out of the theater.

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They wouldn't let me stay.

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I wanted to [stay],
but they dragged me out."

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I say to Amanda,

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"Amanda, are you OK? Have you been hurt?"

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And she said no, that she was fine,

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that Alex had saved her life.

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I then say,

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"Amanda, where's Alex?"

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And she says, sobbing,

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"I don't know, we can't find him.

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They dragged me out of the theater.

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They made me leave.

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He was shot.

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I tried to wake him up,
but I couldn't wake him up.

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He wouldn't get up.

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They dragged me away.
I didn't want to leave him."

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And I say to Amanda,

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"The last time you saw Alex,

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was he bleeding?

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Did you have any of his blood on you?"

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And she cries, "Yeah, a lot,"

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and breaks down.

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Alex loved Amanda.

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And he was one of the most
honorable men on earth,

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and at the age of 24,

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he had to make the decision
to risk his life

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in order to ensure she would live.

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I knew in my heart if he couldn't get up,

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he was dead.

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I had just arrived

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the night before

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with my wife Caren

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and my youngest son

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for a week's vacation in Hawaii.

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We were literally

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3,300 miles away.

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Caren and I frantically started
calling his cell phone,

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to no avail.

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We left multiple messages.

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We then turned to the media.

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But all we could find

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was information on the murderer

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and his booby-trapped apartment.

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We tried calling
the Aurora police station,

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but it was impossible to get an answer.

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But in hindsight, it was understandable.

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They were dealing with

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12 dead, 70 injured,

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the carnage so bad,

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the police had to bring
some of the victims to the hospitals

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in the backs of their police cars,

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because they had run out of ambulances.

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It was a horrific and chaotic scene.

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We would never see Alex again,

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his injuries so severe

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I had to shield even his mom

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from looking upon him,

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for fear that would be
the lasting image of him in her mind.

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But you know who we would see
again and again?

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The murderer.

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His pictures were everywhere.

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One article was six paragraphs long

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and featured his name 41 times.

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The media had made him famous.

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But my firstborn son, Alex,

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a hero,

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was absent from those initial reports.

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Caren and I immediately realized
that there was something wrong

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with the way the media responds
to these random mass shootings

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since Columbine.

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We started doing research,

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and we realized

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that if we could change

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the way the media reports,

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we could reduce the amount of shootings

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and save lives.

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(Applause)

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Let me explain.

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Almost every single random mass shooter

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has something in common.

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Can anybody guess what that is?

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They want notoriety.

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They want to be famous.

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In fact,

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these murderers
are telling us this themselves.

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The Sandy Hook murderer

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kept a spreadsheet

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of previous mass murderers
and their number of kills.

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The Orlando Pulse nightclub murderer

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called a local news station --

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during his attack! --

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and then stopped to check Facebook
to see if he'd gone viral.

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The Parkland murderer

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recorded and posted

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a video

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stating,

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"When you see me on the news,
you'll know who I am."

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The Aurora theater murderer
told his psychiatrist

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that he recognized he couldn't
make an impact on the world in science,

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but he could become famous

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by blowing people up.

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And most telling,

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the Umpqua Community College murderer

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wrote on his blog
about a previous mass murderer,

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saying,

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"I've noticed that people like him

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are all alone and unknown,

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but when they spill a little blood,

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the whole world knows who they are."

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A man who was known by no one
is now known by everyone,

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his face splashed across every screen,

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his name on the lips

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of everyone on the planet,

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all in one day.

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It seems like the more people you kill,

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the more you're in the limelight.

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These are just a few examples.

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I could go on and on.

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These murderers are telling us
they want to be famous

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like the murderers before them,

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and the media continues to give them
exactly what they seek:

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notoriety.

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The gun debate is very emotional,

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and our mental health issues
are very complicated.

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Both will take time to correct.

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But to reduce the carnage,

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we don't need an act of Congress.

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What we need is an act of conscience

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on the producers
and consumers of mass media

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to remove the reward of notoriety.

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(Applause)

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So to save lives,

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Caren and I launched "No Notoriety,"

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dedicated to challenging the media

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to protect our communities

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by adhering to these
research-backed principles.

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One: report all the facts

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on the mindset,

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demographics

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and motivational profile
of these shooters,

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but minimize their names and images,

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unless they're at large.

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Two: limit the use of the shooter's name

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to once per piece,

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never in the headlines

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and no pictures in prominent locations.

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And three --

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Three.

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(Laughter)

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I'm not good with numbers.

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(Laughter)

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Refuse to publish
any self-serving material

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provided by the shooters.

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(Applause)

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To be clear:

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this is not an infringement

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on anyone's First Amendment rights.

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This is not censorship.

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We are merely asking the media

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to leverage guidelines
they already have in place.

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For example,

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the media does not report

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on journalists that have been kidnapped

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in order to protect them.

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The media does not report

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the names and images

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of victims of sexual assault or suicide.

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These responsible journalistic practices

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protect public safety

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with zero impact

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on the public's right to know.

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Academic studies show

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that the average news consumer

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wants to hear less about the shooters.

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Instead,

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the media should elevate
the names and images

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of the victims,
both murdered and injured,

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the heroes

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and the first responders.

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They should --

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(Applause)

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They should promote data and analysis

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from experts on the fields
of mental health and public safety.

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All the experts agree.

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The FBI,

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the International Police Association,

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the Major City Chiefs Association

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and A.L.E.R.T.,

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the law enforcement organization
dedicated to training first responders

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to stop active shooters,

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all endorse the principles
of No Notoriety.

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In fact, in 2014,

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the FBI started the "Don't Name Them"
campaign in support of the idea.

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The American Psychiatric Association
supports reducing and minimizing

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the identification of these shooters.

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The idea has gone worldwide,

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with the Prime Minister of New Zealand

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calling for no notoriety

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after the Christchurch shootings.

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But as much as we want
the media to change,

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they are for-profit organizations.

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They won't change unless
we hold them accountable.

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(Applause)

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The media makes their money

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from advertising

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based on the number of viewers and clicks.

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If we can reduce the number
of viewers and clicks on any subject,

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the media will change
the way they report on it.

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So the next time you see
any media organization --

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print, digital, radio or television --

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gratuitously leveraging the names
and images of these shooters,

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stop watching,

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stop listening,

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stop clicking,

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stop liking

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and stop sharing.

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Write to the producers,

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editors, station managers and CEOs

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of these news organizations.

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Take note of the advertisers
who support those segments

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and write to their CEOs.

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Because together,

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we can push the media
to act in the interest

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of public safety,

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not profits.

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It's too late for Alex,

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and it's too late for my family.

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But please don't join
our club by inaction,

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the club nobody wants to join.

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The due's too high.

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Because it's not too late

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for people who aren't victims yet.

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We have the power

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to reduce random mass shootings.

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Let's use it.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)