On Feb. 13, tragedy struck the Michigan State community in a senseless act of violence that took the lives of three students and critically injured five. News coverage surrounded the MSU campus in the following days. Accompanying the nationwide reporters on campus, thousands of students attended the vigil and paid their respects. Off-campus groups such as churches and restaurants offered their resources to students.
MSU and the East Lansing community proactively engaged in rebuilding the community. Meanwhile, Tiffany May from the New York Times was opening old wounds for the Spartans. In 2015, reports came out that an MSU and USA Olympics team doctor, Larry Nassar, had sexually assaulted more than 200 women. MSU and its athletic department were immediately put on blast by the media, which led to an ongoing investigation that concluded in 2017 when Nassar was found guilty.
Tiffany May published an article titled “The mass shooting places Michigan State back in an uncomfortable national spotlight”. Throughout the article, 84% of the words in the article were describing the heinous acts of Larry Nassar and the universities involved in the crime. Only two paragraphs totaling 80 words referenced the shooting that occurred a day prior. In comparison, May used eight and a half paragraphs totaling 423 words to reference the acts of Nassar and the university’s presidential turnover.
While social media was quick to call out the New York Times for its inappropriate coverage, the newspaper executives have yet to respond. The New York Times has not retracted its article, announced any punishment for May, or acknowledged the backlash. Many students on campus compared the article to former Washington Post reporter, Felicia Sonmez. Sonmez tweeted an article about former sexual assault allegations against Kobe Bryant on the day of his death. The Washington Post responded by putting Sonmez on leave and releasing the statement: “The tweets displayed poor judgment that undermined the work of her colleagues.”
Social media influencer, Dave Portnoy, a University of Michigan graduate, and CEO of Barstool Sports tweeted “Is the @nytimes serious with this headline? Biggest scumbags ever.”
Michigan State junior, Nicolas Guevara, who was bunkered down his basement at the time of the shooting said it best “don’t try to make a connection that isn’t there”. Guevara didn’t believe there was any malice intended but, that it did have a negative impact on the community. He believes the New York Times needed to just pursue the relevant story instead of exploiting past issues. A fellow student, Hailey Hogenson, thought much of the same, Hogenson emphasized “New York Times is responsible for everything they publish and therefore, every writer and editor they employ”. Both students felt that trying to form a connection between the two events was inappropriate and deserving of an apology.
The New York Times elected to bring up past trauma of Michigan State University instead of informing the public of resources or the relevant story. The question that needs to be asked is why was the story not about the police response time? Why was the story not about the victims? Why was the story not about the East Lansing community’s plans for mourning? “Why did a highly respected newspaper decide to exploit a past scandal that has no connection to the present tragedy?”
You can kick a man while he’s down but, don’t run away when he gets back up.
- Authors note: As a student studying journalism, we are directed to the SPJ Code of Ethics at the beginning of every class, every year. Within the code, we are given guidelines to write ethically, minimize harm, and take accountability. Upon reading this article, I felt they failed on multiple levels in pursuit of this story. The ignorance and insensitivity displayed toward our community lacked compassion. While representing and speaking about the universities wrongdoings is important, a lack of awareness is unfair to the staff, student body, and the organization.