The New York Times landed itself in hot water with a story about the shooting at Michigan State.
A screenshot of a part of the story was shared on social media.
The article is titled, “The mass shooting places Michigan State back in an uncomfortable national spotlight.”
The Times reported the shooting “put the school back in the national spotlight, years after a sex abuse scandal involving a prominent sports medicine doctor on its faculty became public.”
It continues, “The scandal stoked public anger over the administration’s handling of sexual assault and set off a series of leadership changes.”
The article then mentioned the university physician Larry Nassar being accused of assaulting “girls and young women under the guise of medical treatment.”
A journalist and editor at the @nytimes wrote and reviewed this article, then thought it was a good idea to publish. That is insane. pic.twitter.com/0igqQtzB7R
— TheDanimal (@TheDanimal26) February 14, 2023
Twitter users were to quick to criticize the Times’ decision to publish the story.
One user replied, “Bruh [The New York Times] y’all suck, this journalist and the person who green light it should be sacked.”
Bruh @nytimes y’all suck, this journalist and the person who green light it should be sacked https://t.co/GHYTxqygrn
— Caleb? partially optimisic Detroit and MSU fan (@CRobbthenapple) February 14, 2023
Writer Ty Schalter wrote, “The inexplicably tone-deaf article places [The New York Times] back in an uncomfortable national spotlight.”
The inexplicably tone-deaf article places @nytimes back in an uncomfortable national spotlight https://t.co/MR7FRr8l4p
— Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) February 14, 2023
Another user argued, “Parachute Reporters need to buzz off.”
Parachute Reporters need to buzz off https://t.co/rH1CWFJIex
— Matt Brodhead ⛷ (@mattbrodhead) February 14, 2023
Reporter Sam Dodge added, “I try not to comment on the work of other journalists (we all make mistakes), but this is so unbelievably tone deaf that it needs to be called out.”
He added, “Stuff like this is why I always pushed back when my J-School professors insisted I refer to the [The New York Times] as the industry standard.”
I try not to comment on the work of other journalists (we all make mistakes), but this is so unbelievably tone deaf that it needs to be called out.
— Sam Dodge (@SamDodgeMLive) February 14, 2023
Stuff like this is why I always pushed back when my J-School professors insisted I refer to the @nytimes as the industry standard. https://t.co/xyCVk4oIYn
Read more reactions below:
Extremely tacky and unnecessary, @nytimes. The two things have nothing to do with one another.
— Rᴏɴ Tᴇʀʀᴇʟʟ (@RonTerrell) February 14, 2023
What a disgusting headline and opening paragraph from the New York Times covering the Michigan State University shooting. pic.twitter.com/Z7fGpPWnkA
— Grand Old Patriots?? (@GrandOlPatriots) February 14, 2023
Interesting framing @nytimes. Painting the university as a villain that could have apparently stopped a random, unaffiliated man from going on a violent rampage because of how another administration handled Nassar. Real low-hanging, Daily Wire type stuff here. pic.twitter.com/O5fkHvRzmy
— Eli Ong (@ThePenOfEli) February 14, 2023
What does Nassar have to do with this?! https://t.co/Ykdpd3e21y
— P. Kenneth Burns (@PKBNews) February 14, 2023
Three students were killed and five others were wounded in the shooting on Monday night.
Two of the students killed have been identified as Brian Fraser, a sophomore from Grosse Pointe, and Alexandria Verner, a junior from Clawson, as Fox News reported.
President Joe Biden issued a statement, saying, “Our hearts are with these young victims and their families, the broader East Lansing and Lansing communities, and all Americans across the country grieving as the result of gun violence.”
He added, “Too many American communities have been devastated by gun violence. I have taken action to combat this epidemic in America, including a historic number of executive actions and the first significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years, but we must do more.”
Biden continued, “The fact that this shooting took place the night before this country marks five years since the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, should cause every American to exclaim ‘enough’ and demand that Congress take action.”
