After another school shooting, media voices argue about prayer and policy

There was another horrific shooting in America on Wednesday.

A heavily armed shooter fired into a Catholic school in Minneapolis during Mass, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and wounding 17 others. Those wounded are expected to survive. The assailant — a 23-year-old named Robin Westman — died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the shooting is being investigated as possible domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. Authorities also report that they are looking into writings posted by the shooter. In addition, there apparently were disturbing and hateful antisemitic messages found on the shooter’s guns.

Not long after the news broke, the reaction was one of anger. And that anger quickly escalated to becoming political — as almost always happens after a mass shooting.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, speaking to reporters, railed against the idea of sending “thoughts and prayers.”

He said, “And don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying! It was the first week of school. They were in a church. These are kids that should be learning with their friends. They should be playing on the playground. They should be able to go to school or church in peace, without the fear or risk of violence.”

Those comments drew a quick backlash from many MAGA-types, according to Robert McCoy of The New Republic. McCoy noted that the right-wing Daily Caller claimed Frey used the shooting to “slander Christians.”

McCoy wrote, “In reaction to the speech, several MAGA accounts with significant followings ridiculed Frey for having knelt and wept before the casket of George Floyd in 2020.”

Meanwhile, MSNBC host Jen Psaki tweeted, “Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers do not end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”

Within just a few hours, there were nearly 10,000 responses — which, of course, ran the gamut from support to criticism of Psaki making political commentary.

Politicians also weighed in. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said, “Right now, my thoughts are with the people I know and the state I love. But this is going on all over the nation and has for too long.” She added, “We need better laws on the books nationally” to ban assault weapons and increase school safety.

Over on Fox News, there was some pushback when the topic of gun control came up. During the “Outnumbered” show, host Trey Gowdy said, “You want to track the shooter. You also want to track the access to the firearms. Where did the guns come from? Were they straw purchases? Did he go into a gun store? Was it a private sale? That’s all you can do now because there’s not going to be a trial. These parents, they want answers. Everyone wants to know why.”

Gowdy continued to say that no one will ever be able to explain the “why” of killing innocent children. Later, he added, “And what people are crying for now is: How can we prevent this? How can we stop it? And the only way to stop it is to identify the shooter ahead of time or keep the weapons out of their hands. And so we’re gonna have to have a conversation of freedom versus protecting children. I mean, how many school shootings does it take before we’re going to have a conversation about keeping firearms out?”

Gowdy briefly clashed with co-host Lisa Boothe on this topic — an uncommon moment when advocacy for gun control was mentioned prominently on Fox News following a mass shooting.

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Superb coverage

I just wanted to take a moment to point out the superb coverage from the various news outlets in the Twin Cities, particularly The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Consider this host

Just a few days after Ari Shapiro announced he was leaving as co-host of NPR’s daily flagship show “All Things Considered,” his replacement was named.

Scott Detrow will become a full-time weekday host of “All Things Considered.”

Since May 2023, Detrow has served as weekend host of “All Things Considered” and co-host of the daily podcast, “Consider This.” He will continue his role on “Consider This.”

In a statement, Detrow said, “I’m really excited and honored to step into this role. I’m mindful of just how important ‘All Things Considered’s’ legacy is for listeners, and I also know just how much I’ve loved working with the show’s team these past two years on weekends. I can’t wait to bring listeners the news five days a week now. And at this moment where we are all focusing on strengthening the entire public media network and working together more closely than ever before, I’m proud that I started out as an ‘ATC’ host at a NPR Member station, and now will be doing that job nationally.”

Detrow has spent his career in public radio. He joined NPR in 2015 and covered the White House, Congress and two presidential campaigns, and co-hosted the “NPR Politics Podcast” for seven years. Detrow won an Edward R. Murrow Award for Breaking News for leading NPR’s coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania in 2024.

‘SNL’ update

In a recent interview with Puck’s Matthew Belloni, “Saturday Night Live” boss Lorne Michaels acknowledged he would shake things up with the cast ahead of Season 51, which premieres Oct. 4. Michaels said, “It’ll be announced in a week or so.”

So that means pretty much anytime now.

However, we know for sure of two who are not returning. Devon Walker, who had been with the show for three years, announced on Instagram this week that he was not returning.

Walker wrote, “To me, jobs in this industry feel like a bunch of little marriages. Some of em last for a long time if we’re lucky, but most of them are fleeting. Permanent until they’re not,” Walker wrote. “That’s the deal. You know what it is it when you sign up.”

He added, “Me and the show did three years together, and sometimes it was really cool. Sometimes it was toxic as hell.”

He later followed up with an Instagram story, writing, “Just to be clear, this is good news! It was just time for me to do something different. Please don’t be hitting me with the ‘I’m so sorry’ — we not on that at ALL. Sometimes mom and dad just don’t see things eye to eye.”

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, featured player Emil Wakim announced on social media that he was not returning. He wrote, “I won’t be returning to ‘SNL’ next year. It was a gut punch of a call to get, but I’m so grateful for my time there.”

So far, that’s the only cast news there is. But expect more news in the coming days.

The Brady Rules

Tom Brady joined Fox Sports last season as its lead NFL game analyst after his legendary career as a quarterback. But he also took on another role. He became a minority owner in the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

And that set up what some felt was a conflict of interest. Each week, the announcing teams from the networks have production meetings with coaches and players in the games that they are about to cover. Each production meeting is different, but often coaches reveal certain strengths and weaknesses about their teams that announcers can then use as their own analysis during the broadcasts.

But some wondered if Brady might be able to gather information that the Raiders could someday turn into a competitive advantage. Because of those concerns, the NFL ruled that Brady could not sit in on production meetings last season. (He was allowed in production meetings prior to the Super Bowl.)

This season, however, Brady will be allowed into production meetings, according to reporting by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. But like last season, Brady will not be allowed to attend other teams’ practices.

As far as the production meetings, the NFL is making the right call. Banning Brady last season was silly. It would be naive to think that Brady’s broadcast partner, Kevin Burkhardt, as well as the network producers, weren’t sharing with Brady what they learned from the meetings. In addition, it’s also ridiculous to think that Brady couldn’t simply pick up the phone and call coaches and players and get some insight. After all, he’s Tom Brady. His phone calls are going to be picked up.

It just makes sense for the NFL to drop the ban. And now there’s no gray area. Brady will be in the meetings. And if there’s something so sensitive that coaches and players don’t want Brady to know about it, they simply can keep that information to themselves.

Read of the day

My Poynter colleague Amaris Castillo has a new piece out: “Can a print journalist become a TV reporter? Some face significant challenges. Others find success.”

It’s a behind-the-scenes look at The E.W. Scripps Company and its Journalism Journey Initiative — a multiyear program with Google designed to transition experienced print journalists into broadcast news careers.

Castillo wrote, “For all its promise, the transition hasn’t been simple. Participants have had to master new skills, learn new jargon and adjust to entirely different workflows. For a good portion of program members, it’s been a steep but rewarding learning curve. For others, it’s been overwhelming, even disillusioning.”

She added, “Since the program launched, Scripps has welcomed two groups of journalists. Over several months, Poynter spoke with several participants about their experiences. Some described the program as a catalyst for growth and a nudge toward a new vision of what kind of journalist they could be. Others recalled an experience that raised deeper questions about fit, identity and the limits of reinvention.”

Be sure to check Castillo’s story for much, much more.

The Poynter Report Podcast

As I mentioned in Wednesday’s newsletter, the latest episode of “The Poynter Report Podcast” is out. My guest is Oliver Darcy, the longtime media reporter who left CNN a year ago to start his own venture, “Status,” which includes a five-night-a-week media newsletter, as well as a weekly podcast called “Power Lines.”

We talk about Darcy’s decision to leave CNN, how things are going with Status and, of course, we get into the latest media topics — including what’s going on at CNN, CBS News, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

Media tidbits

• This piece is getting lots of buzz, and deservedly so. It’s really good. For The New Yorker, Kelefa Sanneh with “How Music Criticism Lost Its Edge.”
• For Columbia Journalism Review, Martin Skladany with “News Subscriptions Should Be Subsidized.”
• The Wall Street Journal’s Suzanne Vranica with “How a 9-Year-Old Tiktoker Helped Turn a Joke Into Arizona Beverages’ Next Drink.”
• Fox Sports is continuing to get more mileage out of the whole Dave Portnoy-Ohio State controversy. The latest: Awful Announcing’s Sam Neumann with “Bobby Carpenter fires back at ‘Michigan troll’ Dave Portnoy: ‘The guy doesn’t know anything about football.’”
• And speaking of college football, here’s The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand and Richard Deitsch with “Lee Corso exits, Dave Portnoy enters, Arch Manning emerges: College football 2025 media preview.”
• Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton has signed a multiyear deal with ESPN and will see his role on the morning show, “First Take,” expanded. ESPN and former NFL star Shannon Sharpe recently decided to part ways following Sharpe settling a lawsuit in which he was accused of sexual assault. Sharpe had become a regular on “First Take.” Front Office Sports Ryan Glasspiegel has more on Newton’s new deal.

Hot type

• OK, let’s close with something light and fun today: Here’s The Washington Post with “The 10 best college football towns in America.”

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Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

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