How mainstream media failed the Atlanta shooting victims

On March 17, the day after the Atlanta spa shootings that killed eight people — six of whom were women of Korean and Chinese descent — the Asian American Journalism Association (AAJA)’s website crashed.

“We’re troubleshooting @AAJA website, which is crashing from the traffic after we released guidance on covering the Atlanta shooting. It’ll be back up shortly, but please share these screenshots in the meantime,” AAJA president and Washington Post reporter Michelle Ye Hee Lee tweeted.

The AAJA had outlined guidance for newsrooms to cover the mass shootings without perpetuating harm toward the Asian American communities impacted by the tragedy. It reminded journalists to “cover the shootings in the context of the current rise in attacks on Asian Americans. These shootings have come during a time of increasing attacks on the AAPI community, and heightened fear among AAPI communities across the country,” and “Take caution with language in news coverage that could fuel the hypersexualization of Asian women, which has been linked to violence and discrimination.”