Q media panel: Press reaction to the Moncton shootings

In a special live version of the Q media panel, Jian speaks with Q regulars Judy Rebick of Rabble.ca, John Cruickshank of the Toronto Star and the National Post's Jonathan Kay.

The panelists reflect on the top news stories of the week -- including the latest developments out of Moncton, N.B., where residents are reeling after a heavily armed gunman shot and killed three police officers on Wednesday night.

Glamourizing the gunmen?

Speaking more broadly, Jian asked the panel if news media should be publishing the identities of alleged mass shooters -- or whether there is a danger of glamourizing or sensationalizing the gunmen.

"I think the perpetrator's name and his identity should be front and centre because the only way to avoid future tragedies is by dwelling on his background, what made him do it," Kay argues. 

"How do you avoid this sort of thing in the future if you don't know when he lost his mind? Often, these people are crazy, often there's warning signs," he says. 

But Rebick says there are ways to discuss these tragic events without bringing up the name of the perpetrator. She remembers working on the story of the 1989 Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, and making the decision not to publish the shooter's name. 

Still, she says it's hard to get the rest of the media to follow suit. 

"We tried to publicize the name of the victims in that case -- the 14 women," she says. "We never used his name and yet still, I bet more people in this audience know that shooter's name than know a single woman that was murdered."

This interview is part of our special Q Live at Luminato show. It was recorded live on June 5th at the historic Winter Garden Theatre and aired for the first time on Friday, June 6th.