Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Nashville-based station WZTV repeated right-wing narratives about gun control, ineffective solutions for gun violence, and sensationalized coverage about gender identity while reporting on the mass shooting at The Covenant School, which killed six people last month.

On March 27, an assailant armed with two assault-style guns and one handgun killed six people, including three small children, at a small, private Christian elementary school just south of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Officers killed the suspected shooter. Coverage from Sinclair’s Nashville station served as an example of what traps journalists should avoid when the next mass shooting inevitably happens. 

Immediately after the shooting, Sinclair-owned station WZTV fearmongered about the state of the country, with anchor Scott Couch telling viewers that “if we learned anything from this and all the other school shootings it’s that none of us is safe anywhere, and I'm sure that our enemies … that's exactly the way they want us to feel here in America, that something horrible could happen to us.”

WZTV’s post-shooting coverage was full of similarly extreme rhetoric as the station disproportionately repeated GOP talking points against gun control, pushed for more guns in schools as the solution to future violence, and focused speculation on the shooter’s gender identity as a potential motive. 

Coverage of the shooting from Nashville’s other stations, while not flawless, at least put effort into addressing current gun laws, potential legislation, and protests. One station even attempted to counter false information about trans people from the wave of hate initiated by right-wing media coverage of the shooting.

While other outlets aired concerns about the lack of gun control, WZTV simply repeated conservative attacks 

WZTV responded to renewed calls for a ban on assault-style weapons by rejecting gun safety proposals and claiming that more guns are required to protect people — ignoring the reality that armed staff were reportedly present on the Covenant campus during the shooting. 

While NBC, CBS, and ABC affiliates occasionally fell into the same pitfall as WZTV, the stations generally followed best practices in reporting about gun violence: They informed Nashville viewers about the popularity of gun control and state of gun safety legislation, shared facts about gun violence and mass shootings, and provided straightforward updates about protests in favor of stricter gun laws: 

• WKRN immediately contextualized the shooting with calls to action and facts about gun control. The night of the shooting, the station aired Biden’s comments and statements from Nashville public schools and Moms Demand Action calling for stricter gun laws between clips of witnesses expressing grief. Three days later, WKRN reported, “Polls show most voters here in Tennessee want some form of tighter gun laws, but instead, Republicans here have done the opposite.” [WKRN News 2, 3/27/23, 3/27/23, 3/30/23] 
• WTVF reported on a possible bipartisan push for so-called red flag laws in Tennessee while covering the “hundreds, even thousands, rallying today for an end to school shootings.” The report featured kids and parents who connected mass shootings and anxiety among youth to Tennessee’s lax gun laws. [WTVF News Channel 5, 3/30/23]
• WSMV anchor Lauren Lowrey followed up a report about federal gun legislation by discussing a study by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence that shows “more permissive gun laws equal more gun deaths.” Lowrey stressed, “It’s going to be tough because the GOP is in control of the House, and the chance of substantial gun legislation being passed is slim to none.” Despite the study, she noted that “multiple states, including Tennessee, are moving toward making gun laws even more lax,” while “gun violence now is the leading cause of death in children.” [WSMV 4 News, 3/31/23] 

Meanwhile, Sinclair’s Nashville affiliate falsely framed assault weapons bans and other gun safety regulations as unsupported by evidence: 

• Anchor Scott Couch: “While the president thinks that pulling guns off the street is the answer to preventing gun violence, Republicans say [if] it’s not the AR-15 rifles or other automatics, it’ll be something else.” WZTV framed gun control as an effort by Democrats “trying to take the guns out of the hands of Americans.” The segment highlighted Rep. Tim Burchett’s (R-TN) absurd premise that gun laws are ineffective because someone will just “get ammonium nitrate” like the Oklahoma City bomber. [WZTV Fox 17, 3/28/23]
• WZTV repeated these same GOP talking points, telling viewers that “Republicans say any attempt to ban military-style weapons, in their mind would violate the Second Amendment.” While these are common narratives from gun control opponents, legal experts say a ban on military-style weapons may be constitutional. [WZTV Fox 17, 3/29/23, 3/29/23]

While other stations looked at gun control legislation, WZTV remained focused on militarizing schools  

WZTV promoted legislation to hire more school resource officers, arm teachers, and otherwise harden schools, even though studies show these measures do not significantly reduce gun violence or prevent mass shootings. Armed teachers frequently mishandle guns in schools and are more likely to shoot a student bystander or be shot by responding law enforcement — one study shows having an armed officer on campus actually increases the likelihood of casualties during a school shooting. Additionally, SROs’ presence is “often damaging to students of color and students with disabilities” and they “intensify the use of suspensions, expulsions, police referrals, and arrests of students.” 

While other affiliates also covered these proposals, they frequently followed segments with coverage of students and activists demanding action on gun control. 

• WKRN’s Adam Mintzer reported on calls for “modern security at schools,” quoting an expert saying such measures “can make kids feel like they aren’t at school, but rather just learning in a prison.” University of California, Los Angeles social welfare professor Ron Avi Astor, who called for red flag laws, emphasized, “That's the clear message that we're sending this next generation: You're not there to study; we’re there to surveil you, to monitor you, to watch you.” [WKRN News 2, 3/30/23]
• WTVF reported that “hundreds of students left school early to protest for an end to gun violence ... to hold leaders' feet to the fire firsthand.” The CBS affiliate aired clips of young protesters before adding that a state Republican leader had expressed interest in passing red flag laws. [WTVF NewsChannel 5, 3/31/23] 

In contrast, WZTV focused on proposals that would further militarize schools. 

• WZTV’s Scott Couch encouraged Tennessee to use its budget surplus to fund legislation requiring a law enforcement officer “in each school.” Later, Couch addressed Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Adrienne Battle’s clear statement against putting SROs in elementary schools, stating, “I suspect the metro conversation will change after this." [WZTV Fox 17, 3/27/23, 3/27/23]
• Reporter Kaitlin Miller reported on the Security Aid for Every School Act, proposed federal legislation encouraging schools to hire former veterans and law enforcement officers as security guards. [WZTV Fox 17, 3/30/23] 
• Anchor Jennifer Waddell asked J.C. Bowman of the Professional Educators of Tennessee if there’s any “any more calls or comments from teachers who would consider being armed in their classrooms?” “Yes,” Bowman replied. “There’s some that do want to do that. … They want somebody with a gun there to take on the bad man.” [WZTV Fox 17, 3/29/23] 

While other stations used transphobic, right-wing reactions to educate viewers about transphobia, Sinclair’s WZTV entertained unsubstantiated sensationalism

While all Nashville stations repeated confusing police information regarding the shooter’s gender identity, WZTV took it a step further by speculating about the shooter’s still unclear motives and highlighting conservative politicians irresponsibly claiming the attack was a hate crime against Christians. 

In contrast, other local broadcasters ignored the comments, challenged them, or used them as an opportunity to educate Nashville about discrimination against trans people: 

• WTVF “took an in-depth look” at “right-wing figures [who] argue trans people are being built up as potential mass shooters,” noting that in reality, “trans people, who make up three-fifths of a percent of Americans, are not committing mass murder at a higher rate.” The report referenced a Washington Post article to explain that the shooter’s identity was being exploited by the right wing. [WTVF News Channel 5, 3/31/23] 
• WKRN’s Bob Mueller interviewed transgender advocate Sean Coleman, who said he feared the shooting was giving anti-trans legislators “almost license to continue to draft and pass these barbaric anti-trans laws and legislations.” WKRN followed the report with statistics showing trans people are more likely to be victims of violence than they are to commit violent acts. [WKRN News 2, 3/30/23]

As the nonprofit Poynter Institute explains, focusing on the shooter’s gender feeds into negative tropes portraying trans people as dangerous and does not follow “the best practice of minimizing information about the shooter unless it’s clearly connected to the attack.” However, WZTV leaned into wild speculation about the shooter's motives, including airing Republican claims that the shooting was a hate crime against Christians:

• WZTV anchor Scott Couch: The shooter “identifies as a transgender woman” and “the police chief said we are working with a theory that that played some role in what happened.” “You know, you wonder — we do know she’s a former student,” Couch later added. “One could speculate in the Christian community” that  transitioning to “a different sex is very controversial to say the least. Were there hard feelings,” and “is that what motivated them?” [WZTV Breaking News, 3/27/23]
• WZTV irresponsibly platformed a GOP senators’ suggestions that the shooting was a “hate crime” against Christians, even though police stated that they had not found a motive for the crime. The segment highlighted demands from Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) that the Justice Department investigate the shooting as a “hate crime.” After reporter Kayla Gaskins claimed, “President Biden [is] receiving heat for his response when asked if Christians were targeted,” which was “I have no idea,” WZTV aired a clip of Hawley calling Biden’s response “shameful.” [WZTV Fox 17, 3/29/23]