Abstract
Sometimes psychiatrists are confronted with questions regarding the potential role that media may play in influencing mass shootings, and they are asked to assess the risk for targeted violence in certain persons who exhibit potential warning signs of media influence. Additionally, psychiatrists can serve in an important role when interfacing with news media after mass shootings, but they must navigate ethical and professional pitfalls, including inadvertently increasing the risk for contagion. Therefore, it is prudent for psychiatrists to become knowledgeable about the potential impact of media on incidents of mass violence. Drawing from the fields of social psychology, media research, and threat assessment, the authors review contagion in mass shooting incidents, present potential media influence warning signs, and discuss considerations for news media reporting of mass shootings and considerations for psychiatrists interviewed by media after mass shootings. [ Psychiatr Ann . 2020;50(9):393–398.]
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