In times of crisis, the eyes of America turn to the news. School shootings are an example of man-made crises, and as these particular events continue to proliferate in America, the decisions made by journalists about how school shootings are framed become critical to the presentation of issues. Over time, those communications develop into patterns and standards of news delivery, not only in crises but everyday practice. Previous studies of the relative neutrality of crisis journalism have focused on a linguistic perspective. This study seeks to expand current understandings of neutrality of journalistic presentations of crisis by considering broadcasters’ nonverbal communication and the variability of that nonverbal behavior. The study utilizes Basic Emotions Theory (BET; Ekman, 1984; 1999) and Behavioral Ecology View of Facial Displays (BECV; Fridlund, 2002; 2017) to expand current understandings of how journalists work during crisis according to Graber’s stages of crisis coverage theory. Variability of nonverbal behavior of broadcast journalists and influences on that behavior are examined through a content analysis of coverage of the six deadliest school shootings in the past 20 years. The analysis will examine the factors that influence nonverbal neutrality at the psychological, reaction-based level utilizing connected BET concepts, and at the social level through the typifications that guide journalists’ work utilizing connected BECV concepts. The researcher aims to bridge gaps in existing literature on the norm of neutrality with nonverbal communication, potentially offering clarity to the negotiations of meaning of nonverbal neutrality norms in journalism. The findings from this study can potentially extend current theoretical understandings of crisis coverage patterns, routines, and roles as well, by adding crisis journalism as a new context for nonverbal theory.