Media Coverage

Real life situation:

Note to remember* When discussing the different events that will be presented, try not to debate morals or outcomes of the events, but rather focus on the amount of coverage the different aspects of the stories got, and which stories got covered at all.

• The cigarettes were out of state which means they were not taxed by NY state
• The city needs taxes to pay for schools and libraries
• The cops were told specifically to target this offense for this reason
• Eric was outside a store that sold cigarettes
• The owner of the shop who was also an ethnic minority called the police
• The officer in charge of the mission was an African American woman
• The officer in charge of the NYPD is African American as well
• Eric had engaged with cops multiple times before for the same offense
• He was asked to comply multiple times on recording
• He was told to take it to the judge
• His family stated that it was not a hate crime on African Americans

Explanation: Journalists compile evidence, and the news company they work for cuts it down to attractive headlines. They manipulate the information to catch attention, whether it is the whole truth or not.

Support:

Media: Eric Garner was targeted based off of stereotypes

Reality: Eric Garner had had multiple offenses and the cops were told to target this law violation

Media: The video showed his pleas to be left alone

Reality: The video showed the cops asking Eric Garner to take it to the judge

Media: Eric Garner was a business man trying to support his family*

Reality: Eric Garner was selling non taxed cigarettes to support his family*

Media: The death of Eric Garner was a hate crime committed by racist cops

Reality: Some of the cops were African American as well,

and the family stated that this was not a hate crime

• It is the job of the viewer to depict what he or she believes to be true
• It is the job of the viewer to investigate further into their own beliefs
• The viewer does not have to rely on media for everything
• It is impossible for the media to cover all aspects in a reasonable amount of time

Explanation: By selling certain content to viewers instead of the whole truth, the bigger problems are avoided

Support:

• *Why was Eric Garner selling cigarettes for a living? Why was he not employed? Why is the media not acknowledging the cops orders and who they were sent from?
• On January 28th, 68 minutes were spent talking about under-inflated Footballs and only seconds spent releasing news of GITMO Terrorists

Explanation: Western media ignores events in certain parts of the world

Support:

• France's terrorist attack on three political cartoonists was immediately on the news; 40 world leaders joined to support the victims of the tragedy and 'unite' against terrorism.
• Nigeria had multiple terrorist attacks previous to the 200 girls missing. Coverage only came after a hashtag was made, and even that was forgotten quickly
• January 14th and Islam reformer was ignored by mainstream media, although that's what has been asked for since 9/11

Summary: By looking at things left out of the media, including details on stories the mainstream did cover, and the stories completely untold, we can note that there is a gap in mainstream western media.

More questions: How do the decisions of the media editors impact our society? Should media be more controlled so that it covers everything important? What is considered important in media?

Media Coverage

What the media told you:

• Eric Garner was a 350 pound African American man
• There were multiple witnesses to the seen that described the harassment he experienced
• There were multiple recordings as evidence
• He asked multiple times to be left alone
• He described himself as a business man
• He was selling looseys which was illegal
• He repeatedly said he could not breath
• The choke hold that killed him was illegal

Claim: Media does not cover all aspects of an event.

Counter Arguments:

What the media did not tell you:

Conclusion

Knowledge Question:

Claim: Media distracts from bigger problems.

Does the media leave out aspects of an event or parts of the world when televising information?

Knowledge Question: Is the main stream media purposefully distracting the public from specific events or is the media simply selling the more interesting information?

Claim: Media does not provide equal coverage for all stories

By Christina Simmons

http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/social-media-priorities/

http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/archive/example-of-media-bias/