Originally Posted By skinnerbox I am beyond disgusted with the media's behavior regarding the verdict. <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/03/18/1732701/media-steubenville/" target="_blank">http://thinkprogress.org/healt...enville/</a> <> How The Media Took Sides In The Steubenville Rape Case By Annie-Rose Strasser and Tara Culp-Ressler on Mar 18, 2013 at 9:15 am When the guilty verdict was announced in the Steubenville rape case on Sunday, journalists had to figure out how they would frame the story. Perhaps because of the lack of details about the unnamed 16-year-old “Jane Doe” victim, the collective media narrative became centered on her assailants. Stories about the case relied far too heavily on the public details about the defendants, 17-year-old Trent Mays and 16-year-old Ma’lik Richmond, to set up a sympathetic portrayal of two bright young football stars whose lives have been ruined by the criminal justice system. By emphasizing the boys’ good grades and bright futures, as well as by describing the victim as “drunk” without clarifying that the defendants were also drinking, many mainstream media outlets became active participants in furthering victim-blaming rape culture: 1. CNN discusses how the boys were “promising students.” The cable channel came under fire on Sunday after focusing their coverage on the two defendants as “young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students” and emphasizing the emotional atmosphere in the courtroom when the boys were convicted and felt “their lives fall apart.” Anchor Candy Crowley even interviewed a legal expert about the lasting ramifications that being convicted of rape will have on the young, vulnerable boys — noting that registering as sex offenders will “haunt them for the rest of their lives.” Watch it: [embedded video link] 2. ABC News makes excuses for the rapist. ABC ran a profile of Ma’lik Richmond, one of the two assailants, leading up to the trial. Its portrayal was quite positive; it began with an array of excuses for Richmond’s behavior, including that “he was in a celebratory mood” the night of the assault, and talks extensively about Richmond’s promising football career. Another article opened by describing the criminal proceedings as “every parent’s nightmare and a cautionary tale for teenagers living in today’s digital world” — though the actual problem was the crime of rape, not that it was caught on video. 3. NBC News laments the boys’ “promising football careers.” Reporter Ron Allen opened up the NBC nightly news coverage of the Steubenville verdict by pointing out that the boys, “must now register as sex offenders.” It then went on to lament that “both boys had promising football careers, Mays a the quarterback, Richmond the receiver, on the beloved high school team and dreams of college. In court their lawyers and parents plead with the judge not to impose a harsh sentence.” Watch it: [embedded video link] 4. The Associated Press and USA Today stress that the victim was drunk. The first sentence of the AP’s story about the verdict identifies the victim as a “drunken 16-year-old girl,” and describes the defendants as “two members of the high school football team that is the pride of Steubenville.” The breaking news tweet did, too. Meanwhile, the first sentence of USA Today’s coverage describes the victim as a “drunken 16-year-old girl” and mentions that the assault took place at “an all-night party.” 5. Yahoo News says the victim has forced the town into an emotional situation. As the trial unfolded in the small town of Steubenville, OH, over the past several weeks, Yahoo News set up a clear narrative: The town is being torn apart from the pain over the fact that the boys might be punished, not from the outrage over the crime they committed. Yahoo’s story on the verdict was more of the same, describing the courtroom as “filled with sobbing and exhausting emotion” and the victim as “an intoxicated 16-year-old girl” in the first paragraph. <> Rape has once again become something the victim brings upon herself for whatever stupid reason or justification, and the rapists are simply not responsible for their actions or the outcomes, and are to be pitied as the 'true' victims. Absolutely sickening!
Originally Posted By RoadTrip And so it goes... Conservative complaints about the "Mainstream Media" are largely justified. I don't feel they have the consistent liberal bias that they do, but they definitely pick and choose what they decide to cover and what side they will take. Where is Walter Cronkite when you need him?
Originally Posted By ecdc Liberals complain about the media, too. Just in a more accurate way. While conservatives whine about the liberal media, liberals see it for the ratings-driven, horse race mindset it is. I think this story is interesting. The facelessness of an anonymous victim is probably the real culprit in such shoddy reporting. If we saw the girl and her tears and her parents' tears, I have little doubt the media would've played the story differently. They need a face to attach emotions to. It's sad, wrong, but true.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer We worship athletes in this country, letting them get away with crimes and spending billions in tax dollars to build them facilities to perform in. It isn't surprising that we'd focus more on the athlete than the victim. It's disgusting.
Originally Posted By velo Ecdc - unfortunately, I think that even if they showed the victims' face it wouldn't make a difference. People would still hold her "accountable" for it all; even passed-out she was the one "who started it all." And, then she'd see her faces posted nationwide, all over the news and web. She and her family will probably be forced to move after all of this. I'm glad the boys were convicted. Someday, maybe, they'll take responsibility for their actions.
Originally Posted By mawnck A satirical video by the Onion from 2011? Or a report by CNN on the Steubenville case? You be the judge. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWLJZw9Ws-g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...JZw9Ws-g</a>
