On a rainy, dark night in Sanford, FL, little did Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman know how their altercation and its culmination would affect the news and media in the United States. Large numbers of journalists and public speakers hastily abandoned their ethics and professionalism as they climbed aboard run-away trains and piled onto assorted bandwagons in their rush to jump to conclusions, side with “right fighters’, make information fit their ideas and try a man in the media. The espousal of personal feelings, conceived past wrongs, painting misleading pictures, making assumptions and passing judgment, without knowing the facts, and even altering them to fit an agenda seemed to be the Soup de jour. Inequitable coverage of the Martin-Zimmerman case has helped cause the, somewhat normal, cultural fissures in the US to lean toward becoming more of a schism. The media unfairly influenced the public in this case. Tommy Christopher reported about the firing of two journalists from NBC due to intentional editing of facts. Jeffrey Burnside, a reporter for NBC originally reported about Zimmerman’s statement in a 911 tape. Lilia Luciano also reported for NBC, and presented on a “Today” show segment about the released 911 tapes, both Burnside and Luciano insinuated Zimmerman made racial slurs in the tape. Below is a transcript of 911 tapes that each reporter played for the public and what came from the actual 911 tape. Sadly, it is obvious that the tapes were edited to suit the way that the reporters wanted to paint Zimmerman, as a racist. Played by Burnside: Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black. Played by Luciano: Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good or on drugs or something. He’s got his ... ... middle of paper ... ...ccessible to anyone wanting to find them, trying to paint a white vs. black racial scenario when in truth there was no “white” player. Editing the truth in order to imply racial hatred, when in retrospect it seems there was none, is despicable and does nothing to help our country or its people. Instead, it aids in developing more of a racial divide. Works Cited Christopher, Tommy. "NBC News Correspondent Fired Over A Second George Zimmerman 911 Tape Edit." Mediaite NBC News Correspondent Fired Over A Second George Zimmerman 911 Tape Edit Comments. Mediaite, 3 May 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Stableford, Dylan. Yahoo News "Trayvon Martin Shooting: Debate over Photos Escalates." Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 28 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Eversley, Melanie. "Jesse Jackson at Fla. Church: Trayvon Martin Is a 'martyr'" USA Today. Gannett, 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
On the night of February 26, 2012 “George Zimmerman who was the coordinator for his Sanford neighborhood watch association is charged with second-degree murder in the death of a young boy. Trayvon Martin, an unarmed high school student from Miami, Florida. (Alvarez) The case began in a small city of Sanford as a routine homicide but soon evolved into a civil rights case, examining racial profiling. On the night of the attack Zimmerman was told not to get out of his car when he was following Trayvon. He described Trayvon as a “guy who looks up to no good, or he’s on drugs or something” Trayvon had his back to Zimmerman the whole time he was on the phone with the Dispatcher, from what the conversation was saying. When the dispatcher asked Zimmerman “is the guy white, black, or Hispanic? “Zimmerman says that he “looks” black, Zimmerman still has yet to see if Trayvon was black, white, or even Hispanic because Trayvon was walking the other direction. Later on in the conversation is when Zimmerman said “now he’s just staring at me”. That would have been the right time to mention the race of Trayvon. As the dispatcher was asking mo...
Verdict and More: Get caught up on the George Zimmerman Case." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
In the article, it is apparent that Grisham supports the argument that the media is solely accountable for the crimes the defendants committed. He states
That evening, he walked out to the nearby 7-Eleven to get some Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea. As he walked back home to his father’s house, he caught the attention of George Zimmerman, who was patrolling the neighborhood and called 911 to report "a real suspicious guy." This guy looks like he 's up to no good or he 's on drugs or something," Zimmerman said to the police dispatcher. After discussing his location with the dispatcher, Zimmerman exclaimed, yelled and there were following sounds suggesting he left his vehicle to run after Martin. "Are you following him?" the dispatcher asked and after Zimmerman answered “yep” the dispatcher told him not to follow Trayvon. Minutes later there were calls about the two fighting and sounds of tussling, then Trayvon lay dead in the grass.
"Timeline of events: Trayvon Martin shooting case." Global News 12 July 2013. Web. 20 September 2013. .
The Zimmerman case allowed me to be aware of something that was right in front of me. At a young age, my mother's significant other was arrested and imprisoned for "trafficking drugs". My mother had always maintained that he was initially arrested due to racial profiling, as there was no sufficient evidence to warrant the police to search his car. Despite this information being told to me as a child, I remained blind to the effects that such a system of injustice could have on your economic status, mental health, etc. However, I believe that the outcome of the Zimmerman trial opened my eyes to this effect. I believe that Trayvon Martin's family most likely received the same financial and emotional stresses due to the racial injustice associated with their experience. However, they had lost their son. Following the shooting of Trayvon Martin, I began to understand the effect that systemic racism could have on the lives of Black people, and how it had already been affecting
Gender and Race play the most prominent role in the criminal justice system. As seen in the movie Central Park 5, five African American boys were charged with the rape of the a white women. In class decision we’ve discussed how the media explodes when it reports cross-racial crimes. The Central Park 5 were known everywhere and even terms were being made up during the process such as wilding. Also, during one of the class discussions it was brought up that victims of crime are of the same race of the perpetrator. However, the media likes to sensationalize crime of the victim being of a different race, because it makes for a good story. By doing this, the media does create more of a division of race. As seen in the video Donald Trump was trying
After he called 911 he was clearly instructed not to approach the suspicious individual (Trayvon Martin), but instead he disobeyed and intercepted Trayvon. Zimmerman was just a neighborhood watch person when he tried to be a professional cop which he had no training in or permission to do. Obviously it seemed he was out to start something that could have been avoided all together. Also Mr. Zimmerman used extreme force against a teenager that was unarmed. Mr. Zimmerman was known for discriminating against individuals in his own family. He had his run in with the law as previously stated above. The shooting of Martin was not only the first time he was put into hand cuffs. Zimmerman had been reported as abusing his now wife multiple times, Drinking under the influence, and many others. It shows that Zimmerman has a mental problem based on the previous crimes
WILLIAMS, PATRICIA J. "The Monsterization Of Trayvon Martin."Nation 297.7/8 (2013): 17. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri became a controversial media sensation. The shooting created uproar and mistrust towards police officers. Many believed the shooting was unjustified and even an act of racism on the behalf of the police Officer Darren Wilson. The Department of Justice issued an investigation in order to understand the basis of the shooting and to decide whether or not to charge Darren Wilson in the shooting. Despite the evidence and the investigation which portrayed the shooting as an act of self- defense, the shooting still remains controversial.
To citizens, Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown of out racial prejudice. To police officers, Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown out of self defense. The media focused mainly on the citizens negative reactions, consequently labeling Darren Wilson as a racist murderer. The officer received numerous death threats, putting his life in danger. Ben Brumfield and Brian Todd, reporters for CNN state, “Fellow officers have been by [Darren Wilson’s] side day and night, as deadly threats have driven the former Ferguson police officer into hiding…” This is a prime example that media can ruin the lives of officers, as well as put them in legitimate
The trial of O.J Simpson, an infamous case that had america glued to their Tv’s. Tensions were high as 11 months passed as the verdict was nearing. The case goes as following, O.J was accused of the murder of his ex wife Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. On June 13, 1994 Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were found dead around midnight near the entryway of Nicole’s apartment complex. The crime was heinous for the times and took America by storm. With O.J being a famous main suspect, the media wanted to give as much insight about the trial to the people watching at home and the first amendment gives them that right to gather intel. At first the media was not allowed to share what was happening in the trial. But later on, judge Ito later gave the media permission to cover the trial as long as the media does not disclose the insight of the grand jury. To coincide with this, the media wanted access to the preliminary hearings. Several news organizations requested access to photographs of the crime and transcripts of conferences held in the judge’s office. A lot of this information was sensitive material that was still being decided upon whether to reveal to the jury, but the media still wanted to have
Schlesinger, P. and Tumber, H. (1994) Reporting Crime. The media Politics of criminal Justice: United States. Oxford University Press
The difficulty I had with this case, was I had multiple sources to turn to for information. I had to choose which source was reliable because I did not want misconduct information. The media sources had about the same variety of information about Gabriel’s case, but added small details that the alternative networks did not include. For example, each news network added more information on how Gabriel was found by the paramedics. The L. A. Times reported that Gabriel had a cracked skull and three broken ribs while the Huffington Post did not include this information. The L.A. times also elaborated more on the story by reporting more facts about who was involved in the investigating. They included names of teachers, and police officials that was involved. The differences between how news network presented the facts in the case proved the different ways we are influenced by the media, and the information we gather depends on where we get our stories
Williams, Patricia J. "The Monsterization of Trayvon Martin." Nation. 297.7/8 (2013): 17-22. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.