Is the Media
Racially Bias towards Crime?
Saturday January 6th 2007 a
man by the name of Hugh Christopher Newsom age 23 decided to take his
girlfriend Channon Christian age 21 out on a date both were students at the
University of Tennessee. This would soon turn into a night that their families
would ever forget.
The two were driving Channon’s Toyota
4-Runner the next thing they knew they were held at gunpoint and
kidnapped. Chris and Channon were taken
to a home on Chipman Street in Knoxville Tennessee. While held at gunpoint
Channon was forced to watch Chris be raped prison style and watch as the
suspects cut off his penis. The suspects later took him to a railroad nearby
where they shot him in the head and set his body on fire. They then turned to Channon
and began beating her and gang raped her repeatedly, than cut off both of her
breasts and poured bleach down here throat to destroy any DNA evidence while
she was still alive. After this the suspects then took turns urinating on her
and set her body on fire while still in the house. There were five separate
trash bags found full of Channon’s body parts.
Five suspects were found guilty and
charged. Three of the men were found guilty of 46 counts. Lemaricus “Slim”
Davidson age 25, 16 counts of Felony Murder, two counts premeditated murder,
four counts aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts aggravated rape and two counts of
theft. Latalvis “Rome” Cobbins age 24, charged with 16 counts Felony Murder,
two counts aggravated robbery, four counts aggravated kidnapping, 20 counts
aggravated rape and two counts theft. George “Detroit” Thomas age 24 was also
charged with 46 counts including 16 counts Felony Murder, two counts
premeditated murder, two counts aggravated robbery, four counts aggravated
kidnapping, 20 counts aggravated rape and two counts theft. Vanessa Coleman age
18 faces 40 charges which include 12 counts of Felony Murder, 1 count
premeditated murder, 1 count aggravated robbery, four counts of aggravated
kidnapping, 20 counts of aggravated rape and two counts of theft. The last and
final suspect Eric “E” Boyd age 24 was only arrested in connection with the
carjacking of Channon’s vehicle but faces charges for being an accessory.
All
over the news we hear about the death of celebrities through national media’s
like ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and FOX NEWS and their drug and alcohol use and these
make national headlines. What baffles me is that this never made national news
or any news at all. Does race of victims matter when it comes to media
coverage? In my opinion race does not matter because all people should be
treated equally in the criminal justice system. When in reality race does seem
to matter just look at the case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.
I'm glad you blogged about this I had never heard of it. What an incredibly hideous crime and tragedy. You mentioned that race may have been a factor in why the national news media outlets never really picked the story up. If the victims and assailants races were reversed do you think it would have been a different story? As in, there would be a media firestorm?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good blog because it asks the question that everyone wants to know the answer to. Is the media racially bias toward crime? My answer is yes and the media is racially bias with any accord. This case is a disgusting act that human beings can do to one another. These two innocent students of Tennessee never saw any of this coming. They were brutally assaulted and murdered for no apparent reason but the nation media didn't find this interesting enough to broadcast. The media is white washed and the only time minorities get on news coverage is during a crime and they always interview the worst looking people. back to the subject at hand, the media should have immediately broadcasted this to show the world that it is extremely unsafe and that some people just don''t have sympathy at all. Another point I would like to get at is the fact that minorities only get on media when there is a celebrity involved, OJ Simpson case. People deserve a right to know what is going on in the world regardless of race. I feel that every severe or impact story should be broadcasted by the media. America owes this to us as people because we need to be aware of the danger. This way we can prepare ourselves.
ReplyDeleteGood points
DeleteI think that the media can be racially bias towards crime. In this case I think the fact that it was so gruesome the media may have not made it such a known case like the Trayvon Martin case. This was a very gross and sad story that ought to have come to national attention. It highlights that awful things can happen to anybody and you need to be careful. It also shows that there are sadistic people in this world that you need to watch out for. I think that race may have been an issue and this event was overshadowed by the Treyvon Martin case. I also think that the fact that it was so gruesome played a huge role in the fact that it was not as popular as the Martin case.
ReplyDeleteI expected this blog to be a lot different than how it turned out to be. I've seen this story on unapologetically racist websites. They cite it as an example of how when blacks kill whites it never makes national news.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why this case didn't make national news. One has to imagine that it did indeed get mentioned at least once or twice on national prime-time media but obviously it did not because a huge national story. I don't think it's because of race though. The news and other forms of media certainly has no issue with showing black men as criminals any other time. One of the other comments seems to be suggesting that if the races in this case were reversed then the minorities would be making a big hooplah thus forcing it to be a national issue. I reject that line of thought. There aren't enough black people in the country to make anything a national story. If there were then Oscar Grant's story would have been on the news more than once.
I think that atrocities happen every day and only some of them become a national story. You can't really predict what will catch on & what won't. I think racial bias does exist in the news media but it goes both ways, negative and positive. They're able to scapegoat but they're also able to get too "PC" & find things that aren't really there.
Indeed the media is racially bias, and unfortunately our society is racially bias. It is how our parents parents were socialized and it trickles down. It is a shame that our media and us as a society lets this happen. I heard a quote from one of my professors, and dont quote me on it because i am not totally sure its true, but it goes; what are black people in Europe? they are Europeans, but what are black people in America, they are African Americans. So yes, unfortunately our society and media are racially bias.
ReplyDelete