In class today you'll learn about frames and narratives used by the media to tell stories about crime.
What frames and narratives identified in class and in your book do you see in these stories from today, if any?
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2017/09/18/state-police-stop-patrols-atv-high-crime-detroit-precinct/105772908/
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/09/18/westchester-police-cyber-crime-dog/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hate-crime-rise-2016-united-states-trump_us_59becac8e4b086432b07fed8
http://www.eagletribune.com/news/merrimack_valley/candidates-at-mayoral-debate-focus-on-crime-addiction/article_b1c09a67-a7f1-5f23-ae72-3837b7af7ce8.html
http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/news/crime-up-percent-deen-says/article_ad5b68bc-9ce2-11e7-b4ab-e7b83f759c08.html
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Why is THIS news?
Among the top stories in the news today is this headline from CNN:
Son of Alabama assistant coach shot and killed
Why is this shooting news when other gun murders happened dozens of times over the weekend?
It could be because Alabama is the number 1 team in the nation? And because their first game this year was the most watched opening game ever? That is CNN's story just below the one about the shooting.
Then, there is this story about a police officer during a DUI stop telling a white woman, "Remember, we only kill black people."
Meanwhile, over at Fox News, one of the lead stories is this one:
'JUST DOING MY JOB'
And this!
Man tied to $500M heist faces jail in separate case
Here the news show they don't know the difference between prison and jail! Wow!
So, why are these stories NEWS?
Son of Alabama assistant coach shot and killed
Why is this shooting news when other gun murders happened dozens of times over the weekend?
It could be because Alabama is the number 1 team in the nation? And because their first game this year was the most watched opening game ever? That is CNN's story just below the one about the shooting.
Then, there is this story about a police officer during a DUI stop telling a white woman, "Remember, we only kill black people."
Meanwhile, over at Fox News, one of the lead stories is this one:
'JUST DOING MY JOB'
Report: News photographer shot by cop at traffic stop
And this!
Man tied to $500M heist faces jail in separate case
Here the news show they don't know the difference between prison and jail! Wow!
So, why are these stories NEWS?
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Wanna talk bias?
I was in the gym on campus today and numerous TVs were on.
The one tuned to CNN featured a live speech by President Obama.
The one tuned to Fox News showed Obama's speech in a small video box while a talking head (who happens to be very anti-Obama) was given the larger part of the screen. On that channel it was her voice that was being heard.
Meanwhile, the CNN audience actually got to listen to the President.
Incredibly, as Obama spoke on CNN, Fox News actually showed a clip of President Bush giving a speech.
Wow.
The one tuned to CNN featured a live speech by President Obama.
The one tuned to Fox News showed Obama's speech in a small video box while a talking head (who happens to be very anti-Obama) was given the larger part of the screen. On that channel it was her voice that was being heard.
Meanwhile, the CNN audience actually got to listen to the President.
Incredibly, as Obama spoke on CNN, Fox News actually showed a clip of President Bush giving a speech.
Wow.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Um, CNN, really? These are LEAD stories?
Why do Americans need to know who Tiger Woods is friends with, or that a British royal couple is having a second baby?
Those are among CNN's top stories today.
NEW Will and Kate expecting 2nd baby
Tiger Woods is friends with WHOM?
And here is another of their gems:
Camper sleepwalks off of a cliff
And another:
Falling gargoyle statue kills woman
And this one is highly suggestive that what CNN is after is simply those voyeuristic souls among us who are not interested in being informed but instead just entertained:
Hammerhead chases swimmers
So when is the news not the news anymore? Right now. Over at CNN.
Those are among CNN's top stories today.
NEW Will and Kate expecting 2nd baby
Tiger Woods is friends with WHOM?
And here is another of their gems:
Camper sleepwalks off of a cliff
And another:
Falling gargoyle statue kills woman
And this one is highly suggestive that what CNN is after is simply those voyeuristic souls among us who are not interested in being informed but instead just entertained:
Hammerhead chases swimmers
So when is the news not the news anymore? Right now. Over at CNN.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Interesting discussion about the Ferguson, Missouri PD
The lethal shooting of an unarmed young black man (again!) by a police officer--this time in Ferguson, MO--has of course been all over the news.
I am not passing judgment on the case because all the facts are not out.
Yet, I have stated that it does have something to do with the unbelievable militarization of the police. And of course it has something to do with stereotypes of crime rooted in the law and the media.
And most recently I said this: "By law, the amount of force that CAN be reasonably used is determined by the behavior of the suspect. If a person is not armed and is not using force that can lead to serious injury or death, he or she CANNOT be shot dead."
Yet, a police officer friend of mine replied: "Actually yes, by law they can. The law is interpreted that if the officer is in fear for his/her life....it's been done before and the media has not blown up about it....it is the same for a citizen."
And this really shook me up. Why?
Because it means that if a police officer is afraid, he or she can kill someone, even if the reason he or she is afraid has its roots in racism.
As shown in the book, the media create the impression that black people--and young black men in particular--are dangerous and thus scary. So when one runs at you or refuses to back down, you are now justified in shooting them? Even if the only reason you are afraid is because you have been constantly bombarded with images of dangerous black men over the course of your entire life?
I am not passing judgment on the case because all the facts are not out.
Yet, I have stated that it does have something to do with the unbelievable militarization of the police. And of course it has something to do with stereotypes of crime rooted in the law and the media.
And most recently I said this: "By law, the amount of force that CAN be reasonably used is determined by the behavior of the suspect. If a person is not armed and is not using force that can lead to serious injury or death, he or she CANNOT be shot dead."
Yet, a police officer friend of mine replied: "Actually yes, by law they can. The law is interpreted that if the officer is in fear for his/her life....it's been done before and the media has not blown up about it....it is the same for a citizen."
And this really shook me up. Why?
Because it means that if a police officer is afraid, he or she can kill someone, even if the reason he or she is afraid has its roots in racism.
As shown in the book, the media create the impression that black people--and young black men in particular--are dangerous and thus scary. So when one runs at you or refuses to back down, you are now justified in shooting them? Even if the only reason you are afraid is because you have been constantly bombarded with images of dangerous black men over the course of your entire life?
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Are guests in the news representative of the US population?
Well, no. And that's probably not surprising.
But what might be surprising is how the demographics of news guests breaks down by network and by show.
According to an analysis by Fairness in Accuracy and Reporting (FAIR), there is "a stunning lack of diversity among the guests."
According to FAIR: "Guests were coded by gender, race/ethnicity and occupation, as well as the affiliations of partisan guests-those who are identified with a party as current or former government officials or campaign professionals."
Here are just some of the findings:
Eighty-four percent of guests were white (848). The most and least diverse shows in terms of ethnicity were both on MSNBC: People of color were 27 percent of guests on All In and only 6 percent on Maddow. Just three of Maddow’s guests were people of color; none of these were women.
Male guests widely outnumbered women on every show (730 to 285), making up 72 percent of the guest lists. Just 5 percent (46) of cable news guests were women of color.
Women of color (about 18 percent of the US public) were strikingly underrepresented on most shows ...
Read the rest here.
But what might be surprising is how the demographics of news guests breaks down by network and by show.
According to an analysis by Fairness in Accuracy and Reporting (FAIR), there is "a stunning lack of diversity among the guests."
According to FAIR: "Guests were coded by gender, race/ethnicity and occupation, as well as the affiliations of partisan guests-those who are identified with a party as current or former government officials or campaign professionals."
Here are just some of the findings:
Eighty-four percent of guests were white (848). The most and least diverse shows in terms of ethnicity were both on MSNBC: People of color were 27 percent of guests on All In and only 6 percent on Maddow. Just three of Maddow’s guests were people of color; none of these were women.
Male guests widely outnumbered women on every show (730 to 285), making up 72 percent of the guest lists. Just 5 percent (46) of cable news guests were women of color.
Women of color (about 18 percent of the US public) were strikingly underrepresented on most shows ...
Read the rest here.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Stories you rarely see in the news
Here are a couple of stories you rarely see in the news.
Ten Economic Facts about Crime and Incarceration in the United States (from the Brookings Institute)
It includes ten facts every American should know, offered in three chapters along with an introduction.
US Crime Statistics Completely Ignore What Happens In Prisons (from Salon magazine)
It discusses how the US actually has way more crime than we are led to believe, only it is not counted in the numbers because it happens within prisons!
If such stories were commonplace in the news, we'd not have the major problems we have in criminal justice today.
Ten Economic Facts about Crime and Incarceration in the United States (from the Brookings Institute)
It includes ten facts every American should know, offered in three chapters along with an introduction.
US Crime Statistics Completely Ignore What Happens In Prisons (from Salon magazine)
It discusses how the US actually has way more crime than we are led to believe, only it is not counted in the numbers because it happens within prisons!
If such stories were commonplace in the news, we'd not have the major problems we have in criminal justice today.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Which is the most important TOP STORY?
Examine the following top stories from the news media. Which is the most important, because it impacts the most people?
Honey, does this drink make me look fat?
Honey, does this drink make me look fat?
We compared the amount of sugar found in some of America's top-selling beverages to the sugar found in common sugary snacks. Are you ready to be shocked? PHOTOS
More:
Border crisis: Obama likely to delay deportations, experts agree
- ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S first moves toward trying to 'fix' the US immigration system without Congress will almost certainly be to expand on his 2012 executive order postponing deportation for potentially millions of young illegal immigrants, say experts on both sides of the debate.
Reuters
Extreme’ abortion law vetoed
Now, can you guess which story goes with which network?
Friday, June 6, 2014
This will ALWAYS be news. And I think the news likes it.
BREAKING NEWS
Shooter had bombs, zip ties
The gunman fired through his windshield, shooting a deputy in the leg before being killed in a minute-and-a-half shootout with authorities, Forsyth County Sheriff Duane Piper said. He "came here for the purpose of occupying the courthouse."FULL STORY
HERO TACKLES GUNMAN
Student maced, grabbed
suspect in deadly shooting
In the book, you learn that coverage of these types of events is common. I suspect that this coverage tends to make such events more common. What do you think?
Friday, April 11, 2014
The news: A disaster
What is news?
Disasters.
Like this:
Like this:
Like this:
Police: No known target in Pa. school stabbing spree
Is it any wonder why people who watch a lot of TV end up seeing the world as a mean and scary place?
Disasters.
Like this:
Search narrows
Tony Abbott said searchers think they "know the position of the black box flight recorder to within some kilometers."
FULL STORY
Like this:
A truck slammed head-on into a bus carrying students in Northern
California, killing five students, three chaperones and both drivers,
police said. FULL STORY
Like this:
Police: No known target in Pa. school stabbing spree
Is it any wonder why people who watch a lot of TV end up seeing the world as a mean and scary place?
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Here is what the news media are obsessing about ...
Two stories:
You could know EVERYTHING about these cases and know literally NOTHING about the world. Which is why this wall to wall coverage is harmful for Americans and our country.
All 4 pulses were within 17 miles
"I'm now optimistic. We'll find the aircraft or what's left of the
aircraft in the not too distant future," says Australian official.
FULL STORY
2) OSCAR PISTORIUS CROSS-EXAMINATION
A prosecutor had a photograph of Reeva Steenkamp's bullet-shattered
head displayed in court today, telling Oscar Pistorius to look at it.
Pistorius refused. "I was there," he said. LIVE BLOG
More:
You could know EVERYTHING about these cases and know literally NOTHING about the world. Which is why this wall to wall coverage is harmful for Americans and our country.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
This is all news.
Well, I mean it should be.
But it is not.
Why do you think that is so? Corporate ownership of the media?
From Truthout:
The following are all relevant, fact-based issues, the "hard news" stories that the media has a responsibility to report. But the corporate-owned press generally avoids them.
1. U.S. Wealth Up $34 Trillion Since Recession. 93% of You Got Almost None of It.
That's an average of $100,000 for every American. But the people who already own most of the stocks took almost all of it. For them, the average gain was well over a million dollars -- tax-free as long as they don't cash it in. Details available here.
2. Eight Rich Americans Made More Than 3.6 Million Minimum Wage Workers
A recent report stated that no full-time minimum wage worker in the U.S. can afford a one-bedroom or two-bedroom rental at fair market rent. There are 3.6 million such workers, and their total (combined) 2013 earnings is less than the 2013 stock market gains of just eight Americans, all of whom take more than their share from society: the four Waltons, the two Kochs, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett.
3. News Sources Speak for the 5%
It would be refreshing to read an honest editorial: "We dearly value the 5 to 7 percent of our readers who make a lot of money and believe that their growing riches are helping everyone else."
Instead, the business media seems unable to differentiate between the top 5 percent and the rest of society. The Wall Street Journal exclaimed, "Middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before," and then went on to sputter: "What Recession?...The economy has bounced back from recession, unemployment has declined.."
The Chicago Tribune may be even further out of touch with its less privileged readers, asking them: "What's so terrible about the infusion of so much money into the presidential campaign?"
4. TV News Dumbed Down for American Viewers
A 2009 survey by the European Journal of Communication compared the U.S. to Denmark, Finland, and the UK in the awareness and reporting of domestic vs. international news, and of 'hard' news (politics, public administration, the economy, science, technology) vs. 'soft' news (celebrities, human interest, sport and entertainment). The results:
-- Americans [are] especially uninformed about international public affairs.
-- American respondents also underperformed in relation to domestic-related hard news stories.
-- American television reports much less international news than Finnish, Danish and British television;
-- American television network newscasts also report much less hard news than Finnish and Danish television.
Surprisingly, the report states that "our sample of American newspapers was more oriented towards hard news than their counterparts in the European countries." Too bad Americans are reading less newspapers.
5. News Execs among White Male Boomers Who Owe Trillions to Society
The hype about the "self-made man" is fantasy. In the early 1970s, we privileged white males were spirited out of college to waiting jobs in management and finance, technology was inventing new ways for us to make money, tax rates were about to tumble, and visions of bonuses and capital gains danced in our heads.
While we were in school the Defense Department had been preparing the Internet for Microsoft and Apple, the National Science Foundation was funding the Digital Library Initiative research that would be adopted as the Google model, and theNational Institute of Health was doing the early laboratory testing for companies like Merck and Pfizer. Government research labs and public universities trained thousands of chemists, physicists, chip designers, programmers, engineers, production line workers, market analysts, testers, troubleshooters, etc., etc.
All we created on our own was a disdainful attitude, like that of Steve Jobs: "We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas."
6. Funding Plummets for Schools and Pensions as Corporations Stop Paying Taxes
Threeseparatestudies have shown that corporations pay less than half of their required state taxes, which are the main source of K-12 educational funding and a significant part of pension funding. Most recently, the report "The Disappearing Corporate Tax Base" found that the percentage of corporate profits paid as state income taxes has dropped from 7 percent in 1980 to about 3 percent today.
7. Companies Based in the U.S. Paying Most of their Taxes Overseas
Citigroup had 42% of its 2011-13 revenue in North America (almost all U.S.) and made $32 billion in profits, but received a U.S. current income tax benefit all three years.
Pfizer had 40% of its 2011-13 revenues and nearly half of its physical assets in the U.S., but declared almost $10 billion in U.S. losses to go along with nearly $50 billion in foreign profits.
In 2013 Exxon had about 43% of management, 36% of sales, 40% of long-lived assets, and 70-90% of its productive oil and gas wells in the U.S., yet only paid about 2 percent of its total income in U.S. income taxes, and most of that was something called a "theoretical" tax.
8. Restaurant Servers Go Without Raise for 30 Years
An evaluation by Michelle Chen showed that the minimum wage for tipped workers has been approximately $2 an hour since the 1980s. She also notes that about 40 percent of these workers are people of color, and about two-thirds are women.
Well, I mean it should be.
But it is not.
Why do you think that is so? Corporate ownership of the media?
From Truthout:
The following are all relevant, fact-based issues, the "hard news" stories that the media has a responsibility to report. But the corporate-owned press generally avoids them.
1. U.S. Wealth Up $34 Trillion Since Recession. 93% of You Got Almost None of It.
That's an average of $100,000 for every American. But the people who already own most of the stocks took almost all of it. For them, the average gain was well over a million dollars -- tax-free as long as they don't cash it in. Details available here.
2. Eight Rich Americans Made More Than 3.6 Million Minimum Wage Workers
A recent report stated that no full-time minimum wage worker in the U.S. can afford a one-bedroom or two-bedroom rental at fair market rent. There are 3.6 million such workers, and their total (combined) 2013 earnings is less than the 2013 stock market gains of just eight Americans, all of whom take more than their share from society: the four Waltons, the two Kochs, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett.
3. News Sources Speak for the 5%
It would be refreshing to read an honest editorial: "We dearly value the 5 to 7 percent of our readers who make a lot of money and believe that their growing riches are helping everyone else."
Instead, the business media seems unable to differentiate between the top 5 percent and the rest of society. The Wall Street Journal exclaimed, "Middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before," and then went on to sputter: "What Recession?...The economy has bounced back from recession, unemployment has declined.."
The Chicago Tribune may be even further out of touch with its less privileged readers, asking them: "What's so terrible about the infusion of so much money into the presidential campaign?"
4. TV News Dumbed Down for American Viewers
A 2009 survey by the European Journal of Communication compared the U.S. to Denmark, Finland, and the UK in the awareness and reporting of domestic vs. international news, and of 'hard' news (politics, public administration, the economy, science, technology) vs. 'soft' news (celebrities, human interest, sport and entertainment). The results:
-- Americans [are] especially uninformed about international public affairs.
-- American respondents also underperformed in relation to domestic-related hard news stories.
-- American television reports much less international news than Finnish, Danish and British television;
-- American television network newscasts also report much less hard news than Finnish and Danish television.
Surprisingly, the report states that "our sample of American newspapers was more oriented towards hard news than their counterparts in the European countries." Too bad Americans are reading less newspapers.
5. News Execs among White Male Boomers Who Owe Trillions to Society
The hype about the "self-made man" is fantasy. In the early 1970s, we privileged white males were spirited out of college to waiting jobs in management and finance, technology was inventing new ways for us to make money, tax rates were about to tumble, and visions of bonuses and capital gains danced in our heads.
While we were in school the Defense Department had been preparing the Internet for Microsoft and Apple, the National Science Foundation was funding the Digital Library Initiative research that would be adopted as the Google model, and theNational Institute of Health was doing the early laboratory testing for companies like Merck and Pfizer. Government research labs and public universities trained thousands of chemists, physicists, chip designers, programmers, engineers, production line workers, market analysts, testers, troubleshooters, etc., etc.
All we created on our own was a disdainful attitude, like that of Steve Jobs: "We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas."
6. Funding Plummets for Schools and Pensions as Corporations Stop Paying Taxes
Threeseparatestudies have shown that corporations pay less than half of their required state taxes, which are the main source of K-12 educational funding and a significant part of pension funding. Most recently, the report "The Disappearing Corporate Tax Base" found that the percentage of corporate profits paid as state income taxes has dropped from 7 percent in 1980 to about 3 percent today.
7. Companies Based in the U.S. Paying Most of their Taxes Overseas
Citigroup had 42% of its 2011-13 revenue in North America (almost all U.S.) and made $32 billion in profits, but received a U.S. current income tax benefit all three years.
Pfizer had 40% of its 2011-13 revenues and nearly half of its physical assets in the U.S., but declared almost $10 billion in U.S. losses to go along with nearly $50 billion in foreign profits.
In 2013 Exxon had about 43% of management, 36% of sales, 40% of long-lived assets, and 70-90% of its productive oil and gas wells in the U.S., yet only paid about 2 percent of its total income in U.S. income taxes, and most of that was something called a "theoretical" tax.
8. Restaurant Servers Go Without Raise for 30 Years
An evaluation by Michelle Chen showed that the minimum wage for tipped workers has been approximately $2 an hour since the 1980s. She also notes that about 40 percent of these workers are people of color, and about two-thirds are women.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Watch TV and see the world as a "mean and scary place"
This is what studies conclude consistently. The more people watch TV the more they come to the world as a "mean and scary place."
They also become cynical, pessimistic, and fearful of people different then they.
And it's not wonder. Just look at the headlines today:
They also become cynical, pessimistic, and fearful of people different then they.
And it's not wonder. Just look at the headlines today:
BREAKING NEWS: THE SEARCH FOR FLIGHT 370
Jet crashed in ocean, families told
A new analysis of satellite data shows the plane was lost in the southern Indian Ocean, Malaysia's PM says.
DEVELOPING STORY
BREAKING NEWS: Oscar Pistorius trial
Messages retrieved from Oscar Pistorius' cell phone reveal a
jealousy-fueled dispute between the athlete and the girlfriend he later
shot to death. LIVE BLOG
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Entertainment over news???
I suppose if people want to see it, news organizations will show it to them?
Videos like these are increasingly likely to appear on the front pages of news organizations that are supposedly to be taken seriously. Those from above appear on the front page of CNN.
Is it any wonder that Americans are so unable to identify what is going on in the world, why we are so easily misled by our leaders (including into war, for example), why we cannot identify other countries on a world map, why we don't know our history, and so on.
News organizations such as CNN are partly responsible for a celebration of entertainment over news, as well as the dumbing down of America.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
and the perverts will now flock to Massachusetts
Massachusetts' highest court rules that it is not illegal to photograph
secretly underneath people's clothing because they aren't "partially
nude." FULL STORY
More:
The courts are in the news elsewhere too:
Pistorius trial gets grislyPistorius' defense grills neighbors on shooting details
And of course, crime is a TOP STORY, as usual:
The courts are in the news elsewhere too:
Pistorius trial gets grislyPistorius' defense grills neighbors on shooting details
And of course, crime is a TOP STORY, as usual:
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Just how exactly is this stuff considered news?
- Police find pot, pipes in Bieber limo
- New video of Bieber sobriety test
- Petco sued after deadly rat bite
- Cop kills just-married firefighter
- Photo of baby with rifle shocks
- Mom of British soldier hacked to death collapses at killers' sentencing
- Ohio man expected to survive after being shot 14 times
- Officers suspended for homeless sign contest
All about crime.
Or criminal justice.
And mostly just nonsense.
So why is this stuff even news?
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