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'
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?
 

Wanna see bias in action?

This is the top story today on CNN:

NYT: Email to Trump Jr. cited Russia's role



Report: Email to Trump Jr. said lawyer would give info on Clinton from Russian government, sources say

Amid health care push, White House can't shake Russia

Why one-party government doesn't last

Swalwell: Trump Jr. meeting betrays country

Warner: Clear evidence Trump team met Russians for info

Tapper to Trump Jr.: Why so many lies?

 

Meanwhile, on Fox, the story is not the top story, and when they share it, this is what they say:




• 

  'DID NOTHING WRONG'
  Trump Jr lawyer downplays latest NYT Russia report

  • MEDIA BUZZ: Has smoke led to fire? Donald Trump Jr. wanted oppo on Hillary
  • VIDEO: Trump Jr. pushes back on Russia meeting reports
  • Donald Trump Jr. 'did not collude with anybody,' White House says

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.

This is what passes for news these days

Not only does it focus on crime, but it allows you to watch it happen, sort of like a video game.


For example:

Mom's mission to stop hot car deaths

Watch robbers get a beat-down

Clerk shot in leg, but then ... 1:21

Man caught stealing WHAT in 2 min.? 1:24

 

 

Beloved police dog poisoned

This qualifies as the lowest common denominator in news. It provides no useful information and only serves to scare people of crimes--the kinds of crime they are least likely to be victimized by.

A look at the leading stories in the news

Israel continues its attacks on Gaza, so you'd assume that'd be the lead story today. Let's see ...


From CNN:

BREAKING NEWS

Kids marking holiday killed

Flares, explosions, gunfire in Gaza

Israel and Palestinians traded blame after a blast at refugee camp that Gaza officials said killed 10. A hospital also was hit. Five Israeli soldiers died Monday. FULL STORY

• Exclusive look in Hamas tunnels
• How Gaza cease-fire faltered
• Terror loosens grip on everyday life
• Photos: Israel's ground offensive  

From Fox News:

WHAT A WASTE: Taxpayer billion$ squandered in Afghan War

• SIGAR
• AUDIT REPORTS by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction identify potentially billions of taxpayer funds wasted in Afghanistan, including donation of planes the government doesn't need or can't use.
• Report: US loses track of thousands of firearms given to Afghan forces
• VIDEO: US weapons reach insurgents

From Washington Post:

Court rules Va.’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional

Robert Barnes and Jenna Portnoy

A federal appeals panel in Richmond rules that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed under the Constitution.


From New York Times:

Europe and U.S. to Sharply Escalate Russia Sanctions

By JACK EWING and PETER BAKER 59 minutes ago

A package targeting Russia’s financial, energy and defense sector was driven by the conclusion that Moscow has taken a more direct role in Ukraine.

So, yes, there are other events in the nation and world that are top stories in major news outlets.


It is interesting that only one of these stories is about crime or criminal justice, too.

Important facts about the death penalty

A federal judge in California just ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. Why?


According to the Death Penalty Information Center:


U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney held that California's death penalty is so dysfunctional as to amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Vacating the death sentence of Ernest Jones, who has been on death row for almost 20 years, Judge Carney said the punishment cannot serve the purposes of deterrence or retribution when it is administered to a tiny select few, decades after their sentencing: "Inordinate and unpredictable delay has resulted in a death penalty system in which very few of the hundreds of individuals sentenced to death have been, or even will be, executed by the State. It has resulted in a system in which arbitrary factors, rather than legitimate ones like the nature of the crime or the date of the death sentence, determine whether an individual will actually be executed. And it has resulted in a system that serves no penological purpose. Such a system is unconstitutional." Read the Court's Opinion.


California has sentenced more than 900 people to death row since the 70s but has executed less than 20. I'd call that freakish. Just like I've taught and written about the death penalty in the entire US. Freakish.


Check out these facts of the death penalty just offered by CNN here. There you will find cool graphics will facts about executions per year in the US, executions by country in the world, executions by state, methods of death in the US, race, etc.


Good stuff!

The latest CNN crime epidemic

Seriously, this is the latest. CNN calls it a new epidemic.


If you follow this blog, then you know CNN regularly focuses on one kind of crime or incident, gets fixated on it, and makes it out to be some kind of epidemic (when in fact it is not). Here is the latest example:

DEVELOPING STORY

What we know about mom in hot car death

5 questions about boy's mother

Cooper Harris died after he was locked in his father's car. Justin Ross Harris is charged with murder and child cruelty, but police also have questions about his wife's behavior. Here's what we know about Leanna Harris. FULL STORY

• 16 search warrants released

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?

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:

• Then there's all that salt in restaurant meals ...

Border crisis: Obama likely to delay deportations, experts agree

• Reuters
• 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.

Extreme’ abortion law vetoed

‘Extreme’ abortion law vetoed

By Irin Carmon

1 save share 17

The law, which Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon called “disrespectful,” would have required women seeking abortions to wait an extra 72 hours. Read this

Now, can you guess which story goes with which network?

Mainstream media beating the drums of war again?

In Iraq? Again?

DEVELOPING STORY: IRAQ CRISIS

U.S. adds firepower
in Persian Gulf

More troops at U.S. Embassy in Iraq

The aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush and five other warships are in the Persian Gulf. Hundreds of Marines and dozens of copters are on standby for whatever President Obama orders. FULL STORY

• Burnett to Bremer: 'Aren't you the guy who got us in this mess?'  
• Video shows executions  
• ISIS has a weakness | Photos

• 

  BOOTS ON THE GROUND?
  Report: White House mulls special forces in Iraq crisis

  • KURTZ: The debate over who can debate Iraq mess
  • Syrian war planes strike inside Iraq, sources say
  • White House reportedly sees window for diplomacy
  • Officials: US-made Stinger missiles have likely fallen into ISIS hands
  • Krauthammer: Obama 'removed the glue' in Iraq by withdrawing US troops

Have we learned nothing from the 4,400+ US troops killed and $1.7 trillion spent there?

A solid OPINION piece based on facts

CNN's article, "U.S. right wing extremists more deadly than jihadists," is an op-ed, meaning it is opinion. But it is based on facts, and the authors offer their sources:

... "since 9/11 extremists affiliated with a variety of far-right wing ideologies, including white supremacists, anti-abortion extremists and anti-government militants, have killed more people in the United States than have extremists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology. According to a count by the New America Foundation, right wing extremists have killed 34 people in the United States for political reasons since 9/11. (The total includes the latest shootings in Kansas, which are being classified as a hate crime).

 

"'Since 9/11 extremists affiliated with a variety of far-right wing ideologies...have killed more people in the United States than have extremists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology.'

 

"By contrast, terrorists motivated by al Qaeda's ideology have killed 21 people in the United States since 9/11.

 

(Although a variety of left wing militants and environmental extremists have carried out violent attacks for political reasons against property and individuals since 9/11, none have been linked to a lethal attack, according to research by the New America Foundation.)"

 

So, I cannot wait to see what the rest of the media say about these facts.

 

 

This will ALWAYS be news. And I think the news likes it.

BREAKING NEWS

'Full frontal assault' on Georgia courthouse

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

• Suspect shot, killed in courthouse attack, report says

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?

Is this really an appropriate headline for this particular story?

BREAKING NEWS

HEADS TO ROLL AT VA HOSPITAL

Shinseki firing leaders in Phoenix

• VA problems "systemic," Secretary Eric Shinseki says.
• No bonuses for executives this year.
• Apologizes to vets, Congress.
• "I was too trusting," Shinseki says.

DEVELOPING STORY

SHINSEKI: HEADS ROLLING
Before Obama meeting, VA chief
ousts leadership at Phoenix facility

• 

• Borger: Bureaucracy defeats Obama

Can you believe this is in the news again?

On CNN, it is of course the LEAD story:

DEVELOPING STORY: SEARCH FOR FLIGHT 370

It's not there

Flight 370 search area 'can now be discounted'

A U.S. Navy official says the pings at the center of the search for the past seven weeks are no longer believed to be from the plane's black boxes. FULL STORY

• What happens next?
• Photos: The search   | Maps
• If pings were wrong, now what?  

Yet, over at Fox, this is the lead story:

#MarineHeldinMexico: Marine tells Greta, '3 guns, man equals prison'

• 
• SGT. ANDREW TAHMOORESSI tells Fox News' Greta Van Susteren exclusively from inside the Mexican prison where he is being held on gun charges that the official who arrested him 'didn't seem to care' about anything but taking him prisoner.
• Friend claims Marine was beaten, chained in Mexican custody
• Marine fires attorney, appears in court
• VIDEO: Treated like POW?
• VIDEO: Will activism help?
• VIDEO: Mexican border arrests common for US travelers?
• GRETA: Help us bring back our Marine
• FULL COVERAGE: Marine's struggle for freedom

 

 Meanwhile, over at MSNBC, this the lead story:

view photo essay

Law and disorder on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

 

So, it is still true that where you get your news matters in terms of what you will see depicted as very important.

CNN's "Crime & Intrigue" Videos

Turns out CNN has a video page all about crime. It's called "Crime & Intrigue."

With stunning silliness, CNN has made it possible for a person to go watch videos all about crime. Right now, the site has videos about a former football player who turns out to be a multiple murderer, a current football player who stole some crab legs from a grocery store, and many other stories that do nothing to inform viewers about realities of crime and criminal justice and that serve merely to entertain and distract people.

Want to see how silly it all is? Start here with this video and then look at all the other ones that are there: http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/topvideos/2014/05/15/cnn-tonight-reilly-winston-supermarket.cnn&hpt=hp_c4&from_homepage=yes&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F#/video/topvideos/2014/05/15/cnn-tonight-reilly-winston-supermarket.cnn

If you think this is pretty silly, at least don't be surprised. After all, it is THIS network we're talking about:

Death penalty in the news ...

... sort of ...


Captain, 3 crew members charged with murder

 

They could face the death penalty

Another 11 crew members have been indicted on charges of abandonment and violating a ship safety act in connection with the Sewol ferry sinking, the prosecutor's office says.FULL STORY

• Images of captain abandoning ship
• Ferry CEO charged | Photos
• Police: Too much cargo

 

Yes CNN's top story is about how a crew ship captain in South Korea could be executed.

 

And then its next story is this one:

 

NEW Woman to be executed for her faith

 

(a story about a Christian woman sentenced to death for her faith, in Sudan).

 

I wonder what is making CNN cover these cases. Is there no death penalty news in the US that is deemed worthy of national attention?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are all kinds of important stories in the world today

Stuff like this in the area of criminal justice:

Major Report Urges Reform of US Capital Punishment System

By Michelle Tullo, Inter Press Service | Report

 

Wisconsin Federal Court Decision Could Mark Beginning of End for GOP Photo ID Restrictions

By Ernest A Canning, The Brad Blog | News Analysis

 

New Jersey Allowed to Require ''Justifiable Need'' to Carry a Firearm in Public

By Crystal Shepeard, Care2 | Report

 

Guilty Verdict for Occupy Activist an "Attack on Dissent"

By Jessica Desvarieux, The Real News Network | Video Interview

          

Yet, this is what appears as the lead stories on a major news network:

'I WAS BAITED'

'I'm asking for forgiveness'

LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling says he's sorry for making racist comments. "That's not the way I talk," he says. Anderson Cooper has more in an exclusive interview at 8 p.m. ET Monday.FULL STORY

• Stunning talk on Magic Johnson
• He 'wanted sex' | Sterling vs. NBA
• LeBron: Players want Sterlings gone
• Photos: Team owners punished

My question is this, Why is what a billionaire NBA team owner thinks or says relevant to the real world? I mean the guy is so out of touch with everyday Americans and what they must deal with. So, why is this a lead story in the news?

Ah the triviality of news ...

These are among the TOP stories in the news today

Mom bites pit bull as it attacks girl  

Ex-QB: Concussions cost me TV job


'Bachelorette' contestant dies

Meth users here as young as 9  

Cat cafe pops up in New York  

Birds take over traffic cameras  

Whoa, baby! Newborn is 14.5 lbs  

Guess who's turning 50?  

Joan Rivers not sorry for saying this  

11 lunchbox masterpieces HLN

Miley Cyrus released from hospital EW

Cameron Diaz's guide to success

And you wonder why Americans are so ignorant?

So, why do the mainstream media make such stories the "Top Stories?"

Of course, these come from the same network who have made a missing plane "breaking news" for more than a month!