NationStates Jolt Archive

I apologize if this has been covered- I did a forum search and came up with nothing so perhaps not.

The Newsom/Christian murders were savagely brutal- a young white couple (Hugh Newsom, 23, and Channon Christian, 21) were carjacked, raped, tortured, and murdered. Four men and a woman (all black) have been arrested and charged with the crimes. I only found out about it by receiving one of those annoying chain letters- and out of habit I went to Snopes to see if it was authentic. Since 99% of all such things are fake, I was startled when Snopes loaded and I saw:

Status: TRUE.


Actually, the lack of news is the point. Here in the US, we have no news of it.

All internet searches come up with is people's blogs for the most part- commenting on why there is an apparent media blackout. Wiki and Snopes both have articles, however. (I know neither is what we would exactly call a 'reliable' source, however they are all we have in this case)

What I wanted everyone's opinion on is if you think there is any truth to a 'media blackout' to 'black-on-white' crime, or if it is just PC, or what. I find it hard to believe that there is nothing to it when the Duke Lacrosse Team was in the news daily for months- and they all turned out to be innocent. Of course, that was a bunch of white guys who allegedly raped a black prostitute. And then we have the Don Imus affair- sure the guy was an ass, but that was plastered all over the news for weeks too. When you read the details of the Newsom/Christian murders, both of those incidents seem irrelevant.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/crime/newsom.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channon_Christian_and_Christopher_Newsom_murder

/snipI think it's more surprising when an individual crime does make the news than when it doesn't.
Is this really newsworthy?

I think it's more surprising when an individual crime does make the news than when it doesn't.
Is this really newsworthy?

Perhaps in a perfect world where the media didn't jump on the sickest crimes this wouldn't be newsworthy. But the news media outlets are businesses in competition with each other- and to think that they would ALL pass on this story, which appeals to both the 'sick' factor and, as evident by the cult following it is gathering online, appeals to white Americans who are sick of Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton and the 'oppressive white man's society' they try to claim is America.

Perhaps in a perfect world where the media didn't jump on the sickest crimes this wouldn't be newsworthy. But the news media outlets are businesses in competition with each other- and to think that they would ALL pass on this story, which appeals to both the 'sick' factor and, as evident by the cult following it is gathering online, appeals to white Americans who are sick of Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton and the 'oppressive white man's society' they try to claim is America.Are those particular white Americans the demographic that the advertisers in these media outlets want to appeal to?

Are those particular white Americans the demographic that the advertisers in these media outlets want to appeal to?

I am not a Klansman, nor am I a racist, as you appear to infer. I did lose out on a scholarship because my skin color was too pale, however. I disagree with 'affirmative action'. I had never heard of Don Imus until his rude remarks, but when he tried to apologize, Sharpton wouldn't let him- he made a spectacle of insulting the guy on his show, all because he was a black man standing up for his people. A white person cannot do that. I also noticed how the Duke players were portrayed in the media, and when they were all found innocent, saw no retractions; there was no gigantic headline shouting "INNOCENT!"

But there sure was cries of triumph when O.J. Simpson was found not guilty, and he was guilty as hell.

I am not a Klansman, nor am I a racist, as you appear to infer. I didn't realize that you considered yourself to be one of those people. Nonetheless, simply because there are white people who dislike Sharpton doesn't mean those white people are racists.
With that said, major media outlets are beholden to their advertisers.

I did lose out on a scholarship because my skin color was too pale, however. Are you certain of this? Did you see the qualifications for giving out the scholarships?

I disagree with 'affirmative action'. I had never heard of Don Imus until his rude remarks, but when he tried to apologize, Sharpton wouldn't let him- he made a spectacle of insulting the guy on his show, all because he was a black man standing up for his people. Don Imus assumed that Sharpton would accept his apology. Why should Sharpton have accepted it?

A white person cannot do that. I also noticed how the Duke players were portrayed in the media, and when they were all found innocent, saw no retractions; there was no gigantic headline shouting "INNOCENT!" They weren't found innocent. There was insufficent evidence to bring them to trial.

But there sure was cries of triumph when O.J. Simpson was found not guilty, and he was guilty as hell.Perhaps he was, perhaps he wasn't. There was reasonable doubt to this, and the jury made the correct decision as a result.