This paper explains how the media has shifted from just being source of information and news to the general masses. How tt has gone to have an effect on the social, cultural, and psychological aspects on lives of people with them even realizing it. (Perse, 2000). The shooting of an African American boy named Trayvon Martin has been discussed in the media. The way different media sources represent this is analyzed and judged whether these sources discriminate the issue or the people involved in the scenario.
Treyvon Martin
Media has shifted from just being source of information and news to the general masses. It has gone to have an effect on the social, cultural, and psychological aspects on lives of people with them even realizing it. (Perse, 2000) There is a certain degree of stereotyping done by the media in the shows they put and the different proportions of races that they show. (Perse, 2000) The major focus is whether the media actively stereotypes a certain race or not. The shooting of an African-American boy named Trayvon Martin has been discussed in the media. The way different media sources represent this is analyzed and judged whether these sources discriminate the issue or the people involved in the scenario.
When the shooting of Treyvon Martin occurred, the shooter, George Zimmerman was reoffered to as a "white Latino" in the media. A lot of discussion and debate begin on the terms used to describe the race of the shooter. (Sangha, 2012) Some people were calling to see why Zimmerman wasn't termed the victim as he only shot Martin because Martin was the one abusing Zimmerman. Whereas others were wondering that why Zimmerman wasn't termed the shooter and why he is still free. Sangha talks about how once there just used to be black and white in America. Even though it may seem unfit to say, but that made racism and stereotyping a much simpler job for the media. (2012) The people are now questioning whether white Latino is even a race or not. Even though Zimmerman was the shooter, he is still not arrested or charged because he was fighting in self denfe.se Many think that the term white is attached to the word Latino only to justify the actions that have been taken against Zimmerman. Thus, in some instances media does play with diversity and uses it as a tool to be biased against one person. There might not be racial motive in the killing as the people want to see it, however the way media portrays this scenario brings out the debate in diversity.
If the Martins case is taken in review, it is revealed that the media sources view diversity based on what race they are themselves. The first to report the story did not go into the details of what happened and didn't even think of it as a racial issue. However, when the reporting's turned out to be more accurate and in favor of Zimmerman, that is when the issue started for real. Many African-American writers and columnist linked it to their own problems that they had faced. However, the journalists have to be sure to weight in their need for their justice with the accuracy of the news that they are reporting. When the media takes on personal feelings towards an issue, then they are likely to target the diversity in a positive manner. (Deggans, 2012) Apart from being from a certain race, the people in media are more concerned what how much followers they have or how many people believe them. This outlook on news reporting stems far from stereotyping the news itself.
However, if this race to report first is really looked into, then it could go on to manipulate the peoples mind into thinking something. For instance, the first to report this shooting portrayed Martins as the oppressor and Zimmerman as the oppressed. It reported that they had gotten in a fight earlier and Zimmerman was given the gun by the state and he could use it for his own safety. The witnesses and investigation later revealed that Martins didn't aggravate the fight and was just heading back home with iced tea and skittles in his hand. No one could think that if a person is leaving a store with tea and candy with him, his intentions aren't to go and hurt a person. However, even though the media did not point fingers at first but putting the white before Hispanic really signaled where they are going with this. Thus the media hopes to cover a story first to make an impact on the society. In this way it is negatively influencing the society against African-Americans and in favor of Hispanics.
If the above two points are looked into detail, then it could be said that stereotyping is still present in the media. The urge to deliver a story first in a certain way could be to toggle the minds of the people to one way. Writing subtle statements like white Latino or hints that push the case towards one direction could be a way of stereotyping. Seeing the voices raised against the media reporting are in this case, it was clear that the media sources were against Martins in this scenario.
Diversity is taken as a positive thing in journalism because it goes on to show more fairness and accuracy in the news reports. (Deggans, 2012) The more a newspaper or news channel is diverse when it comes to gender and culture, the less stereotypical the news reports will be. It is said that back in the 60s when the news reports only had the perspectives and view points of white men, it went to mistakes and chaos in the community. Not only did it hurt the feelings of the diverse people present in the newsroom it also give a reason for the population to not find the sources credible. (Deggans, 2012) Now when the society has gotten more aware of their rights, they are not scared to analyze the terms and the remarks used by the mass media. There has to be a good balance of ethical fairness and accuracy when it comes to news reporting. (Deggans, 2012)
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