10 Comments

I agree wholeheartedly that generally the media functions from a totally racial bias. But even the "industry standard" of not showing images of "minor" suspects wasn't followed. There were no restrictions on showing a Black "minor" suspect.

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Courageous and truthful coverage Allison.

Thank you for sharing.

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Wow. This was a much needed topic to address. Whenever there is a mistaken identity in the news, it they are always Black. They do it with Black celebrities also, because after all we all look a like. That speaks to your point about the lack of Black editors and fact checkers. And, yes, there is never sufficient clean up. Just an oops! We made a boo boo.

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Yes, MEDIA MALPRACTICE! For the victims, their families, and the Black community, DEVASTATING consequences. For the media perpetrator, which didn't even appropriately apologize and acknowledge responsibility, no consequences whatsoever. Unfair and infuriating! Great post, Allison.

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Corporate Mass Media is Evil and Dangerous. The 4th Estate of checks and balances is becoming a tool of the rich and racist elements of society. We the People must fight back. Boycott their media!

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It should be answered by a lawsuit. Stupid corporate media.

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The accountability here is so important too b/c in reality mistakes are inevitable, but when there's proper accountability, it doesn't just right a wrong but also makes that same mistake less and less likely to occur.

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14 is still considered a minor but not when you're black apparently. Definitely have seen this double standard before. It's very sad - can't imagine the relentless as to post that image. R.I.P.

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Thank you for laying this out so clearly. I’m glad you include references as well. I recognize from my own writing about misogyny how much your article holds back in order to lay out a clear and logical explanation.

I encourage everyone to take a moment to imagine how it would feel to have your child’s image (which lasts forever in the digital world) shown in connection with a crime at the time you are mourning your child’s loss as the victim of that horrific crime. There are no words…

In addition to underscoring how much mainstream media has fallen from responsible journalism which requires independent fact checking, this demonstrates the racism inherent in these spheres-both the corporations involved in this media and in the culture of our country. The media outlets of responsible, need an internal review and a company-wide workshop to address this shortcoming. Our country has a lot of work to do towards recognizing and improving our systemic racism.

I sincerely wish to see these gaps closed in my lifetime.

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The impact of these media malpractices is many fold these days because people retweet, share the error as truth on FB, and many other media compounding the harm down to this family and community.

Neoliberism is again part of the problem. The bottom line thinking of Neoliberalism has cut positions in newsrooms that would or may have prevented this from happening in the first place.

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