On Steubenville: When does news coverage of crime cross from public service to infotainment?

[alp227]

Last edited Mon Mar 18, 2013, 06:21 PM - Edit history (1)

Randi Rhodes just shared this infographic on Facebook that was in response to this Think Progress article that analyzed media coverage of the Steubenville High School rape case. The article gets more specific than the graphic. For ABC, TP links to an article summary of a 20/20 story about the case and criticized it for calling the trial "every parent's nightmare and a cautionary tale for teenagers living in today's digital world." Regarding another article about suspect Ma'lik Richmond, while TP considers passages such as "he was in a celebratory mood" on the party where the rape happened as an excuse for Richmond's behavior, I would disagree with TP's assessment and consider the report a factual description of what happened.

TP also criticized NBC reporter Ron Allen for framing the boys' mandatory sex offender registration around their "promising football careers"...considering that no Steubenville HS grads ever played in the NFL that kind of frame is bollocks. (Ron Allen is the same reporter who narrated the NBC story with a misleading edit of George Zimmerman's 911 call, and Zimmerman sued NBC for libel over it.)

Also criticized: the AP and USA Today for pointing out that the victim was drunk. And Yahoo News for highlighting the trial's emotional toll on Steubenville. It's debatable whether reporting that the victim was drunk perpetuates rape culture or highlights the cruelty of the boys at the party.

Looking at all these examples, I wonder: if the news media is to be a public service, how much detail and analysis should the media report on heinous criminal cases like this one, or mass shootings like Aurora/Clackamas/Newtown/etc., or those "true crimes" that are topics of the Friday night primetime shows on the networks or MSNBC weekend documentaries?

Thom Hartmann suggested that news outlets should just stop naming criminals in order to avoid inspiring copycats who want the notoriety (see below).

WKSU, a public radio station from Akron, had a more sober story about the trial verdict and a feature story with less sympathy for the boys.

[hollysmom]

1. Iwas going to say

when it includes anything about Lindsay Lohan.

[BobR]

2. When is news NOT infotainment?

Once it became a profit center, the news became infotainment, regardless of the network. The different stations may cater to different demographics, but cater they do, with the bottom line as their editorial content manager.

Sometimes, though, like this rape trial, it veers into blood porn for the leering couch voyers. That's when I have to watch Family Guy.