Compare White and Black news coverage - 9.25.2007.1

I find it interesting what has been reported yesterday and today. The news has made a big deal on an issue that you probably have seen. It’s the beating of the 13 year old boy in Norfolk, Virginia.

First things first, I do not advocate the violence this case is about. There is no reason that 6 people should beat upon one person. I don’t understand why kids today feel the need for such kinds of fights, if they must fight at all. If it takes so many to beat on one person, either that person is a real badass (a la Bruce Lee) or the attackers are punks. My opinion, like it or not, group/mob attacks are mindless and cowardly.

But there is an issue here beyond the fight. Actually several. The major news media and I will use Fox News again as I watch them predominantly, jumped on this story Monday. That was the first I saw anything on this case. Today I have noted that there is further follow up. 6 minutes of coverage occurred at 2:54pm alone.

I’ve seen the video tape and an interview with the boy several times by the point of this post. The media is being very generous in providing the view (which the boy and family promote) that this was a racial attack.

Yet it seems that this is incorrect. But before I go there, here are the apparent facts. The boy, who is white, was going to a basketball game on Saturday with his friend (who happens to be Black it was reported). Somewhere along this route they ran into the 6 boys, who range from 13-17 as reported, who then ‘suddenly’ started beating the kid. Luckily there was a friend of the boy being attacked who stood there and videotaped the altercation. Portions of that videotape are what are seen on Fox News.

So, we have a portion of a fight, showing several kids fighting one kid. The attackers are Black. And the media is making a lot of noise on this. But why is the supposed friend of the kid taping this and not helping his friend? Is this another Youtube fight that went too far? The kid was beaten, but seems to walk away from the fight without serious harm, and seemed fine when interviewed Monday. I’m not excusing the actions, just investigating the facts as the news should have done.

Why would the 6 ‘suddenly’ do this? Was it racial? Well, today the police of Norfolk have stated, on air, that this was not racial. It seems there is something that the White teenager did previously that motivated the attack. So much for the racial claims major news media jump on at first. And the presumed innocence that they implied in the coverage. That doesn’t make it right, it just points out a bias.

Now I ask this, why was the major news media so quick to cover this story and totally ignore the Jena 6 situation? Both had a white kid being beaten by several Black kids. Both were allegedly over racial issues. Both were in the South. What is the difference? Think about that, what is the difference?

Continued in part 2...