Thursday, July 22, 2004

Quick Link 9/11 Commission: Media Ignored Terrorism Editor & Publisher has a short article on the 9/11 Commission's media critique. According to the Commission, journalists didn't provide much pre- 9/11 coverage on rising terrorism concerns. In other words, none of our institutions worked.   11:07:18 PM     comment []

If they know it's wrong, why do they keep doing it? The good news: media organizations are more self-critical today than they have ever been. The bad news: organizations keep doing things they identify as bad. Case in point: blanket coverage of missing persons who are young, female, and white. It's not that these missing persons cases should be ignored ( though the coverage in the Laci Peterson case has been over the top). News organizations give far less attention when the victim is a person of color.  The discrepancy should be more than just a talking point by now. But for what it's worth, MSNBC's Alex Johnson takes up the issue: Two bright, ambitious students at the main state university disappear in the same town, under similar circumstances. One of them becomes "an inescapable name and face," in the words of The Greenville News. The other is largely forgotten. No one can say why with absolute certainty. But there is one unavoidable difference between the two cases: Dail Dinwiddie is a white woman. Shelton Sanders is a black man. For more..   12:21:22 PM     comment []

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