Trayvon Martin, Social Media and the Duke Lacrosse Case
Seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin’s persona is changing before our eyes. In early news accounts, he was portrayed as a Skittle-eating kid who was healthy and well-adjusted, and news consumers knew him by this sweet-faced photo:
Trayvon Martin
With news outlets and blogs digging into Martin’s short life, news reports say that social media is providing another persona, one of a tough teen with shady connections. The photo that accompanies this new persona is reportedly from Martin’s online life:
So: Does Martin’s social media persona matter? Does it tell us anything factual and concrete? What about its effect on a potential jury; should the news media consider that scenario?
What about reports that Martin was suspended three times from high school? Does that matter to this story?
This evolving story has the potential to be another Duke Lacrosse case (Ch. 3, “Perilous Assumptions”), in which the news media, short on information but long on stereotypes and schemas, reported slanted stories. In the Duke case, lacrosse players at Duke University were accused of raping a dancer invited to a players’ house party. The dancer was black. The players were white–and all but declared guilty in the news media. But they were innocent, as it turned out.
When there is a vacuum of information, suggestions and assumptions based on character sometimes fill in for facts and evidence.
In the Martin case, what matters is what happened between Martin and George Zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watch captain who shot the unarmed Martin in the chest at close range on Feb. 26. Details are also emerging about the character of Zimmerman, who is part Hispanic. One news account describes Zimmerman as a “frustrated cop wannabe.”
The story is still very much in flux. Law enforcement officials are investigating whether or not Zimmerman acted in self defense. They are also trying to decipher whether Zimmerman used a racial epithet on the 911 call. As in the Duke case, the official decisions made in the investigation are the real story. After all, in the Duke Case, the district attorney who prosecuted the players ended up being disbarred for unethical conduct in his handling of the case. What, if anything, can journalists learn from the experience in the Duke case that also matters in the Martin case?
In this case, what does it mean to focus on the evidence, not the innuendos?
Other questions to consider: How should journalists report on the protests occurring nationwide calling for justice to be done in this case? Florida’s seven-year-old “Stand Your Ground” law removes a person’s duty to retreat when threatened with seriously bodily harm or death; is justice done if that is repealed? Is justice done if Zimmerman is arrested and charged? Is justice done only if Zimmerman is found guilty?
These questions provide the opportunity for journalists to report the story in a 360-degree manner (see Ch. 5 on the Rashomon Technique), interviewing citizens from all walks of life about what this case symbolizes to them, about race relations in America and about what justice means.
The Duke lacrosse case taught the news media and news consumers alike not to try to fit stories into ready-made molds. It’s unclear what the Martin story is as yet, but let’s not relive past mistakes.
Critical Questions About the Trayvon Martin Coverage
Trayvon Martin
The News:
On February 26, George Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watchman, saw Trayvon Martin walking home from a 7-11 convenience store carrying Skittles and iced tea. Martin, 17, was talking on his cell phone to a friend. Zimmerman called 911 and told the dispatcher he was following someone “suspicious.” Despite being told by the 911 dispatcher not to follow Martin, Zimmerman pursued him. The two briefly struggled, and Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest and killed him.
The coverage of the Trayvon Martin story continues to get more sophisticated and nuanced as the story develops. Below are some issues. I’ll add postings as the story inevitably unfolds.
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Language and Word Choice. The Poynter Institute’s Mallary Jean Tenore wrote a useful column about how to cover the Trayvon Martin killing. In her column, Tenore quotes Dori Maynard, president of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (which devised The Fault Lines of Ch. 1):
“I think the coded language masks some lack of in-depth understanding of the issues,” said Dori Maynard . . . “When I hear ‘there are racial tensions,’ a.) I don’t know what that means, b.) I don’t know why there are tensions.”
“Tensions,” she pointed out, is a nebulous word.
“It tells me that people who don’t share the same ethnic or racial background are at odds with each other, but really? All of them are?” Maynard said by phone. “There’s too much room for fill in the blank. I think as audience members, all of us are going to fill in the blank differently.”
Maynard’s probing questions highlight the danger of euphemisms (which are discussed at length in Ch. 8), and how they allow both source and reporter to hide behind generalizations, imprecise language and word choices loaded with double meanings and suggestions.
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The Hoodie. Another significant discussion relating to the Martin coverage involves news reports that mention what Martin was wearing when he was shot by George Zimmerman, who says he shot an unarmed Martin in self defense while he was on neighborhood watch patrol.
A black youth wearing a hoodie has taken on meaning that cuts to the stereotyping power of schemas (Ch. 2) and the limits of undisciplined observation (ch. 7). We see what we expect to see. That is, a kid wearing a hoodie, particularly a black kid, has got to be up to no good, the assumption goes.
The Washington Post story about perceptions of hoodies provides an important opportunity to talk in a classroom or newsroom about how to handle descriptions of individuals involved in crimes — whether victim, as Martin was, or perpetrator. This includes attire as well as skin color.
Some in the news media, such as Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera, suggested that Martin’s hoodie was responsible for his killing.
Take time in class or the newsroom to discuss the cultural differences when it comes to attire and what certain clothes symbolize or communicate to those in the culture and those outside it.
* Should it matter what people outside a given culture or group perceive as the subtext of attire such as a hoodie?
* Are there other examples of clothing-as-codespeak for “they had it coming” — such as when a rape victim’s attire is described in detail, particularly if it included a scant mini skirt or low-cut halter top?
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Race and Mental Constructs.
A column by Phillip Atiba Goff is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at UCLA and Executive Director of Research for the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity notes that our thinking is heavily influenced by race and ethnicity. Writes Goff:
“Our challenge now is to make that fact history as we have with so much of our bigoted past. Our challenge is not to run from race in our minds. Ignoring the work that remains to be done risks overlooking that Black males’ terror of inspiring fear is justified — unlike the fear that many Black males too often inspire.”
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NPR story on black girls and obesity: Cries of Racist Coverage Miss the Evidence
The recent story by Taunya English of WHYY on National Public Radio examined the problem of obesity in African American girls.
NPR website photo accompanying story on black girls and obesity
English began her story by noting that Americans in general are fighting the obesity epidemic, but the problem is particularly evident in black women. It stated that the weight gain begins in youth; “among all children, black girls are most likely to report they got no physical activity in the past week,” English reported.
The story by English, a health reporter for WHYY in Philadelphia, ran on NPR as part of a year-long project in which NPR editors and Kaiser Health News train reporters from local public radio stations throughout the U.S.
The listener comments were critical of the coverage, as noted by NPR ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos in his column on the story:
“I was once again appalled to hear about an issue that has nothing to do with race framed in a racial context,” wrote Carolyn Casey, of Boston, MA.
Listener Kwende Madu commented: “I would ask that NPR refrain from publishing stories that concern the African-American community as this only gives racist elements an excuse to vent their hatred.”
But here is where evidence-based reporting enters. Overcoming Bias‘ chapter 7 explores biases in judgment and how factual reporting can help combat any inclination toward prejudicial coverage, intended or not.
English’s report wasn’t borne of prejudice, it was rooted in evidence: She cited research that found that about half of African-American women in the U.S. are obese, compared to 30 percent of white women. The problem is more prevalent for blacks than whites, and the reasons are certainly worth exploring and airing. That’s a legitimate story to tell.
NPR story: “For Black Girls, Lack of Exercise Heightens Obesity Risk”
Video Interview: Award-Winning Reporters on Anecdotes, Accountability and Avoiding Assumptions
Gary Marx is an award-winning reporter at the Chicago Tribune, where he is currently an investigative reporter covering criminal justice issues. David Jackson, also an award-winning reporter at the Chicago Tribune, is a specialist reporter. The two sat down to talk with me in Jackson’s cubicle in the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue. In this 4:15-long edited video interview, they discuss anecdotal leads, the importance of journalism to democracy, why accountability matters and how to avoid allowing assumptions to dictate your reporting.
Manship School’s Media Diversity Forum includes “Overcoming Bias”
http://www.mediadiversityforum.lsu.edu/articles_reports.html
Thanks to the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, which currently is showcasing “Overcoming Bias: A Journalist’s Guide to Culture and Context” on its Media Diversity Forum website homepage and under the site’s “Diversity Articles/Reports” tab. As the website states, “The Forum on Media Diversity is designed to serve inclusiveness by seeking resources, supporting research, stimulating dialogue, sponsoring programs and sharing techniques.” The forum’s mission of serving inclusiveness is exactly what “Overcoming Bias” is about. So much good content is on the Forum website. Truly worth taking time to check out.
Determining Cause: The Case of a Racecar Driver’s Death
Perspective comes into play when journalists seek to determine the cause of news events. Attribution is the cognitive term for how people seek to explain the causes of behaviors and events.
Here’s a news story that showcases the concepts of perspective and attribution: Race car driver Dan Wheldon, an Indy 500 champion, died in October, 2011, when his car crashed during a race in Las Vegas that was heavily promoted by the chief executive of IndyCar racing.
Randy Bernard’s crowd-seeking ploy for this heavily-promoted event was to have Wheldon purposely start in last position and still be first across the finish line. His car crashed before finishing the race.
Read the story in the New York Times about Bernard and his efforts to create more exciting races to lure fans to the track.
As you read the story, think about the concept of attribution and the assignation of cause in this news event:
* What was the reporter’s angle on this story?
* Who is the focus of the story?
* What does the focus of the story tell you about the ultimate cause of the crash?
*How does the reporting support the assignation of cause to a man who wasn’t even in a car racing at the time of the crash?
The story never states that any one person or decision was responsible for the crash. Why is this the case? Is it possible to ever conclusively assign blame for this driver’s death? What moral, legal or economic reasons might there be to assign blame in this case?
Imagine for a moment that the story were written instead from the perspective of a professional race car driver looking to help improve the promotions and image of racing as the sport faces declining crowds and fan interest. How might the story’s focus change? How might this different perspective influence the possible explanations for the crash and Wheaton’s death?
For more on the topic of Attribution, see Overcoming Bias, “Attribution and Editing Without Bias,” Chapter 9 (p.159).
Critique Opportunity: Disability Coverage
Here’s a quick opportunity to think about local coverage of people with disabilities. The issue at hand: The balancing act of avoiding patronizing or awestruck coverage of a person with a disability versus appropriately telling the life story of a person who happens to have a disability.
The link to the story is here.
The feature is part of a news outlet’s coverage of the local university’s winter graduation. It’s typical for a news outlet to seek out interesting or stand-out students to humanize the masses of students graduating at a large university.
It’s useful to familiarize yourself with the guidelines for covering people with disabilities in the online Resources for Chapter 8 on Words and Tone.
With those guidelines in mind, consider these questions:
* Is this a story about a promising student who is graduating or a student with a disability?
* Rynita McGuire, the subject of this feature story, states toward the end of the piece that: “I didn’t want people to think I was good for a girl in a wheelchair, I wanted people to think I was good.” Her mother is quoted as saying: “She doesn’t feel like she is handicapped.” Given such comments, should a journalist cover McGuire’s budding career as an artist at all?
* Would McGuire elicit coverage if she were not handicapped?
* Is there benefit to adding more information in general about McGuire’s life at the university? What would the effect of adding more information about McGuire’s life in general have on the overall focus of the story? On the news value of the story?
* McGuire is a strong voice in this feature, with many direct quotes; what is the effect of those editorial decisions by the author?
Welcome to the Overcoming Bias Site
This is the website for Overcoming Bias: A Journalist’s Guide to Culture and Context. The site’s instructional content is divided by chapter, and within each chapter there are exercises, videos, readings and field assignments organized by topics. On this home page, I’ll post blog entries exploring the principles outlined in my book, especially as examples arise in daily news coverage. Please feel free to contact me with ideas or leads anytime via the “Contact Author” link above. Thank you for your interest.
Overcoming Bias will teach readers to edit their thinking for habitual errors, making them more perceptive journalists. It provides a career-long foundation for challenging bias. Find more information at hh-pub.com.
Overcoming Bias- Trayvon Martin, Social Media and the Duke Lacrosse Case
- Critical Questions About the Trayvon Martin Coverage
- NPR story on black girls and obesity: Cries of Racist Coverage Miss the Evidence
- Video Interview: Award-Winning Reporters on Anecdotes, Accountability and Avoiding Assumptions
- Manship School’s Media Diversity Forum includes “Overcoming Bias”