Ethnicity & Reporting

LadyT

LadyT

JPP Modarater
Contributor
This VT massacre brought up an interesting question: do you think that reporters should bring up a suspect's ethnicity if its not intrinsic to the story. Intrinsic meaning there's a manhunt & you need a description or there was sort of hate crime involved. Is the fact that the person who perpetrated these atrocities from Korea even meaningful? Why are all of the news agencies yelling from the top of their lungs? He was here lawfully and had been since he was a pre-teen. Nothing that I've heard in any of the stories relate his being from Korea to having anything to do with the crime itself so why bother? When Columbine happened, I can't recall mainstream media constantly referring to them as "white" or caucassion males?
 
LadyT said:
This VT massacre brought up an interesting question: do you think that reporters should bring up a suspect's ethnicity if its not intrinsic to the story. Intrinsic meaning there's a manhunt & you need a description or there was sort of hate crime involved. Is the fact that the person who perpetrated these atrocities from Korea even meaningful? Why are all of the news agencies yelling from the top of their lungs? He was here lawfully and had been since he was a pre-teen. Nothing that I've heard in any of the stories relate his being from Korea to having anything to do with the crime itself so why bother? When Columbine happened, I can't recall mainstream media constantly referring to them as "white" or caucassion males?
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Because they first proposed, due to profiling cases, that it would be a young white guy. Statistically they were likely to be correct, but this time they are not.

Shoot at the beginning I even heard reports that they were looking for a white guy with stringy hair driving a pickup. It seemed so stereotypical that I wasn't even shocked.
 
Thats a good point. It may be good to do so to combat stereotypes. I was guilty of stereotyping and knowing the truth has taught me a lesson.

Next time someone goes on a shooting range the image in my mind is just going to be just a silohetted figure.
 
LadyT said:
I don't think so either. I think it only proves to "Other" and in some ways objectifies him. Oh look, "an" asian kid this. I've yet to see any relevance to his nationality in anything I've read.
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Like I said, the only relevance to race at all is due to the mistaken report early on that they were looking for a white kid. The report shoudln't even have included that as no cop there had any such report of a search for a suspect...

Otherwise, I agree, any report shouldn't focus on that other than the student visa angle that I heard of at the beginning.
 
Damocles said:
Because they first proposed, due to profiling cases, that it would be a young white guy. Statistically they were likely to be correct, but this time they are not.

Shoot at the beginning I even heard reports that they were looking for a white guy with stringy hair driving a pickup. It seemed so stereotypical that I wasn't even shocked.
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Well, in my opinion, a white guy driving around in a pick up truck with stringy hair, should be picked up for questioning, whether they are looking for him or not.
 
Damocles said:
Because they first proposed, due to profiling cases, that it would be a young white guy. Statistically they were likely to be correct, but this time they are not.

Shoot at the beginning I even heard reports that they were looking for a white guy with stringy hair driving a pickup. It seemed so stereotypical that I wasn't even shocked.
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If they mention in the story, then it becomes relevant.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18148802/

"A 23-year-old senior from South Korea whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school’s counseling service was behind the massacre of 30 people locked inside a university classroom building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university said Tuesday."

They don't here. So why is it even brought up?
 
What about Ethics and reporting ?

a CNN reporter dressed like a DR and slipped into the hospital at Blacksburg to interview injured persons and their families.....
Slimey bassid.
 
LadyT said:
If they mention in the story, then it becomes relevant.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18148802/

"A 23-year-old senior from South Korea whose creative writing was so disturbing that he was referred to the school’s counseling service was behind the massacre of 30 people locked inside a university classroom building in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, the university said Tuesday."

They don't here. So why is it even brought up?
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Well, one thing is, that i think you will see an insatiable appetite for any details about him and his life. That is naturally going to include where he is from. I mean, it will be like the Anna Nicole Smith thing before it is all over, and we will know everything about this guy. And I think the same would happen if he were white.

But, probably, were he white we wouldn't see "a 23 year old senior, and white man, whose creative writing..."

I do think the initial reports, of his only being in this country a short time, if they had proved correct, would have been relevant for several different reasons though.
 
Darla said:
But, probably, were he white we wouldn't see "a 23 year old senior, and white man, whose creative writing..."
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I have no doubts about that. But what annoys me is when the media needlessly mentions a person's religion and/or ethnicity and it usually has no relevence to the story.
 
The media is only interested in shock and scandal value. Not truth.
It is all about money and profit, not truth. Truth is a poor seller.
 
LadyT said:
This VT massacre brought up an interesting question: do you think that reporters should bring up a suspect's ethnicity if its not intrinsic to the story. Intrinsic meaning there's a manhunt & you need a description or there was sort of hate crime involved. Is the fact that the person who perpetrated these atrocities from Korea even meaningful? Why are all of the news agencies yelling from the top of their lungs? He was here lawfully and had been since he was a pre-teen. Nothing that I've heard in any of the stories relate his being from Korea to having anything to do with the crime itself so why bother? When Columbine happened, I can't recall mainstream media constantly referring to them as "white" or caucassion males?
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Good point. This has always bugged me. Unless there's some value in knowing the physical description of a person, why bring up skin-color? Or ethnicity? For that matter, why don't we ever make a big deal out of hair color, or eye color, to the same extent we do about skin color.

I remember when I lived in Texas, many people were obsessed about skin color. Whenever they were refering to something some colored man did, it was always "This black man did such and such". Even if knowledge of the dudes skin color had nothing to do with the story or anecdote. Even if it was a positive, or innocous, story or anecdote. Didn't matter. If it was a black dude, skin color always came up in the telling of the story.
 
Cypress said:
Good point. This has always bugged me. Unless there's some value in knowing the physical description of a person, why bring up skin-color? Or ethnicity? For that matter, why don't we ever make a big deal out of hair color, or eye color, to the same extent we do about skin color.

I remember when I lived in Texas, many people were obsessed about skin color. Whenever they were refering to something some colored man did, it was always "This black man did such and such". Even if knowledge of the dudes skin color had nothing to do with the story or anecdote. Even if it was a positive, or innocous, story or anecdote. Didn't matter. If it was a black dude, skin color always came up in the telling of the story.
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That's my point exactly. Its irrelevant, so why does it lead the story?
 
Not sure I fully understand that LadyT.
I think Bush is scummy slime, but still try to impartially analyze his speeches and such....
If there is a He** I am sure Bush will wind up there.
 
It should be reported.
The racist need something to get all riled up about. GEEZ!!!
Never mind it's frequently a white guy ex-military.

they never say "those damm white guy's"

Cracker ass cracker:shock:
 
Just proves Rascism is alive an well....

Not necessarily more like racialism. Which is something we need to work on as well.
 
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