Too Much Coverage?

It is undoubtedly true that the media has some sort of influence in the way in which politicians act on a certain issue. One recent example I want to discuss is gun control. One of the more controversial court cases in my lifetime (in terms of gun violence) is the Trayvon Martin shooting case. There is no question that George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. What was unclear to everyone was whether or not this shooting was in fact justifiable and within the limitations of the law. The case went to court and the jury decided that George Zimmerman acted in self-defense and the shooting was in fact justifiable. What amazed me about this case is the amount of media attention it received and also how many politicians responded to the matter to give their input. 

The one politician that I want to discuss is President Obama. There are thousands of deaths each year due to gun violence, so why did Obama choose this case to speak about? The answer is quite simple: the media couldn’t stop talking about the case. I certainly understand why this story got the nation’s attention; what I do not understand is why we live in a society in which we are glued to the television to see the court discussions of people like OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, and George Zimmerman. I can understand OJ since he was a professional athlete, but the other two? Why does the media feel the need to make these people celebrities? In my opinion it ruins these peoples’ lives. Although Anthony and Zimmerman were acquitted, there are still thousands of people that want these two people dead because they believe they were wrongly convicted.

Back to Obama. Why did he feel the need to discuss this case? It is because he was in the midst of discussion on gun reform and he found a perfect story to promote his message. Watch the video here to see what he said: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHBdZWbncXI  If you look at 0:35 of the video, Obama says that he wanted to speak on this issue because it has gained a lot of media attention over the past few weeks. This statement affirms my point that the media has a strong influence on what politicians discuss in their speeches. This is obviously a very controversial issue, and one, in my opinion, that Obama should have stayed away from. It is an issue that involves the Judicial Branch, not the Executive. This speech irritates me to watch because Obama, like the media, is making this case based on race. He said that Trayvon Martin could have been him 35 years ago. This is completely unnecessary to say, because this comment only makes people angrier about the situation. Take a look at this page to see what I am talking about: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06/27/if-zimmerman-get-off-ima-go-kill-a-white-boy-trayvon-martin-supporters-make-shocking-threats-ahead-of-verdict/ . These people use social media sites to give their opinion about the case. 

Social media, mass media, and politics all go hand in hand with one another. I do, however, believe that the American people and mass media have the upper hand in determining what politicians talk about. These media sites report a story, like the Trayvon Martin case, and people immediately give their opinion on the matter without knowing all of the facts on the matter. The media then discusses this issue nearly every night on air to give people an “update” on the matter. This keeps people involved in these stories, and sometimes makes them so furious when their predicted outcome did not happen. It is as if there is a jury of 50 million people, not just 12 anymore. Once politicians hear that there is a controversial issue, they then decide to speak out on the matter. 

This immediately makes me think of the recent tragedy that happened to a KSU student. http://www.ksusentinel.com/2013/10/15/ksu-student-killed-in-road-rage-shooting/  Kimberly Kilgore was shot in the head by Sparkles Lindsey. Kilgore was white, Lindsey is black. I certainly do not immediately think this was an issue because of race, but what would the media have to say if this story got national attention? Would Obama come out and defend Kilgore while at the same time not even acknowledging Sparkles? 

I believe that the media should give more attention to our fallen troops overseas so that Obama would acknowledge their sacrifice. After all, Obama, being president, is the reason our troops are in danger overseas defending our freedom. I am not saying that Obama does not acknowledge our fallen troops or that the media doesn’t give them attention, I am saying that these men and women do not get nearly the amount of attention that people like Zimmerman and Anthony get. The media has allowed everyone in America to become a lawyer and give their legal advice and opinion about a certain issue. While social media is a great thing to have to express one’s opinion, I do not think it should be used to make violent threats to others. To conclude, I believe that the president has a lot of big responsibilities in keeping our country strong and safe; I do not believe one of his responsibilities should be discussing the legality of a case and further infuriating people by showing that he believes something was done because of race. These are the kinds of things that divide a nation.