Since June 10, CNN has carried one story above all others: The trial of self-appointed “neighborhood watchman” George Zimmerman for the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
On CNN, especially, the coverage of this trial has been overwhelming.
So much so that CNN–Cable News Network–could rightly be called TNN–Trayvon News Network.
There are several reasons for this, and they say as much–if not more–about the media as they do about the case itself.
First, there was a dead body in the story–the body of Travon Martin. There’s a well-known saying in the news business: “If it bleeds, it leads.” And nothing bleeds like the body of a dead teenager.
Second, the victim was not only dead, he was black.
Third, he died at the hands of a nominally-white man–George Zimmerman, the offspring of a German father and a Peruvian mother.
Although the vast majority of blacks in the United States are murdered by other blacks, it’s Politically Incorrect to say so. On the other hand, it’s perfectly OK to create the impression that whites pose the greatest danger to blacks.
George Zimmerman
Fourth, the trial was televised. There was absolutely no need for this. It didn’t threaten to overturn existing law–as did Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Supreme Court struck down “separate but equal” public schools for blacks and whites.
This case proved the opening legal salvo in the history of the civil rights movement and ushered in a decade of activism and bloodshed as blacks sought to de-segregate the South.
Nor did the Zimmerman case even carry the weight of the 1985-6 Mafia Commission trial. There Federal prosecutors convicted the heads of the five most powerful Mafia “families” in the country and sent them to prison.
While individual Mafiosi had been sent to prison, this was the first time the top leadership of all major Mafia “families” had been virtually wiped out.
It signaled a turning point in the fight against organized crime, with Federal investigators and prosecutors finally learning how to use the 10-year-old Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act to their advantage.
Fifth, televising the trial meant the networks–especially CNN–didn’t have to do anything. They didn’t have to send reporters into the streets to dig up information. All that was necessary was to let the camera show what was happening in the courtroom.
Sixth, when each day’s televised proceedings came to an end, CNN and other networks could easily round up a series of “talking heads” to pontificate on the meaning of it all.
These people had no more idea than the average viewer of what impact–if any–that day’s events would have on the legal fate of George Zimmerman.
But it gave CNN a chance to use up airtime that could have otherwise gone on stories like the national debt, Detroit declaring bankruptcy and the Supreme Court rejecting an Arizona law requiring voters to prove their citizenship.
Seventh, the networks could count on a controversial outcome no matter what the verdict.
If Zimmerman were convicted, his white supporters would be outraged and his black detractors overjoyed. And if Zimmerman were acquitted–which is what actually happened–then the opposite reactions would occur.
Either way, there was certain to be angry demonstrators in the street. For the networks this would hopefully include a full replay of the race riots which shook the nation following the police beating of Rodney King in 1992 and the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968.
Eighth, if rioting erupted, CNN and other networks would rush news cameras to the scenes of carnage and claim they were doing this “in the finest traditions of journalism” to keep the public fully informed.
In reality, they would be doing it to keep their ratings up.
If any of this seems familiar, it’s because–unfortunately–it is.
The 1995 O.J. Simpson trial set the standard for televised murder trials.
It came complete with a weak-kneed judge (Lance Ito), incompetent prosecutors (Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark), bizarre witnesses (Kato Kaelin) and grandstanding defense attorneys (Johnnie Cochran, F. Lee Bailey and Robert Kardashian).
The case seemed to go on forever. The primary jury was sworn in on November 2, 1994. Opening statements began on January 24, 1995, and the trial dragged on until a “Not Guilty” verdict came on October 3, 1995
For those who enjoy wallowing in sensationalism, the case offered everything:
- Interracial marriage;
- A famous has-been football player;
- Sexually-charged domestic abuse (in this case, black-on-white/male-on-female violence);
- A dead, beautiful blonde;
- Two grisly murders (those of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole, and a waiter-friend of hers, Ronald Goldman);
- Allegations by Simpson’s lawyers that he was the target of white, racist police.
Since then, television networks have repeatedly sought stories that promise to deliver the thrills–if not actual news value–of the Simpson case.
The George Zimmerman trial didn’t offer the ratings voltage of the Simpson one. But the networks did their best to make it happen.
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THUGS ON BIKES
In Bureaucracy, Politics, Social commentary on July 24, 2013 at 12:00 amSan Bruno resident Sutchi Hui, 71, was visiting San Francisco when Death found him-–just before 8 a.m. on March 29, 2012.
No doubt he felt safe before he died. After all, he was walking through a crosswalk in the affluent Castro District, one of the city’s safest areas.
And it was there that bicyclist Chris Bucchere plowed into him.
Bucchere, a software engineer, was also hospitalized for injuries in the crash. Later that day, he posted his thoughts about the accident to the Mission Cycling AM Riders Google group.
“I was already way too committed to stop. The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions….so, in a nutshell, blammo.
“I couldn’t see a line through the crowd and I couldn’t stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find.”
Bucchere said he lost consciousness and awoke five minutes later. Someone told him that a 71-year-old injured pedestrian had been taken to the hospital.
“I remember seeing a RIVER of blood on the asphalt, but it wasn’t mine,” Bucchere wrote. “I really hope he ends up OK.”
Bucchere dedicated the post to his helmet, which “died in heroic fashion today as my head slammed into the tarmac…. May she die knowing that because she committed the ultimate sacrifice, her rider can live on and ride on. Can I get an amen? Amen.”
An “amen” would also be in order for the cause of justice.
Although prosecuted by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, what Bucchere got was the following sentence: Three years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service. He would not serve any jail time.
He might as well have posted that because his helmet made “the ultimate sacrifice, her rider can live on and ride on–and kill on.”
The District Attorney’s office–which has one of the worst conviction records in the country–lost no time in congratulating itself.
“Our goal is to send a message to cyclists about safety,” D.A. George Gascon said. “Just because you are riding a bicycle doesn’t mean all bets are off. All of the rules of the road that apply to everyone else apply to you, too.”
Gascon said Hui’s family did not want to see Bucchere imprisoned. Since prosecutors didn’t expect a judge to sentence him to jail, they offered probation and community service in the plea deal.
That’s what the life of a pedestrian is worth in San Francisco.
In July, 2011, bicyclist Randolph Ang, 23, ran a red light on the Embarcadero–and slammed into 68-year-old Dionette Cherney. She later died of her injuries.
In March, 2012, Ang pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter, as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Ang faced up to a year in county jail, but a judge sentenced him to three years’ probation and 500 hours of community service, and ordered him to pay $15,375 in restitution to the Cherney family.
According to the website of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition:
“Pedestrians Always Have the Right of Way. In the crosswalk or not, bike riders and drivers are required to yield to pedestrians.”
“Stay on the Streets. It’s illegal and unsafe to ride on the sidewalk if you are over the age of 13.”
So much for the official version.
In reality, pedestrians risk their lives whenever they use the sidewalk–especially on tourist-crowded Market Street.
And what role do police play in enforcing the bike laws? None.
At best, a San Francisco cop might stop an law-breaking bicyclist and give him a citation. This amounts to a bicycle traffic ticket. The bike isn’t confiscated.
Most cops patrol in patrol cars. If they see a bicyclist whizzing down a sidewalk, they aren’t going to cut him off and slap handcuffs on him.
If police show no interest in protecting pedestrians, it’s largely because the Mayor and Board of Supervisors clearly favor the rights of law-breaking bicyclists over those of law-abiding pedestrians and drivers.
The greatest proof of this comes on the last Friday of every month. It’s called Critical Mass.
In this event, hundreds of bicyclists deliberately–at the height of evening rush hour–overwhelm the streets of downtown San Francisco, bringing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to a halt.
Founded in 1992 in San Francisco, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formally stated but nevertheless clear: To protest against those who use cars and public transit–and intimidate their riders and pedestrians alike.
Critical Mass riders often use a tactic known as “corking” to maintain the cohesion of the group: A few riders block traffic from side roads so that the mass can race through red lights without interruption.
Cars, buses and pedestrians are expected to wait patiently for however long these self-indulgent thugs-on-bikes flood the streets.
In March, 2010, reports in local media claimed that then-Police Chief George Gascon was considering shutting down Critical Mass.
Three years later, the bike-thuggies continue to tie up traffic and threaten the safety of any pedestrians stupid enough to think they have a legal right to stroll sidewalks and cross streets.
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