Recently, there was a killing, actually two killings, well lets go back to the begining, three. Out of these three killings, two were related. The ironic part is that I strangely have some loose connectivity to two out of three of them-- but lets get this straght---- I had nothing to do with it-- or did I? Here is the story about the Hegemonic Discouse of Media--
I call it -- well/// Prefect Strangers
As I write this op ed piece, wondering if it will be printed, I wonder in hindsight about the tragic murders of Eve Carson and Mahato and the people that society seems to have forgotten, the Atwaters and Lovettes of the world. I wonder if this will be published because this op ed piece undoubtedly will go against the grain, particularly that of the dominant discourse. As many of you, I was stunned by the deaths of both victims. Like many African Americans in the city of Durham, in the back of my mind, I was saying, “Please don’t let any Black folk be involved.” However, two African American men were linked to the Carson death and Lovette was additionally linked to the Mahatto death. Needless to say, this rocked me on a plethora of levels. One, I am an African American man who frequents Durham and Chapel Hill. Two, as a critic of media and one who teaches mass communications at Shaw University, I felt inundated by the press coverage of this story. Finally, and possibly the most gut wrenching aspect for me was that I knew the Lovette family extremely well. So when my wife told me about the police standoff on Lakewood and said the last name Lovette, I nearly broke an ankle to get to the TV.
Without question, the following days, left me dumbstruck, so much to the point where I had to release my classes early. Here it is, I had zero knowledge of Eve Carson, yet I was six degrees of separation from her death as well as Mahatto and for some reason, I felt guilty. Talking with my immediate family, my therapist, my close friends even my bartender failed to help. For me, therapy comes from writing and critically thinking. In doing so, I believe I have begun to heal and make some peace with myself as well as the frustration I feel which now can be constructively articulated.
As a grown up, I have come to understand the world through stimulus, response, actions, reactions and of course, consequences. I don’t know nor can even begin to fathom what the circumstances were which placed Lovette and Attwater in the incriminating photographs seen across the country. That said, I can idealistically say that every person charged with a crime is considered innocent until they are proven guilty, at least I would like to believe it. From my media sense, the press coverage of this story, regrettably has presumed guilt of these two men while defying Carson and placing Mahatto as distant second. If I am not mistaken, when an NCCU female student was killed and found on I 540 earlier this year, that press coverage lasted for only three days while the Carson case lasted for roughly three weeks, with a televised memorial on all three local stations . At the risk of conjecture, the press is placing a higher value on the life of White victims over those who are not. In fact, the Carson case supports the theory of the Missing White Woman Syndrome. According to Sheri Parks, a professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, she states “pretty, white damsels in distress draw viewers; missing women who are black, Latino, Asian, old, fat, or ugly do not.” At the risk of being frank, with all due respect, many of us would not have know of Eve Carson were she not a murder victim. It just so happens that she is the emblematic “white woman.” If we flip the script, and turn to the coverage of Lovette and Attwater, all the signs are evident which presumes their guilt by the press. There was the classic police mug shot, the typical perp walk in which both suspects were paraded in front of the television cameras, one of which was limping with a deep laceration on his cheek, and of course, their first appearance in the jailhouse attire, the orange jumpsuits. Sociology teaches us that we live in a world of Frames of Reference. If we allow these frames of reference to continue to circulate in our mind, vis-à-vis the media, they in turn will construct how we perceive reality. If one goes further on this line of thinking, these perceptions of reality equate what Sociology Professor at the London School of Economics Stanley Cohen, coins as Moral Panics. In short this boils down to a reaction by a group of people based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group, frequently a minority group or a subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society.
To be quite blunt, I have no wish to be associated with a moral panic. But when we have “the fourth estate” which that demonizes one sect of society and defies another coupled with a judicial system that has a convenient blind eye and a deaf ear on the marginalized portions of its city calling for gang intervention only when it is only when a member of the elite becomes a victim, to me that represents disparity and social inequity at the heart of two major structures in our city. To me, that’s gang banging at an entirely different level. The real gang problem starts and stops with those who are in power to make policy. Hopefully, our objective media will shine a light on the gang bangers who are elected.
Response from Durham Heraldsun
From: Ron Landfried [mailto:rlandfried@heraldsun.com]Sent: Wed 3/26/2008 5:16 PMTo: Robinson, William RussellCc: Bob AshleySubject: RE: Eve Carson Op Ed Piece
Mr. Robinson,
I appreciate your sending this op-ed piece, but I regret to say wewon't be able to use it. We have limited space for op-ed pieces, andalthough we do appreciate your sending it, we have to be selective aboutwhat gets printed. I've discussed it with editor Bob Ashley, and we agreed that it mightwork well as a letter to the editor, which is 250 words. We wouldwelcome receiving a letter from you on this topic.
Thanks again, Ron LandfriedEditorial page editor-----Original Message-----From: Robinson, William Russell [mailto:wrrobinson@SHAWU.EDU]Posted At: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 2:58 PMPosted To: LettersConversation: Eve Carson Op Ed PieceSubject: Eve Carson Op Ed PieceGreetings:For your consideration, I have prepared a manuscript-- well an op edpiece regarding the news coverage of the eve carson story. Now I am nota true editoralist however, every time I have tried to submit a piece tothe other voices section as a guest editoralist, it never gets printed.I don't know what the policy is but I would really appreciate it if youcould work with me to make sure this gets prinited. If you need me for further clarfication you may feel free to contact me
Thank you so much for the prompt response. I have been on spring break for most of the week and actually starting to wrap up some assignments. That said, I would love to meet with you at your availability. I know you are very busy and I certianly appreciate the privialge of being able to chat with you both. If you can, please let me know some times and days and I can adjust my schedule.
Many thanks.
Russell
-----Original Message-----From: BLeffler@wncn.com [mailto:BLeffler@wncn.com]Sent: Wed 3/26/2008 12:18 PMTo: Robinson, William RussellCc: knight3k@gmail.com; NWilson@wncn.comSubject: RE: News Coverage of Eve Carson Questions
Hello Mr. Robinson-As you can imagine, the coverage of the Eve Carson story presented allsorts of challenges, debates and conversations for our newsroom folks.If you are available in the next week or so, I'd like to invite you tothe station to meet with me and our News Director, Nannette Wilson, todiscuss your questions. Please let me know some dates that are good for you and we'll see if wecan find a match with our schedules.Thanks,Barry
From: Robinson, William Russell [mailto:wrrobinson@SHAWU.EDU]Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 6:55 PMTo: Leffler, Barry M.Cc: knight3k@gmail.comSubject: News Coverage of Eve Carson QuestionsGood Afternoon/Morning Mr. Leffler:I was writing to take you up on your offer (so to speak) and ask somequestions of you and possibly to your news editorial staff regarding thecoverage of the Eve Carson case. By now, it appears as though the storyhas crested to some degree and hopefully I and others who are inmedia/mass communications research/academe can take a moment to debriefmake some sense of the press coverage of this tragic incident. My wifewho is a professor at NCCU made an interesting observation in the sensethat coverage surrounding this case seemed to be a bit overwhelming incomparison to the NCCU student who was killed and found on I-540 earlierthis year. Other than the obvious, the racial binary, the stories weretreated differently, almost as though they were framed through adifferent lens. The murder of the central student seemed as though thisappeared to be a common occurrence where as the UNC student raised causefor alarm. Its almost as though the coverage was polarized where thesuspects were seen constantly either in cuffs or jailhouse attire andEve Carson was defied. In one of my classes, I've learned of theconcept called Moral Panic where groups who represent the minority aredepicted as being deviant and amoral to the larger majority. At therisk of putting myself out there so to speak, I knew Laurence LovetteSr. and I watched his son as a child and no where during that time whenI saw him playing with Power Rangers and Spiderman did I see the wordmonster written on his forehead. I saw a typical kid. Unfortunately,when his father passed, while his mom was running her in house day care,the systems which should have been there to embrace the family in turnfailed on many levels. Pardon me for editorializing, but I've beenwrestling with this issue for now three weeks. Getting back to myissue, that of press coverage what methods do you incorporate that makesure balance is achieved in your reporting of time/emotionally sensitivestories? How do you go about breaking the traditional patterns ofraced based news stories? Again, at the risk of editorializing-but moreso to emphasize my point, it seems to me, (maybe I could be wrong) thatpeople who are not of the model minority status in this city,regrettably are looked upon as being problems by society. As aprofessor of mass communications and a student of media studies, I teachmy students the power of the business they wish to enter while beingcareful of the observations I make studying the fascinating disciplineof media. Undeniably it has the power to shed light, destroy andcreate, in some cases hope. What do I tell my students, even my ownson, when they see how certain lives are portrayed in a glowing lightwhile others, (who incidentally look like them on the surface) are justfodder for the industry? Thank you for your time and be well.
