Aleppo gaffe hinders Johnson campaign

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Daniel Lloveras

By DANIEL LLOVERAS

In an election year with two major party candidates who have historically high disapproval ratings, Libertarian Gary Johnson sees an opportunity to send a third party to the White House.

As Johnson, who appeals particularly to young voters, has climbed to nearly 10 percent in national polls, the news media have been hesitant to give much attention to his campaign. Instead, news organizations have focused on issues that Americans are all too familiar with, such as Hillary Clinton’s e-mails and Donald Trump’s insults.

However, Johnson received a significant amount of coverage last week after an MSNBC interview during which he expressed his unfamiliarity with Aleppo, a war-torn Syrian city.

Johnson was chastised by several news organizations, including The New York Times, for his lack of foreign policy knowledge.

Criticism for the Aleppo gaffe was arguably the most attention the Johnson campaign has received from the news media.

The tendency of news organizations to focus coverage on the two major party candidates has made it difficult for the Johnson campaign to garner positive attention.

For Johnson, participation in the presidential debates would provide the perfect opportunity to receive good publicity and attract voters.

The Aleppo gaffe was a major setback for Johnson, who must average at least 15 percent in national polls to participate in the debates. With the first debate coming up on Sept. 26, Johnson must quickly recover from his error if he hopes to be a major contender come election day.

NCAA to relocate North Carolina events

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Madison Brown

By MADISON BROWN

The NCAA announced Monday that it will relocate all of the seven scheduled championship events from North Carolina due to the state’s controversial transgender bathroom law that prohibits citizens from using bathrooms that match a gender other than what is listed on their birth certificates.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory passed the law, known as House Bill 2, in March.

The NCAA’s relocation announcement will affect the Division I men’s basketball tournament, commonly referred to as March Madness, in which six games were scheduled to occur in Greensboro, N.C., this coming March.

“We believe in providing a safe and respectful environment at our events and are committed to providing the best experience possible for college athletes, fans and everyone taking part in our championships,” Mark Emmert, NCAA president, said regarding the decision.

The NCAA has not yet announced where the relocated games will be played.

According to The New York Times, an NCAA spokesman said that North Carolina is the state which has hosted the most men’s basketball tournament games. This makes the relocation decision even more significant.

McCrory has faced harsh backlash from the media and the public since signing House Bill 2, and the NCAA’s recent decision is only making it worse.

Chris Sgro, Equality North Carolina executive director and a Democrat in the North Carolina House of Representatives, has been an outspoken adversary of House Bill 2 and Governor McCrory.

Sgro took to Twitter to express his frustration after the NCAA’s announcement.

Sgro is not the only one upset by the governor’s stance on LGBTQ rights and the NCAA’s feelings on the issue are not helping his popularity.

NBA’s Iverson changed the norm

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Zachary Stubblefield

By ZACH STUBBLEFIELD

Alen Iverson, former superstar NBA point guard, was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame last week. He was one of the most feisty players the league has ever seen, both on and off the court.

He was brash and unapologetic. He said whatever was on his mind during his career. He oozed style and swagger.

Iverson did not fit the cookie cutter mold that the media had created for pro basketball players. He dressed like a “thug,” he did not care about being politically correct and he was quite the trash talker on the court.

The media crucified him for these traits while he was playing, but now they turn around and applaud him for these very traits while he gets inducted into the Hall of Fame.

This change in perspective from the press is due in large part to social media. The way news media cover athletes has come a long way since Iverson first started playing. When Iverson was playing, there were not many ways for a player to show his personality outside of the court. And it was not accepted either. But things like Twitter and Instagram have allowed athletes to express themselves and be individuals.

Now it is almost an expectation from the press for athletes to express themselves on social media and show themselves to people on these platforms. Showing a personality is almost as important to their brand as being good players in their perspective sports.

Iverson was a vital piece in normalizing the idea that athletes have opinions and lives too outside of their perspective sport. He accelerated the process of the press seeing an athlete as an individual and for that alone he deserves to be a Hall of Famer.

Bosh ‘ready’ to begin new NBA season

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Nicholas Bruens

By NICHOLAS BRUENS

Chris Bosh is one of the NBA’s best big men and was on his way to another amazing season. He was averaging 19.1 points per game and 46.7 percent shooting. Sadly, his season was cut short when he was diagnosed with blood clots and forced to end his 2015-16 season.

That was eight months ago. Since his diagnosis. Bosh has been doing everything in his power to rejoin his teammates for training camp. He believes he has done so.

“I’m ready,” Bosh told the Bleacher Report podcast, “Uninterrupted.” “I’ve done all my work. I’ve done what I need to do working with the doctors.”

Bosh, who had the previous two seasons cut short by blood clots, plans to attend the Miami Heat’s training camp in Nassau, Bahamas, when it opens on Sept. 27.

The story presents an interesting choice for the news media and how they will follow it. They can continue to portray it as a mystery or they could make this an uplifting comeback tale of an athlete overcoming odds.

Until this point, sports journalists have presented Bosh’s story as a “will he or won’t he” story about whether or not he could return or forced to retire. This angle is warranted considering the severity of the condition and that he has had multiple occurrences.

But now that he has stated he is back and “ready to play,” the news media have a chance to change their angle to a more positive view. Bosh could be represented as a hero type character or role model as some who represents the notion that people shouldn’t let the issues be handicaps. Or, we could see the other, more pessimistic, view, asking if he will be forced to end his season again.

That’s what makes this story interesting, it allows for the news media to look at how they wish to present it and make a decision based on how they want to portray Bosh as central figure of the story.

Hurricanes to take on App State

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Michael Franca

By MICHAEL FRANCA

The Miami Hurricanes football team will head to Boone, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 17, to face notorious underdogs, the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Appalachian State is famous for its stunning upset of then fifth-ranked Michigan on the opening weekend of the 2007 season. At the time, the Mountaineers were still part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

Now, though, they are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team who play in the Sun Belt Conference.

While they have moved up in the college football hierarchy, they are still not on par with the likes of Miami, which is in a Power Five conference, the ACC.

You wouldn’t know it from the pregame coverage, however.

The national narrative surrounding this game seems to suggest that the Canes should be on upset alert. They are only slight favorites in Vegas (-3.5), and have been singled out by writers and pundits as candidates to be dethroned.

USA Today, for example, published an article calling the game a “huge test” for 25th-ranked Miami. The piece highlights all the potential pitfalls in the match-up for the favorites.

It mentions how App State started this season by taking No. 9 Tennessee to overtime in Knoxville. The article also points out that it will be a home game for the Mountaineers; offering fans of the team a rare opportunity to see a major team come into town — something that will surely rile them up.

While these are indisputable observations, many key factors are being ignored. For one, the Hurricanes are the major team for a reason: talent.

The growing narrative sweeping people up is a result of the love of a good underdog story, nostalgia for 2007, and the national distaste for the Miami football program.

Unfortunately for everybody else, the Hurricanes are the superior team — something they will set out to prove on Saturday.

Nowhere to hide for Stockton’s Silva

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Alex Goldman

By ALEX GOLDMAN

Mayor Anthony Silva (R) of Stockton, Calif., has had one interesting run as mayor.

Pending the results of the upcoming November election, that run has the potential to continue.

Anyone privy to Valley politics is aware of Silva’s tenuous term as mayor. Perhaps none more so than Stockton Record columnist Michael Fitzgerald.

Silva’s bad rap has only been brought on by Silva himself. He has a laundry list of boneheaded decisions and proposals to his name.

What’s on that list, you ask? Bear in mind that this is an abridged version…

There’s the time he walked around town putting up campaign posters. At 2 a.m., In his bathrobe…

At a city council meeting, he declared himself Stockton’s first black mayor. Silva is Hispanic.

He proposed a vision he called “Stockton Proud” that would bring in cruise ships, mini golf, “fun rides,” and a space needle to Stockton’s port. It’s not as if Stockton was the largest American city to declare bankruptcy before Detroit.

When Carrie Underwood came to Stockton and had the misfortune of performing on the night of a city council meeting, Silva moved his agenda to the beginning of the meeting, declared a 10-minute break after some time and skipped the rest of the meeting to attend the concert.

After partying one night, he got into a drunk fight in his limo with a friend after a dispute about his wife.

Then there’s his Aug. 4 arrest while at his Mayor’s Youth Camp in Silver Lake, Calif., for providing alcohol to minors, playing strip poker with nude teenagers and recording conversations during last summer’s camp.

At every turn, Fitzgerald has been there to call the mayor on his bull. Or his weirdness. Sometimes it overlaps.

Fitzgerald’s responses have made an impression on me.

There’s something that tickles me in the right spot when I read one of his intelligently written articles or comments on Silva’s latest inane exploit. It must be the juxtaposition of idiocy and brains.

Such as what Fitzgerald had to say when Silva bounced from the city council meeting to see Underwood.

“It’s ironic that Silva postured as a Public Safety candidate,” Fitzgerald said. “Because one of the votes he skipped out on was the new health plan for city employees. Exit interviews with departing police cited unsatisfactory health insurance as a prime reason for quitting. The new health plan is therefore the most important step the city can take to retaining police hires.”

He proceeded to finish Silva off.

“A mayor sincerely concerned with law enforcement would want to vote on that,” Fitzgerald said. “A mayor who knows only how to campaign and to party would not.”

I had a good chuckle when reading about what Fitzgerald thought of Silva’s “half-baked” homeless plan.

Sometimes all Fitzgerald needs is a few words to get his point across.

I love Fitzgerald’s reporting. He doesn’t let Silva off the hook for anything, nor should he. Yet he’s able to do it with a comedic tone that I simply eat with a spoon.

Or maybe it’s just that juxtaposition.

Presidential health and campaign news

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Annette Reid

By ANNETTE REID

Last Friday Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton attended a 9/11 memorial in New York. Everything seemed to be okay with her until she left the ceremony before it ended. In a video taken by a bystander, Clinton is seen having difficulty walking and then fainting just before getting into an SUV. People around her had to assist her getting into the vehicle.

This video has been shown across all forms of news media and has been analyzed by not only journalists but also health professionals. It was even a treading topic on Twitter.

It is no secret that Hillary has struggled with health issues as of late. Along the campaign trail she has experienced a few coughing fits and was diagnosed with pneumonia on the two days prior to the 9/11 ceremony incident. However it was not publicly known that she had been diagnosed until Sunday night.

Some news outlets have been criticizing Clinton for not being forthcoming with her current health status even going so far as to lessen her credibility as a politician by saying that she is not transparent with the general public. Due to the pressure being put on her by the media, Clinton revealed even more medical information by releasing a letter written by her doctor on Wednesday.

Her opposition, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has questioned her health over the course of the election season as well. But this incident has made Trump reveal more about his own health as to not appear that he is hiding anything. He even went on the “Dr. Oz” show today and had Dr. Mehmet Oz analyze his doctor’s notes on TV.

The real question here is why some news organizations are pushing for presidential candidates to reveal such personal information instead of focusing on a nominee’s political views and how different today’s coverage of presidential elections have changed from those of the past. In the past, presidential nominees were not required to reveal their health status. Some of our most memorable presidents ran for office while suffering with serious health issues.

Franklin Roosevelt became ill with polio in 1921. Due to this he lost the ability to move his legs and then became paralyzed. In spite of that, he was elected as president in 1932 and ran for re-election in 1936, 1940 and 1944. However, his declining health during the re-election was never mentioned and after his doctor released a statement to the press saying that his health was okay reporters did not question it. Nevertheless, he died in office in 1945.

Another president who was elected to office while suffering health problems was John F. Kennedy. He had Addison’s disease and when confronted by his opponent over the matter, Kennedy simply had his doctors publicly declare that he was in good health. After that he was never questioned again.

As these examples show, former presidential candidates were not forced by the news media to reveal their health history so why is the press making such a big deal about it now?

A lot of it has to do with the news media’s tendency to attack politicians and want to show the public every presidential candidate’s weaknesses. However, forcing nominees to reveal every aspect of their health history might not be the right way to go about gathering information on them.

If the media wants to gather information on them they should focus on things that matter to public like where the candidates stand on issues. Instead of showing Hillary Clinton fainting multiple times per hour and over analyzing every second of the video, the focus should be about where she stands on issues so that come Election Day people can be well informed.

Media love to cover institution rankings

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Claudia Brown

By CLAUDIA BROWN

The general public frequently read articles ranking the top 10 colleges, airlines, cities, restaurants, school systems and so much more. Typically, when reading the article the readers accept the ordered rankings.

Following this, Facebook users post these articles to “prove” their favorite college, airline, city, restaurant, etc., is the highest ranked.

What are these rankings based on? And who is coming up with the rankings?

The specific articles written usually do not explain the criteria and reasoning for the ranked items. They simply just list it and provide a little information on each topic.

Where does the general public find out more about the criteria and rankings?

If the reader is curious, unconventionally, they need to go to the “criteria article” which is separate from the rankings.

CNN released an article with the rankings of the top U.S. carrier. The comments on the lowest ranked airline, Sprint states “The Airline Quality Rating, released Monday, rates the United States’ 13 largest airlines. No. 13 overall, Spirit had the worst on-time performance and the highest complaint rate.”

Their highest ranked airline is Virgin Airlines. The ranking qualifications for Virgin is “Virgin Airlines has the lowest mishandled luggage complaints.”

Although both state useful information, they are not judging the airline on the same criteria. The article does not state how the individual criteria is measured as well.

Similarly, the college ranking new released an article listing the 2016 top undergraduate university and college rankings.

For number one on the list, Princeton, the criteria ranges from endowment, to the tuition, to the enrollment, to size, to stating which famous people graduated from the university.

The lowest ranked university on the list is Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Although their criteria also includes the tuition, endowment and a list of the famous people who graduated from the university, their criteria is focused more on the student involvement.

The rankings that are most specific, constant, and reliable seem to be the restaurant rankings.

The restaurant criteria is the same for all restaurants. Yes, the articles comment on different highlights of the restaurants, but states clear ranking criteria. You can view Zagat’s rankings and ranking criteria here https://www.zagat.com

In sickness and in health

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Elizabeth Gelbaugh

By ELIZABETH GELBAUGH

Ah, the pursuit of the American Dream. Are any of us immune to this disease? The BBC doesn’t seem to think so.

In light of Hillary Clinton’s appearance at a 9/11 commemoration despite her pneumonia diagnosis, the BBC decided to pick apart the tendency of Americans to forego sick days and even paid vacation days in order to impress bosses who could potentially further their careers and to avoid missing a day’s salary.

In the U.S., we see this dedication to achieving our goals as normal, admirable even. However, BBC News reporter Brian Wheeler points out that, from a European perspective, this tendency is foolish and, at times, dangerous.

Wheeler reported that EU nations “guarantee 20 days’ paid leave a year, plus public holidays,” and, perhaps more importantly, European employees are not afraid to use them.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with loving and being dedicated to a job or career path, but when do the costs of this sacrifice overwhelm the benefits?

Wheeler mentioned how the outbreak of the norovirus vomiting bug at Chipotle was the result of employees coming into work sick rather than missing a day of pay. Were American policies concerning sick leave more lenient or generous, employees would not be forced to put themselves and others at risk in order to eke out a living.

Wheeler made a clever and strategic move in this article. By starting out with mention of Clinton, with election news being all the rage at the moment, Wheeler was able to spark a conversation about American paid-leave policies.

But is that what media must resort to today? It is disappointing to say the least that it takes a public official having a medical emergency at a well-covered event to start a conversation about an issue that has been placed on the back burner for years.

Perhaps, instead of focusing all our attention on the people fighting for a leadership position in which they can solve the nation’s problems, we must invest more time in discussing what those issues are and why they are important.

Networks reveal ideologies

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Claudia Brown

By CLAUDIA BROWN

News networks and reporting are supposed to be neutral with no biases. But still, the general public can categorize each network and its reports as a Republican network or a Democratic network.

This is not due to the content that is covered because more or less, any news channel one can put on that is not your “local” news station will be reporting the same stories.

Fox News is a “Republican” news network, although its spokespersons will say otherwise.

“We are a news station that is neutral to both sides. We give the public the news as it is. We have anchors, reporters, and writers who are from all political parties,” says a news reporter at the Fox 5 news station.

Seventy-eight percent of conservatives think news stations such as CBS, ABC, and NBC are biased toward those who are liberal.

Michelle Koenigsberg, 72, a Republican from Brooklyn, N.Y., says “I only watch Fox News because the other stations are so biased towards liberals, they don’t give a full story. They lie to make their side look better than they are.”

According to The Washington Post, “a quarter of its audience is from Democrats and 9% from Independents.”

Sophie Browne 21, a Democrat from New York City, stated, “I never watch Fox, it’s way too conservatively biased and I honestly think it’s crap.”

So how and why is each news station able to be categorized to the public? It seems to be a common belief that Republicans will feel that “Republican” networks and local stations are reporting the news as it really is with no bias, just as Democrats feel that way about the “Democratic” networks and stations.

The main reason for this seems to be the specific parts of a story that is being reported. For example, the 2016 presidential campaign.

Both ABC and Fox News reported this week on the temperaments of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

ABC stated “Clinton is poised when pointing out Trump’s contradictions and false claims.”

ABC also says “It’s clear that from his tone, Trump is judged on his temperament.”

Why is this? Each network knows its viewers and its rumored political side. The reporters’ jobs are to report the news “as it is” however, they still need to appeal to their audience.

Fox’s report on the temperaments this week revealed the biases that the news viewers feel.

“We’ve known that Clinton isn’t a great retail politician, but is an establishment candidate in a non- establishment year. We’ve known that she has low ratings on honestly and trustworthiness exacerbated by the Clinton foundation mess,” Fox stated.

The way they portray Trump seems to be more positive than the way ABC does.

“Now that Donald Trump is stabilizing his campaign with more scripted speeches on military readiness,” an ABC story stated.

Although both ABC and Fox News are reporting on the same topic, they are emphasizing the parts of each story that please the viewers and “prove” their stereotyped political beliefs.

Cam Newton battered in opener

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Michael Franca

By MICHAEL FRANCA

The NFL season began with a match-up between last season’s Super Bowl finalists – the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

The game was a close affair that came down to a last-second field goal attempt by the Panthers. After a strategic icing of the kicker by Broncos Coach Gary Kubiak, Graham Gano pulled his 50-yard attempt wide left.

This game provided more story lines than just the final score, however.

Following the defeat, reporters asked reigning MVP Cam Newton about concussion testing he seemed to be receiving on the sideline.

“I don’t remember,” he said, “Too much going through my head right now.”

While it may be possible Newton was just too busy to recall the kind of questions he was asked, many news media outlets appear to be questioning it. The concern is that his foggy memory is a result of the repeated blows to the head he took during the game.

Newton was knocked around throughout the affair and looked shaken-up on more than one occasion.

Traditionally, cases similar to this one would go unnoticed and unreported, but things are different this time.

While Newton’s stardom certainly played a part in the coverage, it was likely not the only factor. A growing public awareness of concussions and the effects of repeated head trauma in the NFL has led to a much-needed sensitivity on the topic.

What once was considered, “just a part of football,” is now being recognized for the major issue it truly is.

Thanks to some shoddy refereeing, most of the helmet-to-helmet hits were not penalized. This has opened the referees up to warranted public criticism.

If they can’t protect the NFL’s brightest star, who can they protect?

Lahren is (sad) future of journalism

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Zachary Stubblefield

By ZACH STUBBLEFIELD

Tomi Lahren is a conservative news reporter who hosts the show “Final Thoughts” on TheBlaze on the Web. It is a show where she gives her three-minute “thoughts” on an issue happening in America every couple days.

These boil down to her yelling off her imaginary high horse and saying controversial things that may or may not be true.

One of her latest “thoughts” are on professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe taking a knee during the anthem.

“Hey Megan, do you know what they do to women and gay people in many countries around the world,” Lahren said. “They stone them and throw them off buildings!”
Lahren’s argument about Rapinoe taking a knee during the anthem boils down to her saying Rapinoe should be grateful that she isn’t being stoned for being gay.
That’s awful. What’s even more awful is America’s cutest ball of hate routinely gets over six million views on these Facebook videos.

While I hope she crawls back to whatever hole she came from. I think the opposite is going to happen; more of her are going to be crawling out.

Shows like “Final Thoughts” are the future of journalism. They are perfect for the digital age. They are short. They have a couple phrases you can remember. And they generate interaction on social media.

So get ready. Because Tomi Lahren is only the beginning.

Hermine coverage embraces drama

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Daniel Lloveras

By DANIEL LLOVERAS

When Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in 2005, swept across the southeastern United States last week, news organizations were quick to pounce on the story.

Journalists from all over the country were sent down to Florida to capture the classic hurricane images: waves crashing on coasts, heavy winds blowing palm trees and citizens kayaking through flooded streets.

While the dramatization of hurricanes is nothing new and is usually harmless, journalists must be careful not to misinform the public with exaggerated depictions of severe weather events.

ABC News tweeted a radar image just before Hermine made landfall last Thursday night showing tornado watches and warnings throughout Florida.

The graphic, albeit dramatic, is unclear and makes the viewer think that almost the entire state and the Gulf of Mexico is under siege by tornadoes.

This kind of fear-mongering journalism is unacceptable, especially for a national news organization as reputable as ABC.

ABC is not the only national news outlet that posted a click-bait tweet during a time of crisis. The New York Times tweeted an article just a few hours after Hermine made landfall stating that the increased frequency of hurricanes this season could be related to global warming.

While sea-level rise due to climate change makes coastal areas more vulnerable to storm surge flooding, scientific studies have not shown any correlation between climate change and the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones.

The New York Times could have waited until after Hermine dissipated to post the article, but instead decided to take advantage of some of the public’s worst fears in order to gain readers.

The purpose of news organizations during states of emergency is to calmly inform people of mortal danger based on scientific fact, not frighten the public with melodramatic stories and images.

Kaepernick effect felt in hockey

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Alex Goldman

By ALEX GOLDMAN

The name Colin Kaepernick has probably permeated some portion of your brain tissue by now.

Kaepernick plays for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Surprise. It’s not his play that’s getting him headlines. The 49ers haven’t played a regular season game.

Not to mention the fact he isn’t even starting.

Yet he’s found himself in the news cycle in all the major — and minor — news outlets for purposely sitting, or most recently kneeling, during The National Anthem of preseason games.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said.

The news media have reported on his choice of expression daily.

During a question and answer session with local journalists Marc Caputo (Politico), Patricia Mazzei (Miami Herald), and Dan Sweeney (Sun Sentinel), a student asked about the ongoing reporting of Kaepernick’s expression, including the reactions to the message. He wanted to know why news outlets continued to report on the same issue.

Caputo thought the relatively uncommon nature of Kapernick’s act was just cause, and fodder, for continued coverage.

Other athletes have joined in Kaepernick’s message. Soccer star Megan Rapinoe and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane both took a knee during the anthem before games this past week.

While the protest has reached the soccer pitch, don’t expect any dissent in a hockey rink anytime soon. At least if John Tortorella is your coach.

On his radio show The Right Time with Bomani Jones, Jones brought up the remarks made by Tortorella, the United States National Team and Columbus Blue Jackets head coach.

“If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game,” Tortorella said.

I liked Jones’ take on the coach’s new rule.

“Who are you?,” Jones asked. “I’m a grown man. I get to make some of these decisions for myself. So I got to stand up for what you believe is the proper form of indoctrination.”

Well put.

A coach is there to set rules, sure. He’s not there to set the moral compass of the players he coaches, however.

It isn’t the first time Tortorella made news with his comments.

NFL debuts with Super Bowl rematch

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Nicholas Bruens

By NICHOLAS BRUENS

The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers faced off at the NFL Kick Off in a rematch of Super Bowl 50.

This game was much anticipated as these teams played a gritty, grind-it-out game in the Super Bowl. Many were expecting a similar game in the rematch. But despite these anticipations, quarterback Cam Newton did not share these feelings.

“It’s not a rematch,” Newton told the Associated Press, “It’s just our next opponent.”

Despite Newton’s feelings, he played the Broncos, the same team that beat him for the Lombardi trophy, on NBC in Primetime.

The high amount news media attention drawn to this event was expected due to the importance of this game. It marks the beginning of the 2016 season of the NFL which is the highest grossing professional sports league in the United States.

Also, the game features Newton, who is arguably the most marketable player in the league and reigning MVP. A player of his charisma is bound to draw attention and therefore media.

Finally, media was tuned in to see if any players would partake in the Colin Kaepernick’s demonstration of not standing for the American flag. Linebacker Brandon Marshall was the only player to do so.

The Broncos released a statement acknowledging there stance on the matter.

“While we encourage members of our organization to stand during the national anthem, we understand and respect it being a personal decision,” said the Broncos in their statement to NBC.

The multiple personalities and story lines heading into his game have created a perfect melting pot for media follow.

Cam and the Panthers were unable to change the outcome as the Broncos repeated their success with a 21-20 victory.

Turner case highlights racial issues

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Nyah Tennell

By NYAH TENNELL

Twenty-year-old Brock Turner, a former swimmer at Stanford University was arrested Jan. 18, 2015, after two graduate students discovered him on top of an unconscious woman outside Kappa Alpha fraternity at approximately 1 a.m.

Following the incident, Turner withdrew from Stanford and was found guilty of three felony charges: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person and sexual penetration of an unconscious person.

The maximum sentence for his crimes are 14 years in the state of California.

However, Turner got off with a mere six-month sentence, only serving three, under a California law that gives credit for time served.

Well, Judge Aaron Persky, you’ve officially set yet another standard for white-privilege and legal precedent.

Given Turner’s circumstance, he is no “true” criminal, right?

The seriousness and severity of rape should never be taken lightly or handled with leniency. Not only does it mock the pain and suffering experienced by the victim, light sentences and leniency for privileged individuals sets a precedent for the continuation of injustices.

Would the news media response have made more of a difference if Turner was black, or if it was a black judge deciding the same ruling?

Turner is no victim of college-drinking culture, America’s political and social constructs or social pressures.Turner is a felon, who has been let off by the hands of biased judging and white-washed, misogynistic loopholes in our justice system.

It is disturbing that some media outlets have cast Turner to be the victim of a broken system.

For example, a Sept. 4 CNN article written by Emanuella Grinberg and Janette Gagon is slightly misfocused in my opinion, and does too much work making the case that Turner is an athlete, and that it is not unusual for someone with a strong athletic and academic background to be sentenced leniently, if sentenced at all.

Although that assertion is probably true, the media as a whole tends to flee from topics of race.

Yet, this is white-privilege at its finest, and should be called as such.

Too much justification, too many excuses, and not enough sympathy and advocacy for victims of sexual assault and rape feed into the system and culture surrounding this very issue itself.

Large media corporations and conglomerates, like CNN, should not just report the news and statistics; they should speak out against unjust social constructs and unfairly punished injustices.

These media corporations help influence the beliefs and understanding of our community, and if more was done, the case could have possibly been overturned.

However, the case did get a generous response from many notable figures and outlets showing their advocacy for victims of sexual assault, and speaking out against the current culture.

The cast of HBO’s Girls created a brilliant message, entitled Why We’re So Quick To Disbelieve, in an effort to combat efforts to attack victim testimony in these cases.

USA swimming banned Turner for life and released the statement, “USA Swimming condemns the crime and actions committed by Brock Turner, and all acts of sexual misconduct,” USA Swimming spokesman Scott Leightman told ABC News. “Brock Turner is not a member of USA Swimming and, should he apply, he would not be eligible for membership.

Last but not least, as a result of the media outcry, California has moved to set a minimum amount of time to be served in sexual assault cases.

I truly hope that this case serves to set the stage for a movement towards more victim advocacy and support versus simple storytelling.

Media outlets should stand by victims of injustice with confidence and solidarity, without fear of being “biased,” actively seeking justice on the behalf of deserving survivors.

DIGITAL NEWS REPORTING

Journalism and Media Management Department, School of Communication, University of Miami