Yesterday on The Fox News Channel, host Greg Gutfeld criticized the media for failing to cover “positive interactions” with police and creating the false narrative that it’s “hunting season for Blacks.”
The fact that a host on a cable news network is blaming the media for sensationalizing the news should be shocking - but I’m not surprised. This is a frightening reminder that even those at the top of the media food chain do not understand the relationship between mass media and society - the audience. While there is no requirement for understanding the basic principles of mass communication to perform in the media - it would be like an airline pilot who is flying the plane but does not understand the principles behind flight. In other words, he/she doesn’t know why the plane flies.
Yesterday, Gutfeld brought up statistics that show the news media selects stories and angles of stories that are more compelling than the truth. I agree with Gutfled on this and talk about it often on my show. But the reason the news media is selective in the stories it presents is obvious.
In June of 2020, Gutfeld complained about the media’s complicit attitude when it comes to emphasizing the racial divide in America. Gutfeld tried to make us point by comparing the stories of the deaths of George Floyd and Tony Timpa.
We all know the story of George Floyd, which is currently being played out in the news every day as the trial of ex-police officer Derek Chauvin continues in Minneapolis, MN. To Gutfeld’s point, most of us don’t know about the death of Tony Timpa during an arrest in 2016.
Tony Timpa “wailed and pleaded for help more than 30 times as officers pinned his shoulders, knees, and neck to the ground,” according to the Dallas Morning News. The suspect repeated, “You’re gonna kill me” several times. When Timpa fell unconscious Dallas police officers thought he had fallen asleep and as time passed they joked about how it was time for him, “It’s time for school. Wake up!” The officers mocked a young person saying, “I don’t want to go to school! Five more minutes, Mom!” They went on to joke about buying him a new pair of shoes for school and making him breakfast.
The big difference Gutfeld points out between George Floyd and Tony Timpa is that Floyd was a black suspect and Timpa was a white suspect. But this comparison is not an accurate reflection of the controversy over black and white suspects unless you are looking for any information that supports the idea that there is total equality with black and white suspects in America.
Statistics will show that of the million of arrests that take place every year - there are but a handful of arrests that end in the death of a suspect. Stats can further be used to show that white suspects are beaten and killed during arrest attempts. What the stats do not reveal is that there are police officers who have a racist mentality and some have links to white supremacists groups.
In his criticism of the mainstream media, Gutfeld points out that inadequate training contributes to the deaths of suspects - that is obviously a major factor - but the use of statistics as proof that black suspects receive the same treatment as white suspects is a flawed exercise.
Racism among some police officers is well-documented; and it is impossible to ignore the role that plays - even subconsciously - in the minds of those few officers. But the subject of this blog is about a national TV news host that is asking a question he should have an answer for.
Why does the news media sensationalize the stories involving the mistreatment of black suspects at the hands of white police officers? The answer is something we talk about often on my talk show. The desire to attract the attention of the largest possible audience is more important than presenting evidence of equality.
The scars of our past make the concept of whtie oppression a more passionate story for both sides. We must remember that our new media is driven by the desire to attract the largest possible audience for the purpose of generating revenue. As long as those are the prevailing factors, the news media will be subject to the same principles that govern any other form of entertainment.
It is our responsibility as consumers of the news not to allow what was see on the news to define who were are as a nation.
