Webloggin » Here’s A Real Shocker: The Media is Politically Motivated and Lazy!

Here’s a shocker regarding Jesse Jackson’s latest publicity opportunity, the case that 60’s throwbacks commonly known as “reporters” nostalgically dubbed the “Jena 6”.

From Craig Franklin, writing in the Christian Science Monitor:

JENA, LA. - By now, almost everyone in America has heard of Jena, La., because they’ve all heard the story of the “Jena 6.” White students hanging nooses barely punished, a schoolyard fight, excessive punishment for the six black attackers, racist local officials, public outrage and protests – the outside media made sure everyone knew the basics.

There’s just one problem: The media got most of the basics wrong. In fact, I have never before witnessed such a disgrace in professional journalism. Myths replaced facts, and journalists abdicated their solemn duty to investigate every claim because they were seduced by a powerfully appealing but false narrative of racial injustice.

I should know. I live in Jena. My wife has taught at Jena High School for many years. And most important, I am probably the only reporter who has covered these events from the very beginning.

The reason the Jena cases have been propelled into the world spotlight is two-fold: First, because local officials did not speak publicly early on about the true events of the past year, the media simply formed their stories based on one-side’s statements – the Jena 6. Second, the media were downright lazy in their efforts to find the truth. Often, they simply reported what they’d read on blogs, which expressed only one side of the issue.

Are we really supposed to believe these statements? The media, that herd of independent thinkers, assuming facts not in evidence and trying to shoe horn an event into their preconceived notions about the racist country they are so unfortunate to inhabit? And too lazy to find out the truth? C’mon, Mr. Franklin!

In all seriousness, for years I have asked whether our friends in the so-called MSM (mainstream media, so-called because these chardonnay-sipping, arugula-munching, Volvo-driving elitists are anything but) are politically-motivated or lazy, or both. I have concluded that while individuals may fall into one category or the other, in general, the answer is both.

Here we go again: the Duke lacrosse story all over again. Most of us realized that this whole thing was baloney from the git-go, for no other reason than it was based on the suggestion that high school students are sufficiently aware of American history to understand the consequences of hanging nooses on trees. Get real.

The democrats in Congress may be obsessed with events from 1915, but ask most high school students about anything that happened before Bill Clinton’s second term and you’ll see a look more vacant than Rosie O’Donnell’s exercise log.

[Discuss this Topic with Teri O'Brien]