Considerations regarding racism and ethnic diversity often come into play in the field of journalism, since racism and differences among people sometimes create misunderstanding, hatred, and ultimately violence among people of different backgrounds. Nowhere was the difficulty of taking an appropriate journalistic stance more prominent than in the coverage of George Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012.
Martin, a 17-year old African-American male, was unarmed and innocent, fatally shot by the neighborhood watch captain, 35-year old white man Zimmerman when he became suspicious of danger during the incident.
In the rush to post articles that cover the facts in a “if it bleeds, it leads” world, some of the early publications missed on several key factors that greatly contributed to the event’s significance.
According to Eric Deggans’ work with Poynter in 2012, many early high-profile articles failed to even release the ethnicity of those that concerned Rather, publications such as the Orlando Sentinel noted that “two men were arguing before shots were fired (Deggans, 2012). The Sentinel article failed to make the connection of the significance behind the racial prejudice that may have led to the deadly shooting, and played such a significant role in the case to follow.
The case sent the United States’ press world into a bit of a journalistic frenzy as reporters attempted to figure out how to respond in a way that balanced efficiency and ethical considerations so as to stand out from competing stories but also to cover the story accurately.
Listening to a 911 call, CNN hastily reported that Zimmerman used a racial slur to refer to Martin, but later walked back on that report when they couldn’t determine if that information was accurate. CNN’s possible mistake likely swayed the opinions of its audience regarding Zimmerman’s character and motives with information they couldn’t confirm (LoGiurato, 2012). In this situation, CNN needed to better consider the ethics of what they were reporting, since they made assumptions in order to make the claim they made a major breakthrough, and exclusive, discovery.
For different reasons, CNN and the Orlando Sentinel both have ethical ramifications. The Sentinel neglected to report an important element of the story, while CNN made assumptions about something that couldn’t be fully proven.
Race relations is a constant concern in the United States, and from these example relating to the Zimmerman case, journalists must walk a careful line of reporting all of the facts in an accurate manner because the diversity of the story makes it even more important ethically to get things right.
REFERENCES
Deggans, E. (2017, March 02). Why ethics and diversity matter: The case of Trayvon Martin coverage. Retrieved from https://www.poynter.org/news/why-ethics-and-diversity-matter-case-trayvon-martin-coverage
LoGiurato, B. (2012, April 06). CNN Backtracks, Now Thinks George Zimmerman Didn’t Call Trayvon Martin A ‘Coon’. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/cnns-backtrack-on-george-zimmermans-alleged-racial-slur-is-a-disaster-2012-4