Following the tragic death of Michael Brown, the New York Times ran side-by-side profiles of Michael Brown and officer Darren Wilson, the man who killed the unarmed 18-year-old, around the time of Brown’s funeral. Wilson’s article was titled “A Low-Profile Officer with Unsettled Early Days.” On the other hand, Brown’s article was titled “A Teenager Grappling with Problems and Promise.” John Eligon, who recently gave a lecture at Penn State, wrote these contrasting profiles to offer a reflection of Brown’s life before it was needlessly taken from him. However, there is a sense of imbalance when reading these profiles in tandem to one another.
Eligon writes vaguely of Wilson’s life, with mentions of him being a “good kid” by a former hockey coach, as well as a brief description of his past family trouble. The Columbia Journalism review critiques this description: “The emphasis on the fraught circumstances surrounding Wilson, rather than casting his actions as a reflection of his character, has the effect of depicting him as a kind of victim,” which is ultimately not the case; Wilson shot the gun (Massie, 2014).
The biggest problem that the New York Times faced with these articles, however, was the framing of Michael Brown’s profile compared to Wilson’s, as well as their infamous usage of the descriptor “no angel.” Eligon writes, “Michael Brown, 18, due to be buried on Monday, was no angel, with public records and interviews with friends and family revealing both problems and promise in his young life” (Eligon, 2014), and continues to describe his criminal history. The article gives the impression of a deeply troubled teenager and subtly paints the picture that he could be responsible for his own unjust death. In addition to the subtle imbalance of tone between the two profiles, there is the ethical issue of comparing them in the first place.
Alexandra Bell, the artist known for her “Counternarratives” series about the media’s systematic racism, stated: “The Mike Brown article always stuck out to me as an extreme example of false equivalency… The Darren Wilson stuck out as more considerate and forgiving, while the Mike Brown article was more like a takedown, like a classic victim blaming. That’s the danger of how we talk about black people in the media” (Hurowitz, 2017). Journalism has had a history of misrepresenting men and women of color. It is especially seen in the case of Michael Brown’s death and the aftermath of the Ferguson protests, as the media continuously painted black men and women as violent and “thugs.” Professor Bryan Adamson’s study (2016) found that:
Even today,on television news, Blacks are over-represented as crime perpetrators. Blacks are also more likely than Whites to have their mug shots displayed on local news, be shown handcuffed, be on “perp walks,” and have prejudicial information aired about them (for example, as having a criminal record). (p. 192).
And this is precisely what happened in the case of Michael Brown and the coverage on Ferguson. Systematic and institutionalized racism spreads to journalism, and seemingly objective journalism has understated themes of discrimination. The public frames their opinions through media depictions and (hopefully) accurate reporting. Articles like Eligon’s and countless other sources provided audiences with the means to judge Michael Brown, Darren Wilson, and the people of Ferguson. The intentional framing of stereotypes and inaccurate victimization led to the perpetuation of racist systems. The motives to exemplify men of women of color as chaotic “thugs” and criminals is an insidious symptom of systematic racism. Adamson also explains the cause of this by stating:
The media hewed to a pro-majoritarian orthodoxy that privileged stability over dissent, and allowed audiences to ignore the role structural racism and bias may have played in Brown’s death and the grievances demonstrators sought to surface. (p. 191).
In order to combat the systematic and institutionalized racism perpetuated by the media, it is important to acknowledge these issues are happening. Micro-aggressive headlines, mugshots, and wordings contribute to the issue of racist journalism. In a study conducted by Kassia E. Kulaszewicz (2015), she concluded the following:
The way to reduce stereotype and racial micro-aggression that influence racism is to understanding the negative impacts of media and demand that media offer many instances of positive influences and representations of all people. Equal representation of all cultures as well as reporting at proportionate rates would also promote a more accurate representation of community as a whole. This will make an impact on audiences’ beliefs and values. (p. 37).
Works Cited:
Bryan Adamson, Thugs, Crooks, and Rebellious Negroes: Racist and Racialized Media Coverage of Michael Brown and the Ferguson Demonstrations, 32 HARV. J. RACIAL & ETHNIC JUST. 189 (2016).
https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/faculty/747
Eligon, J. (2014, August 24). Michael Brown Spent Last Weeks Grappling With Problems and Promise. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/us/michael-brown-spent-last-weeks-grappling-with-lifes-mysteries.html
Hurowitz, N. (2017, May 24). Artist Slams NY Times Michael Brown Coverage with Posters in Bed-Stuy. Retrieved from https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170524/bed-stuy/alex-bell-michael-brown-darren-wilson-no-angel-new-york-times-media-criticism/
Kulaszewics, K. E. (2015). Racism and the Media: A Textual Analysis. SOPHIA. Retrieved from https://sophia.stkate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1478&context=msw_papers.
Massie, C. (2014, August 25). The New York Times criticized for Michael Brown profile. Retrieved from https://archives.cjr.org/the_kicker/new_york_times_michael_brown_no_angel.php