The South Carolina Shooting - Case Study Example

The South Carolina Shooting Racial segregation is considered an issue in the past though it is still with us but depictingitself in different dimensions. The American police have, for instance, a habit of treating the black citizens with a lot of contempt. Shooting of several black Americans has been an issue in the limelight for a long time. Several incidences of the same kind have repeated themselves in America and swept under the carpet as the voices of those who tried to talk about the inhuman act suppressed by forces stronger than them. These shooting incidences need a trial in court and the guilty have been thrown out due to lack of evidence. The latest of the black shot had the whole world talking as several footages are viral on the internet. The American police force though still enjoys the trust of the white citizens despite the undoubted evidence that clearly show their brutal actions on innocent black people in the country. The trust of black on them has however greatly diminished and high urges of avenues and cry for justice highly in the increase. The inhuman actions of the few white police officers in America have awakened the feeling of being undermined in the black citizens. Demonstrations in the streets of America were a clear indication of how the blacks are feeling about their counterparts being brutalized in broad daylight. The world also reacted to the several incidences that have gone viral and without a doubt showing the situation at hand (Just 57). The coverage of the shooting incident of a black in South Carolina awoke the silent rage of the black Americans on police brutality towards them. The judicial system of America also was put on a task to act on police brutality as the whole world was watching. Several protests that had earlier on been dismissed by the authorities got the drive to come up again. The blacks felt that it was the time they got justice for all the people that had been carelessly shot by white police yet they were not armed. To activist, the shooting incident acted as an awakening call to help the black and protect them from the brutal forces against them. The last shooting of black teenager is the trigger of the most awaited evidence of the situation that the black Americans were heading. The public have been waiting to get justice for the sidelined minority. The main person who was in the limelight was the policeman, and the world waited to see what action would get prosecution against him. The feared threat of racism was finally glaring at the face of the world. Though embarrassing for the American leadership and police force as well, the fight against the racist police had to begin, and the offenders punished accordingly. It is time for justice to take a course for the victims. The silence on racism has finally come to an end. Given that data on the number of black’s deaths from police careless shooting is not clear, it only proves that very little interest gets to such incidences. The police, therefore, kill and erase all the evidence, an action that is finally coming to a stop. The killing of a fellow human is an unacceptable act that has no justification. Though the victims may be on the wrong side of the law, excessive use of force on unarmed individuals is not right either. The fact that most victims are blacks while the offenders are white puts the fact of racism in the picture a fact that is not easy to refute and prove otherwise. The American government should have laws in place that provide safe processes that police officials can be reported, and action taken by justice is to take a course to all eventually. Black Americans have same rights as their white counterparts and should, therefore, be protected and treated in a similar way as they are also humans and citizens of America. The opening of a case for the police officer, Michal Thomas and his eventual trial that made the officer pleaded guilty of shooting a black teenager who was unarmed. Convicting the police officer was a real step toward killing the vice that had entered the police force. The black American community also needed to have trust in the government and police force that had the responsibility of ensuring their safety. The step also acted as the beginning of reforms and the long journey towards the healing process. The dissemination of news from the media house to the consumers is a long process that has both internal and external factors shaping its works and eventually its final products. The media does not mirror the truth in the society, but it’s content is rather influenced by several forces around its capture and production. The news reaching consumers goes through scrutiny at different levels to ensure the final product does not go against any stipulated regulation and norms as well (Just 83). The American government has limited legal control over the news. The media, therefore, has a broad discretion to air news about the public interest that is broadly defined. The footage of the shooting incident had drawn a lot of attention from a significant population both in the country and the world. The government had no power to fight the various media houses that showed the whole incident, even though, the picture and video contents were disturbing. It was the responsibility of the media to give the American citizens accurate information on the matter as it took center stage for a very long time. The American government on its part had give a clear report that is consistent with those I the media. The American society as a whole had the interest of knowing the truth behind several killings of a black teenager and the fate of the white police officers. American society value human life and, therefore, the act of cold blood murder was a matter of societal interest. The long fight for equality by the Black Americans also made the news and development of the case a question of interest for both parties. The matter, therefore, had to be treated as important by the media. The appearance of the footage removed the blame from the medias side for uncovering the story, and that resulted in unrest in the country. The clips that supported the claims by the media houses could not be altered much as it had reached several people before going into the news. Given that racial segregation was an international vice, every country is fighting against and does not want to be associated with by any chance. It automatically would have interested several people thus the media house would have more audience. A factor that eventually saw a rise in the media houses profit, which is part of their objective. Both print and motion covered this incident that these two distinct media houses media houses. The methods used by the media houses to reach their audiences differ. The motion and video could be played for the viewer to formulate their opinion on the incident. As well, they decide for themselves who was wrong and what action was best for the particular situation. The print media on its part show only photos from the event and afterward give explanations that in most cases are the editors. The story of Walter Scott shooting an unarmed black was released it followed the same procedure. Photos that online have a presentation in the section followed by explanations that had been edited to an extent that the original meaning had been lost. It is evident that the content was entirely the editor’s point of view on the matter at hand; they were thus playing the role of convincing rather than informing its audience. Television news coverage gives full details and does not leave room for doubt. The newspapers though provided their readers with details on what the bone of contention was in relation to the shooting, and it did not provide for a constant flow of updates on the issue to the interested public. Believing written information is not as easy as it may seem since they are prone to alterations by the writers to suit the writers stand. These act lead to the formation of several versions of the story reaching the audience. Matters of national importance such as the shooting incident would usually appear on the front page of the newspaper and then the full story placed almost at the center of the pages. With the intention of captivating the reader’s attention as they assume readers will turn the junk of pages just to get a glance at their story of interest that was lengthy. Newspapers only appeal to one individual at a time a fact that profits producers but disadvantages the targeted consumers. The nature of newspapers is always to condense information to fit into small spaces, to achieve these they use highly entropic and elaborated codes, unlike the television production that uses highly restricted codes. The headlines of newspapers in most cases do include hidden information behind them, a factor that is not easy to implement in the television sector. The use of catchy words in the introduction of news in communications makes the viewer form an opinion on the subject. They make judgment even before getting the full details of the matter at hand as their presentation always has a twist. Television news production does not depend on the idea of an individual, as several people with different views get to decide on the final presentation that is regulated; therefore biases stays at bay. Though most facts are available to viewers, there is always an assumption that the viewer has basic knowledge of the situation (Just 28) . The difference between newspaper and television reporting may seem obvious, but the complexities surrounding the two Medias in discussion must always get consideration. Both media require the reader and viewer to be sharp enough to identify the message within the message that their broadcasting carries each time. These differences should be available to the audience of the news presented by both Medias for them to be in the correct position to make an informed judgment on what is availed to frequently. The fight for justice by black Americans has become stronger and with defined goals, all this is credited to the public knowledge on the police use of force on the killed teenager. The video that went viral has made a mark in the fight against racism in America today and the world as a whole. Works Cited Just, Marion. Crosstalk: Citizens, Candidates, and the Media in a Presidential Campaign. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Print. Read More