Media Overblows JonBenet Murder Story Again

By: Kevin Roberts
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:24:52
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As if one round of shoddy reporting, speculation and guilt before innocence reporting wasn’t enough, the mass media is at it again in the latest round of the JonBenet Ramsey murder saga.

The media, which widely cast blame on JonBenet’s parents, John and the late Patsy, is laying blame on a man who made a confession that has not even been confirmed. Going through local supermarkets, one couldn’t help but notice the sensational headline in the New York Post, which read “Snake On A Plane.” While it is true that John Karr is a disturbed man with a checkered past, it has not been proven that he murdered JonBenet Ramsey. Surely the media, which occasionally attempts to read through the bipartisan political spin of national politics would read through the fluff and try to get to the bottom of the case. Not true, unfortunately.

The mass media, especially CNN, has offered up non-stop coverage of this case, despite the fact that it hasn’t really evolved. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq claimed more Iraqi casualties (over 3,500) than any other month in the brief history of this war, Israel and Lebanon are teetering on the edge of a brittle ceasefire and the Bush Administration’s warrant less wiretapping has caught the ire of a federal judge.

Instead of continuing to stress the fact that Karr was wined and dined on his flight from Bangkok, Thailand, maybe the media should have emphasized that this is an ongoing investigation and that they will bring information when something actually happens. The media is doing what it unfortunately does best. They are speculating and not bringing the American public anything more than what they have already said. There is no difference in the news when an organization such as CNN shows a news package on Live Today and then shows it on Live From.

Actually, there is one difference, in that the shows are distinct by using one different final word, “from” instead of “today.” That has been about the only difference in the media’s coverage.

As a reporter for a local daily newspaper in Torrington, Connecticut, I am outraged that the media just continues to speculate and speculate about the case and doesn’t provide anything that says that Karr did it. Yes, he has a fascination with the death of a beauty queen, which is perverted to say the least. But that doesn’t prove that he’s guilty. I’m not defending Karr, but at least let justice run its course. Remember that everyone, even the most obvious cold-blooded killer, rapist or robber, is innocent until proven guilty. Or at least that is the way it should be.

Kevin D. Roberts 2006 Graduate - University of Connecticut - B.A. Journalism/Political Science Torrington, CT 06790

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