From the inception of distributed “news,” media has been using pictures to tell the story. And to influence the interpretation of events. Now the power is in OUR hands.
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If we didn’t judge books by their covers, then authors and publishers would not spend hundreds of dollars, hundreds of hours, and hundreds of drops of sweat to get the cover of their books just right.
And #IfTheyGunnedMeDown would not be trending on twitter in the aftermath of a young man’s death.
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Do we blame the media? Or do we look to our beliefs?
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But we do. Judge. A picture has always been “worth a thousand words.” Since photography was invented we’ve said “the camera does not lie.” And consciously or not, we buy the story we see more than the story we hear.
From the inception of distributed “news,” media has been using pictures to tell the story. And to influence the interpretation of events.
Do we blame the media? Or do we look to our beliefs? Do we ask how the media outlets decide what pictures to choose? Or do we ask why certain pictures get our attention more than others?
Typically we give the most attention, and emotion, to things that either reinforce a deeply held belief, or challenge it. So the attention, and emotion, being given to a social media outlet’s coverage of a tragic event says a lot about our beliefs.
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This one was started in response to media coverage of the death of 17 year-old Michael Brown, who was shot six times by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer.
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Twitter is a media outlet. It, along with any other social media platform, is a media outlet where we, the users, cover the stories. The hashtag (#) (according to twitter co-creator, Jack Dorsey, who just happens to be from St. Louis where the event that triggered the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown conversation originated) was an invention of the users rather than the developers. Because users want to be able to follow a story as well as contribute to it.
Use of a hastag basically creates a searchable stream of tweets relating to a certain topic. In this case, the portrayal of minorities, specifically African Americans, in the media. This one was started in response to media coverage of the death of 17 year-old Michael Brown, who was shot six times by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. His death has sparked protests and riots in the impoverished St. Louis suburb.
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown confronts how minority deaths are portrayed in the media. http://t.co/WNphllgJGE pic.twitter.com/aLPE8h09HP
— Mashable (@mashable) August 12, 2014
Since the stream of tweets with the #IfTheyGunnedMeDown hashtag began we’ve seen commentary and complications of tweets everywhere from mainstream media to special interest blogs, including The New York Times, Storify, The Root, Mashable, the Debrief, and others.
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What does this coverage say about us? It says that when deciding how to portray someone in the media—there is a choice. Do you portray someone at their best or at their worst? After all, educated, successful people sometimes like to have fun. And sometimes, when people are having fun, they look like “thugs.” It also says that we believe that a young Black person looking like a “thug” is perceived as being a thug, while a young white male, in sagging jeans, holding a gun or a bottle of booze, and sporting tattoos or using a gesture that might be a gang sign but looks a lot like a peace sign, is probably just goofing off.
Yes let’s do that: Which photo does the media use if the police shot me down? #IfTheyGunnedMeDown pic.twitter.com/Ng0pUlxWhr — YoungGifted&Black✊ (@CJ_musick_lawya) August 10, 2014
It says that we believe a solider with a gun is a hero. But a Black man with a gun is a danger.
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown would they use my pic on the left or the right? pic.twitter.com/W3W1EUMXvz
— Not A Walking Target (@_bennythejet) August 10, 2014
And that this is a danger white people don’t even have to think about.
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown there would be a national outcry and immediate repercussions…not because I am an attorney but because I am white. — Jack Merde (@xTheDevilUKnowx) August 10, 2014
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@jimmydelucci “White” tags are literally not a thing because they are not needed. #IfTheyGunnedMeDown is needed to highlight injustice
— ✌ (@Aaliyah0_0) August 12, 2014
While it says that the belief that mainstream media is deliberately skewing global perception of African American victims, it also says that we have some hope that we can make a difference.
This #IfTheyGunnedMeDown campaign is a brilliant and powerful use of social media http://t.co/CBZPKOHRSS — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 12, 2014
And it says that we have not forgotten.
I want to post my #IfTheyGunnedMeDown pics, but they shot MLK in this: pic.twitter.com/vIjXBGpvR2
— Jose Vilson (@TheJLV) August 11, 2014
Not because I’m a writer, or even because I’m a St. Louisian. But because I’m human. I live in this world. And what happens in this world matters to my life.
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As a not-so-young, white female it was hard for me to see how my voice had a place in this conversation. But I am part of this community. I live on the south side of the same city where this began. I used to work with a client in the neighborhood where a Quick Trip now stands demolished in the aftermath of Michael Brown’s death. And what I believe is either part of this problem, or part of the solution. Not because I’m a writer, or even because I’m a St. Louisian. But because I’m human. I live in this world. And what happens in this world matters to my life.
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Here is what I believe about media (which is what you’re consuming when you read this, you know.) And about our power over media.
Media outlets are businesses. Powerful businesses.
They’re businesses charged with telling the truth. But they’re also businesses charged with dishing up the truth in a way that we, their readers, will consume it. It’s more than making money, it’s giving people what they want. Because if a business doesn’t give people what they want people go away. And when people go away from a media outlet they cease to be meaningful, they cease to exist. They don’t need for us to agree with their content, they need for us to consume their content. They need our attention.
So while the media impacts our beliefs, our beliefs also impact media.
“The Media” isn’t some big, all-powerful monster any more than any other business is. It’s a conglomeration of people. Some good, some not-so-good. Some wise, some clueless. Some with one agenda, some with an opposing agenda. It’s a group of people.
And we are a group of people too.
The difference is that (most) people in media have accepted the challenge of impacting the world. Each for our own reasons, and with their own idea of what “positive impact” means to them. But we know that when we write and publish that the way we frame the story, the way we style the story, the way we distribute the story – it affects people. Because if it didn’t they wouldn’t read it. And if people don’t read our stories we won’t have a place to share them anymore.
But you all (and me, when I am not writing for a “traditional” media outlet) collectively have the same power. That’s what platforms like private blogs, twitter, Facebook, Digg, and others offer us.
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And we have the same responsibility. To be read, to be heard, and to be TRUE to what we want to see in the world. Because what we believe, if we stand by it, is what is possible in the world.
We have the power to choose, when we post to social media, how we represent those beliefs.
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Not easy. But possible.
Not immediate. But possible.
Not perfect. But possible.
We have the power to choose, when we read “traditional” media, what we believe. We have the power to choose, when we post to social media, how we represent those beliefs.
I cannot, alone, change how media covers tragedies like the one my city is reeling from today. Neither can you.
But together we have the power, and the responsibility, to not only change the media, but to change our world.
Wow. Very moving and very alarming. With white people it’s the opposite. When a white kid dies, the media is very quick to highlight anything in that kid’s life that was anywhere related to the Big Three: cheerleading, sports, or being an honor student. Take one Honors class for a week before you drop it and you’re “an honor student.” Get cut from the football team after a day and you’re a “football player.” Every white kid who dies or gets murdered is always well-loved, popular, everyone’s best friend, good in school, works to feed the homeless, a star athlete,… Read more »
If you want some truth, go to http://www.jpfo.org and check out the booklet “Gun Control Is Racist”, showing how gun laws were designed to keep minorities unarmed and helpless.
A really insightful piece. I am glad you found your point to say on this tragedy. All voices are important for change.
Thank you Wilhelm – I agree that we ALL need to raise our voice!