I should preface this post with a note that I couldn’t care less about the Casey Anthony trial. I learned about it yesterday, and my first reaction was one of complete indifference. This is still my position on the matter.
However, I saw this headline on the Enquirer’s website and blood actually shot out of my ears:
Why was Casey Anthony acquitted?
Here’s the story. It’s nothing more than a local commentary on a national story that, I suppose, got a lot of attention. In other words, this is clickbait that the Enquirer is using to boost traffic and meet their numbers to make sure that the sales pitch they use to get advertisers is *close* to accurate. It’s bullshit, and it’s not news.
What’s more is that they attached this to the Ryan Widmer trial. I don’t really have any commentary about this, other than to say that it doesn’t make any damn sense.
Not to sound too righteously indignant, but if we’re going to settle for this sort of commentary garbage as “news,” then Cincinnati is in some pretty deep shit.
Suggestion: write the Editor of the Enquirer an email, asking her to raise the level of discourse in our newspaper beyond simply commenting on national stories and writing up stupid clickbait for the sole purpose of advertising dollars. Ask for more reporters to report on local stories. Ask for investigative journalism. Ask for real news. And threaten to punch them in the pocket.
Yesterday afternoon, we had reader David Sparks post this video in our Community Posts section:
Okay. Just in case the video gets taken down, here’s a transcript:
“I have many black friends, and I have many black clients. Why? Because cops are usually tazing naked black men, so I got cases against cops. I represent black men and I have black friends. But let me tell you something about this. On my flag football team, every black guy on the team–this is just calling it straight right here, no political correctness here–almost every, AW THE HELL WITH THAT, EVERY BLACK GUY ON MY FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM, went out with, lived with, and was married to a white woman, and smoked pot. I just want you to know that I understand black culture. If you want to conquer, If you want to conquer an African nation, SEND WHITE WOMEN AND POT. This is the bulldog. Every dog has their day. I hope tomorrow is yours.”
The smug look on Deters’s face at the very end of his diatribe says it all–he’s pleased with himself, and that’s pretty hard to swallow.
This seems pretty newsworthy to me, especially since Eric “Birth of a Nation” Deters is such a media hound. He’s a public figure, and this is more or less the most racist thing we’ve heard a local public figure say since Marge Schott’s “Million-dollar N/Hitler was good at first” debacle. It pretty much ruined her reputation–well, that and Schottzie dropping a schittzie in short right field. Kinda like how Bulldogs dropped a steamer on the KY side of the Purple People Bridge. THE SIMILARITIES ARE BOUNDLESS.
But I digress.
This should be news. Yesterday. So get on the stick, Enquirer. Get on the stick television stations. and for Pete’s sake (yes, THAT Pete), GET ON THE STICK, 700 WLW. He’s on your damn station. Please, please, please can someone make him answer for this? And while you’re at it, ask him how the hell he manages NOT TO BLINK for so long on the welcome message on his website:
Wowzers.
Seriously, though. Deters should be called out on the carpet for this.… Read the rest
So, if you watch or read local news, they’ll lead you to believe that every last resident of the Cincinnati area is hanging on to every detail of the Ryan Widmer trial as though it were The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes. I’m not entirely sure this is true. So, here’s the big question. Is it? At this point, the sheer number of trials the guy has had shows more about the apparent ineptitude of the various city and state offices involved. There’s so much going on here, and it’s become so complicated that my head almost spins just thinking about it. Oy.
Pros:
I guess if you’re paying attention to the trial, you can chat about super-morbid junk with other weirdos. Congrats?
Cons:
Watching this is like watching a car wreck. It’s possible you’re a terrible person for looking, and nobody’s the better for it. Thanks, local news outlets.
I’ve been following the Enquirer and its headlines for quite some time, and it seems that lately (i.e., FOREVER AND A DAY), we’ve been treated to two types of stories: those that chronicle government, and SUPER BLOODY TALES OF VIOLENCE AND DEATH.
Both types of stories are, of course, legitimate news and/or “journalism,” whatever that means. But taken out of context–which would mean in this case to ONLY read the Cincinnati Enquirer to get your news–one might think that we’re living in a Frank Miller-esque Gotham, where we’re waiting for the likes of our own Batman to pull us out of the cacophony that is our violent city.
It all comes back around to Shadow Hare, doesn’t it?
Without news reporting on the violence occurring in our city and its surrounding areas, you wouldn’t know which neighborhoods to avoid because of your race-centered prejudices.
It’s a violent world we live in. Without this reporting, we’ll never get the superhero we so sorely need. Are you paying attention, Batman?
Cons:
I seriously can’t think of any reason why the predominance of reporting on violence is a bad thing. Seriously. Seriously. How many times do I have to write the word “Seriously” before it’s evident that I’m being sarcastic?
