..Cops severed arm chokes man to death!!... was the title I was sorely tempted to use
But that wouldn't be "even-handed" or fair and balanced of me would it?
euphemism:
[ ˈyo͞ofəˌmizəm ]
NOUN
a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing..
Janine Jackson nails it on today's journalism
FAIR TV with Janine Jackson (12/5/14)
A little poetry
NYT's | on the deadly police shooting of Akai Gurley:
In Brooklyn, 2 Young Men, a Dark Stairwell and a Gunshot..
[scene]
..two young men separated in age by a single year, collided amid the faint shadows of the stairwell ..
[aand....Cut!]
A euphemistic touch
USA Today on the shooting [death] of 12 year old Tamir Rice:
..a continued nationwide focus on police incidents..
Merrium-Webster:
Definition of INCIDENT. 1: occurring or likely to occur especially as a minor consequence or accompaniment
Bing search definition:
incident
[ ˈinsidənt ]
NOUN
an event or occurrence:
"several amusing incidents"
synonyms: event · occurrence · episode · experience · happening · occasion · proceeding · eventuality · affair · business · adventure · exploit · escapade · matter · circumstance · fact · development
"police incidents" - euphemistically severing any link to a responsible party - got it
NYT's covering Eric Garners death at the hands of police:
..seemed to show Officer Pantaleo using a chokehold..
"seemed to show"?
So when that bit of journalistic caution or "even-handedness"; aka cya for bullshit slanted reporting, proves to be too absurd to insulate the guilty in the eyes of anyone who isn't blind enough to believe it, then what's next?
If the "incident" can't be separated from the guilty party - sever the arm from the police officer - euphemistically of course - we wouldn't want to infer that kind of occurrence incident
From the same NTY's article describing the chokehold by police:
..physically resisting arrest by several officers, including Officer Pantaleo, whose arm finds its way around the struggling man’s neck...
More euphemistic reporting from the same:
..one of Officer Pantaleo’s arms moved around Mr. Garner’s neck.
At this point we're entering the ridiculous - the severed arm has now taken on a life of its own at this point in the sweeping saga - again,..euphemistically:
..the men toppled to the ground, but the arm around Mr. Garner’s neck did not appear to move
Yet when it comes to the fast breaking serious hard hitting up to the minute news; there is never enough time to cover it all |
Secrets revealed in the upcoming "Stars Wars" movie
These are examples of our "respectable" news outfits - (iow's not FOX) - and these reports weren't the "hardball" of political journalism. More the daily grind of human interest "incidents"/"occurrences"
So nothing "breaking" in this diary. But what Janine Jackson has got me thinking is that I read these stories and missed some of these "subtleties" until she pointed them out. I'll be more careful to keep a look out for this kind of bias in the future. Especially what weight is given to various topics, what is "softened", what is diversion, and what is pure fabrication. This goes for politics, police corruption and everything else
Plus, not being all that schooled on language or grammer studies I found it fascinating. Sort of like noticing something much more once it was pointed out.
Janine Jackson ends with this thought:
"actually some of us have a different idea of what journalism is supposed to do"
- Kudos, Janine Jackson - for showing where hard news is "softened" and soft "news" is highlighted - I always learn something from her reporting
- that's a wrap, folks!