Flammable News Coverage

SAN DIEGO -- As the parent of three young children, I want my kids to get in the habit of following current events. While I cook breakfast, they'll often sit on the couch and watch the morning news.

But I'm also determined to teach my kids to take responsibility for their actions. When they misbehave, I'm tired of them pinning the blame on an invisible sibling named "Not Me." As when I ask: "Who left these toys on the floor?" And everyone answers in unison: "Not me!"

More than anything, I want my kids to learn how to say: "I did it" and "I was wrong" and "I'm sorry."

So, it would be nice if, in watching the news, my kids were not bombarded with messages that help those who misbehave avoid accountability. Like "Admit nothing." Or "Blame someone else." Or "Deflect responsibility." Or "Play the victim."

Those were the messages that much of the media sent after Ferguson, Mo. -- along with a number of other cities around the country -- erupted in violence following the decision by a grand jury to not indict police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of teenager Michael Brown.

The media responded by turning in a mediocre performance that excused the misbehavior of rioters and looters by advancing the narrative that such a reaction was justified.

Wilson, who recently resigned from the Ferguson Police Department, further inflamed the situation when he sat down for an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. At one point, Stephanopoulos asked Wilson if he would do anything differently. In a response that probably surprised many people, Wilson said that, no, he would not.

Stephanopoulos asked the right question, but he should have put it to himself and his colleagues as well. It's the media that should have covered differently the story of the grand jury's decision and the ensuing riots. Much of the coverage was biased, sloppy, incomplete and overly simplistic.

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough wasn't concerned with why people looted businesses, damaged property and pelted police with rocks. In fact, he called the reaction "predictable."

For Scarborough, the real culprit was Bob McCulloch, the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney, and city officials in Ferguson. The commentator claimed that they were guilty of poorly timing the release of the news that Wilson would not be indicted.

...continued

swipe to next page