WRIGHT: Media is not as sensitive to Black lives as you think
Column: The Black Light
As the world has been changing day by day and night by night, the news changes exactly with it. Look at how we consume news now in 2020 compared to two decades ago. We have seen the rise of social media and other digital service providers and TV taking place of the daily newspaper prints.
The change that we as a society have experienced over these 20 years alone is some that greatly shape the way many of us consume current events and the news.
And now to why I hate the news.
Obviously, as a Black man, it is absolutely tiring looking up just about every day to seeing another story of a cop abusing their power on another Black person. This so-called “overly sensitive” time we are living in is not as sensitive to Black lives as they think.
The explosion of social media and the role it plays in today’s society is absolutely impactful, but the toll it takes on me is unparalleled when compared to any other news medium. Hearing about the deaths of my fellow Black people of course is tiring on its own, but seeing the video of these executions have taken a toll on me.
In this year alone, the videos of the attempted murder of Jacob Blake and the public execution of George Floyd flooded everyone's timelines left and right, seemingly without remorse of the Black eyes watching and the victims.
Of course, this is not the first time that these videos have been mass produced into everyone’s household in hope of social justice, but it seems like it is another way to publicly exploit the Black bodies of these men and women.
Breonna Taylor’s death being made a mockery of is a result of this oversaturation of Black death in the media. Turning Taylor's name into not only a hashtag and a trendy quote, but also creating viral TikTok challenges with something along the lines of “Arrest the Killers of Breonna Taylor” in the caption while dancing to Megan Thee Stallion's “Savage” shows a tone-deafness of the consumers of this news cycle that targets social media.
Social media is not the end-all, be-all that irks my nerves when it comes to the news, it is also the persistence of some of the older population that insist we consume the news the way they do.
Just recently I was cornered into a subscription of The New York Times because a professor of mine insisted that in order to be a better writer, I must read The New York Times daily.
Now, while I do not oppose the idea that in order to perfect my craft, I must be receptive and aware of the people who have come before me and are professionals in this craft, my opposition comes when I have to subscribe to a source that I do not greatly appreciate or care for in order to not only become a great journalist, but also consume my news.
And last, but certainly least, news on the TV. The news on the TV now is top-tier garbage to me. Starting locally, as I live in New Jersey, the major news stations surrounding me barely cover what is going on in my area but more so focus on New York City.
I recall seeing constant coverage for every single protest that happened within the State of New York and only seeing the protest from Newark getting coverage from News 12 (in a collaboration story with the other protests from around New Jersey).
“If it bleeds, it leads” is a tactic that is used to share the most urgent and violent stories first. On TV news, we get fed with the violence of the communities that we are in and do not know about almost so much that it never seems true.
In fact, it puts a certain fear into the consumers of the news so much, painting a negative view of the world in the eyes of its consumers.
Amir Wright is a School of Arts and Sciences senior majoring in journalism and media studies and minoring in africana studies. His column, "The Black Light," runs on alternate Fridays.
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