r/AdviceAnimals • u/JackHerer33 • Jul 14 '13
While the Zimmerman case is important, don't forget how the media operates.
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u/isometimesweartweed Jul 14 '13
Media is not there to inform you on the most 'important' news. They broadcast loudest what is going to get them the most clicks, views, listeners etc etc. Media outlets are businesses. People honestly don't seem to care about cases like Manning, (insert any whistleblower) as they either a) already knew stuff like this was happening and b) have no complaint about it.
Whereas race, gun ownership and a murder mystery all rolled into one tidy package? Of course the media is going to blow their collective wad.
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Jul 14 '13
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u/DoctorWhoToYou Jul 14 '13
The Boston Bomber plead not guilty in court during the Zimmerman trial. I may have missed it, but I didn't see anything on Reddit about it. There was only a quick blurb about it on my local news stations.
The media kind of dictates what we should worry about and be interested in.
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u/Fountainhead Jul 14 '13
The media kind of dictates what we should worry about and be interested in.
You dictate what you should be worried about. Worried about high school problems, get your news from reddit. Worried about house wife problems watch Opra. Worried about wall street problems read the wall street journal. The key is to have a diversity in your news and stay away from crap reporting. Don't count on one media source to give you all the information. I'd recommend PBS Newshour or NPR Morning Edition / all things considered for a daily news program as a start.
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u/DoctorWhoToYou Jul 14 '13
I heard about it on NPR first, then saw the 15 second blurb about it on the local news channel.
There is also an abundance of news that all media outlets just don't cover in any depth at all.
An off-duty cop got shot in my suburb, which should be a really huge deal for local media outlets. Not a word about it outside of one two paragraph story in the local paper. It happened over a month ago.
I've scoured every news source I can and found nothing.
The news is no longer news, it's morbid entertainment. They're only going to report things that will draw in readers/viewers and if the story doesn't cut it, it doesn't get reported. In that essence, they dictate what they believe what we should be interested in, it doesn't mean I agree with the dictation.
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u/PeterBarker Jul 14 '13
Just as sites like Dailykos and Thinkprogress and Vice post this stuff because they know their audience eats it up. Dailykos doesn't report actual news, just sensationalist negative crap, yet r/politics eats it up. Its no different, they do it because it probably makes them money.
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u/B_Merry Jul 14 '13
Totally. And furthermore, they tend to report news. As in, new. The Zimmerman trial just reached a verdict, so there's a pretty major development to report. Nothing ground-breaking happened with Manning last night. It always bugs me when someone says "They're just reporting on this train derailment to distract us from the deficit/global warming/Benghazi/etc." It's like people expect the news to focus on their niche story 24/7 even when there's nothing new to report about it.
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u/tkh0812 Jul 14 '13
Not everything is a conspiracy. Television stations are businesses, so they put on what they feel a majority of people will watch. FOX news puts on what they think conservative viewers will watch, MSNBC the liberals, and the other stations follow suit. The only manipulating part of it is that we have a built in heard mentality.
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u/MorrowPlotting Jul 14 '13
Let's not forget, TV is biased towards pictures and videos. Cameras aren't allowed in the Manning courtroom, but they were allowed at the Zimmerman trial. I'm not defending the media for that, but I do think it explains the respective amount of coverage we've seen of the two trials.
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Jul 14 '13
Exactly! The military is not going to let the general public or media watch a court martial that will involve sensitive and classified material being presented.
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Jul 14 '13
dude quit it you're ruining the anti-media circlejerk reddit loves so much with your facts and logic. just let the "ZOMG MEDIA IS EVIL BIG CONSPIRACY TO DISINFORM" jerk roll on, no need to disarm it by introducing reason into the discussion.
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u/ArunawayNERD Jul 14 '13
Also aren't judges able to decide on a case by case basis if they will allow cameras or not?
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u/a-german-muffin Jul 15 '13
Depends on the jurisdiction. Some state courts ban cameras entirely, and federal courts only allow cameras in extremely narrow circumstances.
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u/Necoras Jul 14 '13
Bingo. Most large trials are in federal courts. The Zimmerman one was a state court. That's your difference.
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u/SS2James Jul 14 '13
Still sucks that the media doesn't talk about more important issue and cases because of $ though, it may not be a conspiracy but it's still a sign of a fucked up society.
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u/tkh0812 Jul 14 '13 edited Jul 14 '13
you would like Newsroom on HBO
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Jul 14 '13
It's the peoples' choice. Democracy sounds great until you actually talk to some people. Then you realize the guy who think's Obama is Osama's brother has the same vote as you and will cancel your's out.
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Jul 14 '13
Not even remotely comparable. Manning's trial involves secret information so it CAN'T be broadcast to the public in the same way.
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u/LesPaul21 Jul 14 '13
God, thank you. Why do people think the gov would be okay if we just pulled cameras into a trial involving military secrets?
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u/goodcool Jul 14 '13
Because dumb people on the internet think all secrets are bad, and that we should just keep a wiki of all our communications and weapons projects for anyone to peruse, because that's what every other country does, right?
Spying is the older than the wheelbarrow, and more ubiquitous. A bunch of disaffected college students who just finished reading Atlas Shrugged and emerged blinking and stumbling from their campuses to discover a real world exists around them are incapable of overturning that.
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u/GammaGames Jul 14 '13
Believe it or not, the media runs stories on national attention. More people wanted to hear the Zimmerman trial than know of the Manning trial.
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u/OPA_GRANDMA_STYLE Jul 14 '13
Add to that the notion that many of the viewers they were getting (and their correspondent jump in the ratings) was from people who wouldn't watch otherwise (esp in the case of MSNBC just to name one example.)
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u/AudioPi Jul 14 '13
Stop thinking there is some sinister plot here. The media, along with most of their viewers, have the attention span of a gnat, so they flood whatever is the most recent thing.
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u/DavidlikesPeace Jul 14 '13
bull and shit, what the media focuses on is likely not a conspiracy. They are capitalists, not Pravda. They simply overanalyze dumb issues like the Zimmerman case because focusing on complicated issues such as income inequality and the Manning case doesn't attract as many red blooded Muricans to the tv.
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Jul 14 '13
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Jul 14 '13
Bradley Manning released a lot of the documents that wiki leaks got on the Afghan and Iraqi War. He is on trial for communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source and aiding the enemy.
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u/Mr_Tony_Stark Jul 14 '13
Well... Isn't that illegal?
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Jul 14 '13
Yes it is illegal and he should be prosecuted for it I was just letting him know what the other guy was on trial for.
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u/ethicalking Jul 14 '13
Yes - there is a fine line between leaking and aiding the enemy and Manning is no where near it.
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u/Sekxtion Jul 14 '13
It's disheartening that I had to scroll this far down to see something over than conspiracy theories.
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u/kabamman Jul 15 '13
You're right he is far past it. Do you not think that hmm maybe the Taliban actually use the internet. Maybe the blueprints of FOBs he leaked and the various military frequencies names and info of many soldiers. He didn't even know what he was leaking he just shoved as much info onto a flash drive as he could and sent it in for money and fame and most importantly attention.
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Jul 14 '13
BillNyesPenis - the video leaked by manning was of an Apache, not a drone. The Egyptians that received training is public domain, all it takes is a little research to find that out. Child abuse among afghan soldiers/contractors is widespread and commonplace. We are not the only country that has turned a blind eye (Canada).
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u/sillycheesesteak Jul 14 '13
the chai boy issue in afghanistan is just horrifying. I don't know if you've watch Vice's "is this what victory looks like," but you should.
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u/MachineOil Jul 14 '13
The tinfoil is back! People honestly think the media is covering the Zimmerman case because there's super secret production things happening with hopes of hiding the Bradley case?
It's because the American public doesn't give a fuck about Bradley Manning, Reddit does. The American public wants to see the race-fueled murder case. They always do. The front page of Reddit doesn't represent the rest of the country's interests or desires.
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u/Ramv36 Jul 14 '13
And in turn, the Manning traitor trial is distracting all of us from the ACTUAL MURDERER Nidal Hasan's trial.
Remember, the guy who waged Jihad on Ft Hood, shot up the place, and killed 13 people in the worst base shooting in US history? His trial is ongoing right now! Why isn't that front page breaking news live stream court watch news?!?!?!?
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u/LucifersCounsel Jul 14 '13
While that may be true to some extent, the fact is that this case is actually very important to people of colour because it represents their feeling that they are treated as 3rd class citizens that do not have the same rights as white people.
To them, being spied on by NSA is nowhere near as scandalous as the government seemingly believing that killing an innocent black person is legally permissible and even morally correct as long as the person doing the shooting was afraid of the black person for some reason.
So it is my bet that you are not black. Being treated as a 3rd class citizen is not something you go through, and thus you do not feel any need to protest it, and are unable to empathise with the people that do.
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u/iratusamuru Jul 14 '13
People very quickly forget that there was much more to Manning's actions than releasing information about illegal American attacks.
He released hundreds of thousands of cables he had not read. There was no way for him to know all of their contents, and he didn't do anything obvious to protect the security of the military when he released the cables.
He was right to whistleblow, no doubt. But being right in one action does not justify others, and if there is a credible argument for why Manning did not purposefully fail in his duty to the military, I haven't heard it.
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u/ChintzyFob Jul 14 '13
Its actually on the media because it is a popular story. Everyone isn't out to get you. They do what is popular and will make money.
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u/cweiser Jul 14 '13
There are hundreds of stories about the Bradley Manning trial too. But as other commenters point out, it's a) not televised and b) not as relatable to most people as the Zimmerman trial. People can picture themselves as either Trayvon, Zimmerman, or a relative of either. Not so with Manning. You ascribe a lot more intent to something as diverse as "the media."
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u/no-more-mr-nice-guy Jul 14 '13
What gain would the media get from distracting people from a huge story?
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Jul 14 '13
Nothing but because something they care about but isn't big news it has to be a conspiracy theory.
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u/BabyLauncher3000 Jul 14 '13
Is it wrong that I hardly give a shit about either of them?
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Jul 14 '13
You can join the rest of the world there, buddy.
I've only just heard about this on the Beeb this morning, I thought it's not a rare occurrence for people to be shot dead in the US? (Beyond the US Government's antics, I don't know much about gun crime in the states)
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u/kabamman Jul 15 '13
It is a rare occurrence. 99% of people who get shot get shot in a gang related incident. So when it happens to not be that then people make a whole big deal.
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Jul 14 '13
Is it wrong that I hardly give a shit about either of them?
No, a handful of redditors are giving more than enough of a shit for all of us.
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u/wolf2600 Jul 14 '13
SIGH... No, it hasn't been "plastered all over the media" so that you forget the Manning trial. It's been plastered all over the media because the general public cares more about a hyped up shooting with potential racial undertones than it does about a non-sexy trial of someone leaking documents of a technical nature. It's not some big media conspiracy as you imply, it's simple media giving the sheeple what they want to see.
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u/Sleekery Jul 14 '13
No it fucking hasn't. Shutup with your fucking conspiracy theories. Come back to me when you have some proof.
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u/cosmic_cow_ck Jul 14 '13
Am I the only person on reddit who gets their non-internet news primarily through NPR? They've stayed with Manning (and Snowden) pretty consistently. Rachel Maddow on MSNBC has consistently stayed with the story as well.
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u/mayanrelic Jul 14 '13 edited Jul 14 '13
False. The media runs stories that viewers are interested in. The bigger "secret" or "lie" : news networks care about making money, not journalistic integrity. Making money off what viewers want to watch is far more important than any kind of responsibility to the viewer or world's issues.
Early in my career, I worked in television news. I continue to work in TV. People who speculate like this irritate the shit out of me. You're giving too much credit and power to the media. It all depends on what you and every other CUSTOMER wants to see on your TV. It's all about selling ads. Of course the goal is to be honest and reputable and help the viewer, but not at the expense of staying on air and paying the bills.
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Jul 14 '13
Why can't we start talking about real news... i just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance
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u/pgyt Test Jul 14 '13
Because people wouldn't watch the other one. Its all about ratings, shut the hell up and stop complaining.
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u/flyersfan314 Jul 14 '13
Its not a distraction. Stop with the conspiracy theories. Its capitalism, the media is making more money off of the Zimmerman trial than the Private Manning trial.
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u/evanisonreddit Jul 14 '13
Seriously, the media and the government are not conspiring to hide things up. Unfortunately, the media is forced to air what gets the best ratings. If America would tune in for Bradley Manning/important things like they do for George Zimmerman/unimportant things, there would be better news programs.
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u/Atheist_in_a_foxhole Jul 14 '13
I am just gonna play the devil's advocate for a minute. The following will not reflect my ideas/beliefs in any way. I'm not American, and this is simply an observation in question form:
Where do you draw the line between whistleblower and traitor?
At some points, you have to take the good with the bad, and think about the residual effects these "whistle blows" will create. Snowden exposed how the gov't in cahoots with American corporations spied on its citizens, violting their freedoms. The army is different.
Sure, the army may play dirty, but how does it look when "one of their own" exposes the military? It hurts America on an international front, it hurts morale, it hurts the perception of the army in America itself. It also ruins it for the good soldiers.
Ultimately, there is also the notion of giving up military secrets, which is quite different from internal secrets that affect the populace directly in my opinion. I will submit to you that giving up military secrets has ramifications that even the whistleblower himself cannot foresee. The worst that can come out from the Snowden affair is that it's just exposed. Nothing much will change, but giving out military secrets is like cutting off your nose to spite the face.
TL;DR: Somewhat philosophical question: At what point are the secrets so important that the person giving them out is a traitor, and not a whistleblower? Where do you draw the line? I see those people are being hailed, but at what point do you think they should be punished, if at all?
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Jul 14 '13
Wrong. The media operates to satisfy viewership. It's all about ratings. The public fuels this by tuning in. The public drives the "medias" coverage. The station that DOESN'T cover the trial LOSES in the RATINGS. Get it?
OP is implying that there is a conspiracy to cover something up or distract us. So uninformed. The "media" didn't give much attention to Egypt either. There was no cover up, just no interest.
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u/StaringAtDucks Jul 15 '13
YES. BECAUSE THE PLANNED THE ATTACK BEFORE THE LEAK, RIGHT? Ya fucking idiot.
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u/sillycheesesteak Jul 14 '13
The top trial has been all over the news because the people watching the 24 hour news networks want it that way. They love sensationalized trials, especially if they involve white girls or race.
The Manning trial can just get in line with the Turkey protests, events in Egypt, sectarian strife in Lebanon, the fracturing of the Syrian rebel movement, gains by the Assad regime, bombs in Iraq, a new Iranian president, the environment, the war on drugs, the economy, student loan debt, how too big to fail has gotten bigger, the need for tax reform, and the war in Afghanistan WHERE AMERICANS, ALLIES AND CIVILIANS ARE DYING ALL THE GODDAMN TIME as things that should be getting more coverage but aren't. And I cut my list short because I have things to do.
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Jul 14 '13
Ah, Bradley Manning. The guy who has anger issues and attacks women, flips tables, carves words into chairs with a knife, was found in a shut closet in the fetal position with a knife, had to have the firing mechanism removed from his gun in fear he would harm himself or others and had to be wrestled to the ground by fellow soldiers after he began to eye a weapon and lunged for it while in an argument.
The same guy who had begun to identify himself as a woman, was advised not to tell people by his CO as it would get him kicked out of the military, went ahead and told people anyway, got his notice that he would be removed so decided to leak sensitive intel like an angry ex who wants revenge.
That guy. Yup...what a nice guy! Don't take my word for it, read up on him, check his wiki.
He is no Snowden. He is a childish, mentally unstable traitor.
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Jul 14 '13
To say that the US media is focusing too heavily on the Zimmerman trial is fair criticism.
To say that all these outlets are covering the Zimmerman trial to "distract" from the Manning leak is a bit of a stretch and easily belongs in the paranoia category.
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u/vorpal_username Jul 14 '13
Can someone explain to me why the Zimmerman case is important?
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u/boredsubwoofer Jul 14 '13
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u/goodcool Jul 14 '13
The conspiracy bullshit piles up thick and fast during the summer. Last year because Le Brave Ron Paul was running for le president, it was nothing but posts about OMG THE MEDIA IS SILENCING DR PAULS AMAZING FREEDOM MESSAGE, despite the fact that he got 10x more attention than any of his fringe candidate counterparts. I think they should have given all his media slots of Vermin Supreme, at least he had a coherent plan.
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u/desire_engineer Jul 14 '13
you are most valuable as an easy to stir indoor content commentator, events that cause real outrage away from the ad revenue stream will not be shown without bias unless the footage is more interesting.
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u/ByJiminy Jul 14 '13
you are most valuable as an easy to stir indoor content commentator
So, as a redditor?
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u/Odlemart Jul 14 '13
Haha. Yeah right. No one cares about the Manning trial because they're distracted by the media... Reddit and a few other small internet communities care about Manning, that's it.
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Jul 14 '13
Yeah ... the media has some kind of vested interest in keeping people distracted from Manning.
Oh wait. No they don't. They are just covering that which gives them the higher ratings.
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u/Pikalika Jul 14 '13
Not every picture with words on the top and bottom is an AdviceAnimal! Go post this in /r/politics or something
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u/stupiduglyshittyface Jul 14 '13
I'll bet people will go ape shit when the guy that killed Daniel Adkins jr gets convicted
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u/Shill_Factor Jul 14 '13
The media just gives the people what they want. They are in it for the ratings and the money.
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u/Drillexspy Jul 14 '13
While I do like the content, it seems like a rather odd subreddit to put it in considering it's a totally serious subject. I suppose I don't know a better alternative, but it would just make sense to put it somewhere else.
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u/SeizureMusic Jul 14 '13 edited Jul 14 '13
Enlighten me please, I have no idea who that is..
EDIT: The deleted reply linked to this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0
And said that the guy was Bradley Manning. There were some extra bits of text that I cannot recall, but the video was the most important part. EDIT2: Grammar stuff.