When The Media's Unfair Reporting Becomes A Crime

[MainerMikeBrown]

Speaking of ethics, how about when the media assumes guilt of an accused perpetrator of a crime, but when it turns out that the accused was innocent, the media reports the person's innocence for barely a day?

Just ask Michael Irvin back in the mid-90's. Irvin was a trouble NFL star back then. However, when he was accused of rape in which it turned out that the accuser, a young woman, made in all up, the media, who was having a field day with this story by assuming guilt, hardly reported it all when he found innocent. This woman's story didn't add up during questioning by the police (in which from there, she was forced to admit that she was lying).

But prior his innocence being revealed, Irvin asked the media if they were going to report with the same intensity when they were to find out that he wasn't even in the same city when and where this supposed-rape occurred. He sure sounded innocent-because he was.

And as predicted, the media didn't report much about how they made fools of themselves.

Talk about unfair reporting which can destroy reputations of anyone accused of something they didn't even do, big star or not. If that's isn't immoral, what is?

 

[porterjack]

Fucking your sister is immoral

 

[HK]

I love how this starts 'Speaking of ethics' as though it's actually a reply to something someone's said.


Is this a split from another thread or something?

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

The media takes advantage of freedom of speech by robbing others of their right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

So anyone who talks of freedom of speech doesn't realize that if we as a society put a stop to this kind of unfair reporting, we wouldn't be robbing the media of their rights. We'd just protecting the rights of the accused instead.

 

[pjbleek]

we should have stuck with Hammurabi code should have stayed around a little longer

 

[Dana]

I didn't realize Mainers were this opinionated... Well other than me I mean.

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

I know it's frusterating when you believe a person you heard about on the news is guilty of a crime. However, our law system has the philosophy that a person is innocent until proven guilty for a very good reason.

Too bad the media doesn't see it that way. And because they don't, many people who watch the news fall for the same way of thinking.

I realize a guilty person getting away with a serious crime is terrible. But it's also horrible when a person did nothing wrong but pays a heavy price because people assume guilt too quickly.

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

People in the media who make one report after the next about someone who has only been accused from a crime and then not reporting about how the accused turned out to be innocent much should be fined lots of money. Hey, it really is a crime to do that to someone!