The media is a fickle thing. They're predictable, and yet also very complex.
My guess on the matter is this: There is allready a major story on the news that involves heightened racial tensions. This story, because it's allready broken and people are aware of it, has more leverage on people. They are more inclined to be interested in new developments of the current racism spotlight than they are to take interest in some new racism story. If people were to be faced with a large variety of stories with similar themes, they would be likely to start getting jaded. They then might be inclined to stop caring, and stop watching the news as frequently.
The major monolithic media entities seem to follow a trend where they will select certain things to cover which fit into certain categories. After doing so, rather than air a new story fitting the same category, they prefer to report updates on the prior one (when applicable). People seem to be more interested that way. The obvious result is a higher likelihood of good ratings.
Unfortunately that also means that a lot of stories that should be seen are getting overlooked. Nonetheless, someone in the media will cover a story if it's important. You found out about the story and posted a link, so clearly someone in the media did indeed cover it. It's not getting the kind of exposure that the Lacrosse team story is, but it still got exposure.
The media is important for an informed public, but we must remember that the media is by and large a privately-owned venture that seeks to make a profit. Their primary goals do not necessarily correlate with being the best source of information possible. When it's more profitable for them to be less informative, then they will be less informative. It then falls upon the individuals to seek out knowledge on thier own.
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I find your lack of faith disturbing
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Konnrade Stated: The media is important for an informed public, but we must remember that the media is by and large a privately-owned venture that seeks to make a profit. Their primary goals do not necessarily correlate with being the best source of information possible. When it's more profitable for them to be less informative, then they will be less informative. It then falls upon the individuals to seek out knowledge on thier own.
Good point!
-------------------- “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
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