Update II (10/11): I haven’t watched “60 Minutes” in years, but I’ll catch it this Sunday. The indicted Duke lacrosse players and stripper-embezzler Kim Roberts, who was sentenced to house arrest last month, will be interviewed.
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Last month I told you about a discussion panel at Syracuse University on constitutional issues in the Duke rape case. A video of the discussion is now available.
The panel was “Lacrosse Justice: Gender, Race, and Fairness in the Duke Lacrosse Legal Saga.” Questions presented:
Did politics and publicity railroad the Duke lacrosse defendants? Or were their accusers treated unfairly? In America, who fares better when a criminal trial becomes a media circus?
…to which I respond: YES, no, and it depends.
Featured speaker was Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor and Chief Legal Correspondent, Slate.com. Panelists were Linda Alcoff, Professor of Philosophy and Political Science; Sanjay Chhablani, Assistant Professor of Law; and Tom Maroney, Professor of Law. Mark Obbie moderated.
The Duke case mushroomed beyond a mere rape story. The toxic mix of race and class skewed and framed left-leaning media’s coverage. We were presented with an innocent black woman-victim v. evil white privileged perpetrators, from which flowed all sorts of inanely broad social commentary.
The media aren’t covering the story as much anymore. It’s become obvious to them — as it was to me early on — that the picture they framed wasn’t quite accurate.
As I’ve written before, this was a classic man-bites-dog story, and journalists lost their collective mind at the possibilities. Salaciousness sells.
I’m listening to the discussion as I blog this, and I’ll update the post with my spin later.
In other news, blogger and history professor KC Johnson has done an outstanding job providing in-depth analysis of the Duke case. He’s received much-deserved recognition in New York Magazine.
Related posts:
Update: I hate to be a blog snob because mine certainly isn’t close to perfect, but this blog stinks. I blog for business owners. Perhaps The News & Observer would be interested in my services? Doubtful, but it’s an idea…
