Why Does the Media Have an Obsession with Chicago Violence? (Kansas: crimes, live)

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

I don't remember much coverage of theirs, either. Apparently 900/year in Chicago and 2,000/year in NYC wasn't newsworthy, but 400/year in Chicago (and falling) is OMG THE WORST THING EVER OMG OMG CHIRAQ OMG!

It's all about rappers. Chicago historically hasn't been known as a city that spawned off many rappers, but notably in late 2011 and 2012, with the Rising of Chief Keef, Lil' Reese, Lil' Durk, and others, the violence becomes glorified, and people in neighborhoods known for violence begin to glorify the violence in Chicago. Also, I believe news nowadays nationwide is pretty slow, there's not much to talk about as there was in the 90's.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by CCrest182

Alright maro, I don't hate you, and I think many of your posts are knowledgeable. But again with per capita. These are actually lives being lost, vs. non existent lives. Detroit has it bad, but comparable to other cities Chicago's size, including NYC, which is much bigger than Chicago, those crime stats are lower than us. Detroit is much worse than Chicago, as it's all out bad, but 85 shootings is not good.

I completely agree that 85 shootings suck. I never said otherwise. Just because I say one is worse than the other doesn't mean I'm not saying the better one sucks. It's almost like saying who's the better hitter out of one guy who hits .150 and another who hits .185.The .185 guy is better, but he still sucks. That's basically what it's like with these shootings and Detroit. Detroit is slightly worse, but Chicago still sucks. I never said otherwise - I was bringing up facts and the fact is that 30 shootings at 700K is worse per capita than 85 shootings at 2.7M. That doesn't mean that 85@2.7M doesn't suck. it does

[thefallensrvnge]

Originally Posted by Opin_Yunated

I would hope so (not literally). Chicago is the 3rd largest Metro Area on North America.

The point is, the media doesn't explain that Chicago's crime relative to its size is not in the top 10.

This is true, but they probably don't explain the per-capita bit because it de-sensationalizes the story.

Also, most of American media is privately owned which creates a sole motivation for profit. And unfortunately, what bleeds leads. Moreover, it's all exacerbated by the 24 hour news cycle which encourages the media to report every little thing and report it fast, leaving coverage inaccurate and with no qualified interpretation.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Ace_TX

because news generally cover murders and shht like that

chicago seems to have alot of it... if noone said anything about it you would say the news media was "racist" for not covering the amount of crime

you ever watch your local 4-5-6-10 o'clock news?

if the murders would slow down there would be nothing to cover

But that's kind of the point, this wasn't an issue 10 years ago when the murder rate was worse. Its to the point that we've got people in St. Louis and Baltimore who 'feel safer' despite vastly higher murder rates, but it isn't a headline every weekend like its become in Chicago.

We all know it comes down to politics. Obama's from Chicago, Chicago's murder rate hasn't gone down as much as NYC or LA, thus...HEADLINES AND CAPS LOCK FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IMPACTED BY IT AND WILL NEVER DO A THING TO HELP SOLVE THE PROBLEM!!!

[tablemtn]

Actually, I do kind of remember coverage of the crime situation in Chicago from the early 90's. The Yummy Sandifer case made the cover of Time Magazine and became a national story. The TV series Chicago Hope killed off one of its characters in a fictional mugging/shooting on a train platform.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by tablemtn

Actually, I do kind of remember coverage of the crime situation in Chicago from the early 90's. The Yummy Sandifer case made the cover of Time Magazine and became a national story. The TV series Chicago Hope killed off one of its characters in a fictional mugging/shooting on a train platform.

These two aren't the same types of examples as we're talking about. Yummy Sandifer's stuff would make headlines regardless of where he was and it wasn't a constant barrage of stuff. And Chicago Hope having a character killed off like that hardly counts. Tons of TV shows do that - you can pretty much find that in a drama show filmed anywhere these days.

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

Yep. Between these two things and the history of the Democratic "machine," Chicago is pretty much everything conservatives hate. And, despite their cries of a "liberal media" in the U.S., the major media outlets are owned by major corporations who have pro-corporate agendas first and foremost. They exist solely to make as large of a profit possible for their shareholders, just like any other corporation. There is nothing "liberal" about them.

Same with Obama. He's everything you just described.

[Ace Rothstein]

It has a lot to do with the sheer number of shootings. 80+ shootings in 3 days is a shocking number, no matter what the per capita is.

Incidents like this don't help either. Man Arrested After Attacking Women With Hammer Near Navy Pier « CBS Chicago

[edsg25]

Chicago is the transportation capital of the nation. It thus has has become a main distributing point for both guns and drugs.

Is it a major issue? yes. what incredible suffering takes place because of it. does it have any real effect on those thriving areas of Chicago that are doing so well? not really. and sadly, it doesn't even register with most people there other than its effect on our city's reputation.

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by nearnorth

There are also the third-most PEOPLE in Chicago of any U.S. city, and the other two are significantly more expensive, which means they have less poverty and less violence. Are you going to tell us there are more cow-tippings in states with more cows, too? Thanks, Sherlock.

Yes, there are more murders in cities with more people, which is why murder rate is the valid stat. I'm a big fan of your namesake NOLA, but it has three times the murder rate of Chicago. THREE. TIMES.

Murder rate is significantly statisically, but for a news headline it's the raw number that provides the shock value and grabs the eyeballs.

I spoke to a producer for a 24/7 news channel back in the late 80s who had this to say about news production: "BS is better than static."