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Opinion
That’s When I Stopped Reading
Why newspapers are losing readers
I think most newspaper readers are like me: They want accuracy and objectivity in news reporting. And when they don’t get it, they stop reading.
Two front-page stories in the Orlando Sentinel on February 20, 2022, are ideal illustrations.
In Desiree Stennett’s profile of civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, she wrote:
One of the first families who took on the fight with Crump was that of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was gunned down by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman …
The phrase “gunned down” means to shoot someone with a firearm so that they fall to the ground. It implies aggression on the part of the shooter.
While George Zimmerman did indeed shoot and kill Trayvon Martin, it was only after the two were wrestling on the ground and Martin was banging Zimmerman’s head against the sidewalk and attempting to take Zimmerman’s weapon.
Stennett’s language showed a total lack of objectivity.
That’s when I stopped reading.
In another story, Caroline Catherman reported on the impact of pending legislation that would ban abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
