Jussie Smollett Attack: Racism and Media Attention - Essay Sample

Introduction

On January 29, Jussie Smollett said that he was attacked while on the Chicago Street. He said that he was attacked and beaten by two white police officers outside the Loews Hotel (Maddaus, 2019). The "empire" actor indicated that the two officers uttered racist words and tied him on the neck with a rope. These allegations attracted the attention of the media. Racism is an issue that is controversial in America as it is in any other country. Therefore media did a good, even, and fair job of presenting the Jussie Smollett case. If they failed to do so, the World would not have known if the actor was assaulted or the incidence was stage managed to create tension about police brutality on a racial basis.

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Media plays a significant role in creating awareness and shaping public opinion. By covering the case, the public reacted differently to the alleged assault. There were those who supported the actor by indicating that the police had the potential of assaulting Jussie Smollett because he is black and gay (Maddaus, 2019). Such coverage is essential in determining how people feel about various law enforcement agencies. Through this occurrence, it was clear that there were those who believed that the police brutalize black Americans. On the other hand, there were those who raised concerns on the case by indicating that the assault was stage managed to create publicity and make the actor famous.

Media freedom helps in offering details on issues that the public may have already made conclusions about. When the allegations of assault came up, they were backed with a letter believed to be from the police (Maddaus, 2019). The letter contained threatening anti-gay messages as well as a white powder. When the media highlighted this piece of evidence, some people felt that the actor had been assaulted and that racial brutality was an urgent issue to handle.

Media integrity means that the platform offers coverage to all parties involved in a case and that they are not biased in believing that an allegation is true without a necessary response from the other party (Swim, 2017). In Jussie Smollett's case, the media covered something suspicious about the allegations. The investigations had established that there was a high probability that the actor had faked the assault. The turn of events transformed him for a victim to the suspect. This video influenced the thoughts of the public who had initially thought that Smollett was a victim of police brutality on black Americans.

Because media covered all these events, it can be established that they carried out their mandate of creating awareness in a fair manner. Even when Smollett was arrested and charged with felony disorderly conduct, the media covered the event (Swim, 2017). The media was involved in the entire process until when all the charges were dropped. Through these events, media provided information to the public about the case and the public used it to judge whether the police had assaulted Smollett or not. This coverage cast doubt on the integrity of the jury.

There were sixteen charges on Smollett, and all of them were dropped. This created doubt on whether the charges were true or the police and the prosecution had just used the video to vindicate the actor and turn him from the victim to the culprit. Although media covered all these events, it is still unclear to the public if the police assaulted Smollett or he had stage-managed the attack to attract publicity and become more famous.

References

Maddaus, G. (2019). Jussie Smollett Angrily Denies Complicity in Attack. Retrieved from https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/jussie-smollett-angered-devastated-1203141884/

Swim, J. (2017). The Case of Jussie Smollett [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmQJfFumYg0