Fox News Not Really Interested In Reporting On Shooting Deaths Of Unarmed Black Teenagers

Fox News can generally be relied upon for a steady stream of artlessly jingoistic vomit, spewing forth from helmet-headed hairspray sacks who move their lips while reading important reports on hurricanes and other outrages against Heartland (= white, irrespective of actual location) America. What Fox usually fails at, though, is reporting on outrages against Urban (= black, etc.) America. (Kenneth Gladney excepted!) The latest such outrage to receive Fox News' patented bitchy silent treatment is the unprovoked shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who found himself in the wrong Florida neighborhood (you know, where his fatherlived), being hunted like prey -- ALLEGEDLY but also PROBABLY -- by a local paranoiac vigilante known for being "fixated on crime and focused on young, black males." Hmm, that description... kind of sounds like every Fox scare-segment ever?

 From Think Progress:  

Since his tragic death on February 26, Trayvon Martin — an unarmed 17-year-old African-American shot by “neighborhood watch volunteer” George Zimmerman — has become national news. Martin, a good student with no criminal record, was killed by Zimmerman on his way home from the 7-11. Zimmerman was carrying a 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea.

[...]

Martin has merited coverage by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today. The story has been covered by all three broadcast networks and extensively on cable. But there is one outlet that has barely mentioned Trayvon Martin — Fox News.

Indeed! The story   is   kind   of   a   big   deal on the Internet, as senseless and avoidable tragedies involving race and police work shoddy enough to warrant FBI monitoring tend to be.

But just how comparatively sparse has Fox's coverage been? The liberal snobs at Think Progress helpfully added up how many segments the cable networks have so far devoted to the circumstances surrounding Trayvon Martin's death.

CNN: 41

MSNBC: 13

Fox: 1

(1). One. Oooonnnnnne. To be clear. Again: 1.

Oh, and please note that Zimmerman's claim of self-defense against his Skittles-wielding would-be assassin will likely rely on Florida's 2005 "Stand Your Ground" law, an ongoing experiment in civic destruction that lets assholes off the hook for choosing to escalate (actual) dangerous situations, instead of just walking away and coming up with a witty retort a few hours later, like normal humans. So, yeah, go ahead and keep avoiding Florida, everyone. As for Fox, it will cover this terrible story of sadness just as soon as they figure out how the young black man -- or President Obama -- is to blame. [ Think Progress ; Miami Herald via TP ; Christian Science Monitor ]