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[thedavisreports]

Is the First Amendment Valid?

Director Liz Garbus’ documentary, Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech, presents an expose’ of past and present cases of America abridging the freedom of speech in various capacities. Garbus traces the historical frequency of citizens battling to express their absolute right to free speech which is backed by the first amendment. The Bill of Rights First Amendment of the Constitution states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievance”. Shouting Fire depicts the challenges and threats to ones’ First Amendment by including footage, audio, pop-culture references, and participants of that battle throughout the film. The participants that share their accounts of the fight to protect and exercise their free speech consist of activists, civilians, educators, politicians, and historians. These shared accounts date back to the McCarthy Era, the Vietnam War, the American Nazi defense, Ward Churchill’s dismissal from the University of Colorado, 9/11 terrorist attacks, Debbie Almontaser’s forceful resignation, events of student’s rights to protest, and the Patriot Act. Although this documentary is seen through the lens of Garbus’ father, attorney Martin Garbus, it still portrays a holistic call to question what is the purpose of free speech and how, what, and when, and why it should be exercised and protected. The case of the student, Chase Harper, is worthy of further exploration as it relates to the state of free speech in America.

In a Poway, California public high school, the question of rather a student could express his belief that homosexuality is “shameful” on his t-shirt is acceptable according to his 1st amendment or not. To offer context, this day, in particular, there was a school-wide event held in solidarity with its lgbtq+ student body, and student Chase Harper wore the shirt to protest his counter stance. Harper’s urge to express his stance against homosexuality came from his religious beliefs. He referenced various scriptures from the Bible that urge its believers to spread the truth of the gospel. The specific “truth’ that Harper felt obligated to plaster on his t-shirt the next school day at the lgbtq+ event was “Be ashamed. The school has embraced what God has condemned.” On the back of the shirt quoted the excerpt from Romans 1:27 “homosexuality is shameful”. Harper had no idea that he would be suspended, threatened with expulsion, and questioned by the authorities. The school first punished him for the t-shirt because they believed it was a disruption to a healthy learning environment. The punishment was intensified after the school concluded that Harper’s t-shirt was not only disruptive but also violated the rights of other students. The students that protested against Harper’s t-shirt argued that he was challenging their first amendment right of expression through freedom of speech. Harper challenged the school’s punishment by questioning why must his first amendment right of speech be censored because it’s “merely offensive” to ones’ freedom of expression. Harper’s experience is concluded in the film as an open case that he is still battling within the courts.

The ethical issue at hand is a matter of who’s freedom of expression is truly being challenged. Was Harper wrong for expressing his stance which is based on his religious beliefs? Was Harper wrong for aggressive expression towards a minority group? Moreover, the ethical code that comes into play is the categorical imperative code, right is right, and wrong is wrong. I believe that Harper was wrong because the expression was cruel and usual. He did not have to go to such harsh measures to advocate his stance.

[thedavisreports]

The 1st Amendment isn’t a gift to All.

Director Liz Garbus’ documentary, Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech, presents an expose’ of past and present cases of America abridging the freedom of speech in various capacities. Garbus traces the historical frequency of citizens battling to express their absolute right to free speech(backed by the US Constitution) by including footage, audio, pop-culture references, and participants of that battle throughout the film. The participants that share their accounts of the fight to protect and exercise their free speech consist of activists, civilians, educators,  politicians, and historians. These shared accounts date back to the McCarthy Era, the Vietnam War, the American Nazi defense, Ward Churchill’s dismissal from the University of Colorado, 9/11 terrorist attacks, Debbie Almontaser’s forceful resignation, events of student’s rights to protest, and the Patriot Act. Although this documentary is seen through the lens of Garbus’ father, attorney Martin Garbus, it still portrays a holistic call to question what is the purpose of free speech and how, what, and when, and why it should be exercised and protected. The case of the student, Chase Harper, is worthy of further exploration as it relates to the state of free speech in America. 

In a Poway, California public high school, the question of rather a student could express his belief that homosexuality is “shameful” on his t-shirt is acceptable according to his 1st amendment or not. To offer context, this day, in particular, there was a school-wide event held in solidarity with its lgbtq+ student body, and student Chase Harper wore the shirt to protest his counter stance. Harper’s urge to express his stance against homosexuality came from his religious beliefs. He referenced various scriptures from the Bible that urges it’s believers to spread the truth of the gospel. The specific “truth’ that Harper felt obligated to plaster on his t-shirt the next school day at the lgbtq+ event was “Be ashamed. The school has embraced what God has condemned.” On the back of the shirt quoted the excerpt from Romans 1:27 “homosexuality is shameful”. Harper had no idea that he would be suspended, threatened with expulsion, and questioned by the authorities. The school first punished him for the t-shirt because they believed it was a disruption to a healthy learning environment. The punishment was intensified after the school concluded that Harper’s t-shirt was not only disruptive, but also violated the rights of other students. Harper challenged the school’s punishment by questioning why must his first amendment right of speech must be censored because it’s “merely offensive”. 

[thedavisreports]

Six Ethical Philosophies

Golden  Rule 

The golden rule, commonly found in religious concepts, urges people to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The golden rule is not a concept that is mutually exclusive to religious ethics, but more so, a commonsense ethic that requires one to be accountable for others as if they were themselves. This universal principle unifies humans by emphasizing their likeness thus a need for empathy and consideration for human’s sake. 

<https://iep.utm.edu/goldrule/>

I closely identify with the golden rule as a code of ethics, because it trains me to function from a place of empathy. In a world where we tend to highlight our differences rather than our similarities, it’s easy to view others with low regard. Due to this constant state of othering, we are promoting disconnection and disassociation which hardens our hearts of love, compassion, and understanding nearly in a psychopathic or sociopathic manner. 

Moreover, I am reminded of my answer to the hypothetical question “who do we throw off the boat to save the rest”, which was to throw the person who proposed the question off the boat. If one is so willing to sacrifice another then shouldn’t they be just as willing to sacrifice themselves? According to the golden rule, the answer should be yes, because you have accepted that your self-sacrifice is a necessary good the same way you viewed it as necessary good when considering someone else’s life. If not, then maybe throwing someone over the boat is not a necessary good at all and the suggestion to do so is evidence that the suggester is an egoistical hedonist. The obvious danger of this sort of hedonism is that they will always be willing to sacrifice someone else for their own sake with the possibility that they still won’t get what they desire. 

Hedonism   

Hedonism, the philosophical work of aiming at the highest good, which is to pursue one’s best interest or to gain the satisfaction of fulfilling one’s desires. Stanford’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that “ hedonism can be universalist, me-and-my-near-and-dear egocentric, or egoistically focused just on one's pleasure.” However, it is important to note hedonism is not necessarily egotistical per se. Hedonism is referring to the pleasure that one aims for as their highest good.  <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hedonism/#Bib>

Golden  Mean   

The golden mean, or the golden middle, is the sweet spot of comprising between two extremes on a spectrum of “excessiveness or deficiency” according to Aristotle. The point of the golden mean is simply to find a moderate position for the sake of acting morally. 

<http://faculty.bucks.edu/rogerst/jour275morals.htm>

Categorical Imperative    

In short, categorical imperative means that right is right and wrong is wrong. According to Immanuel Kant, humans are obligated to do the right thing and there is no excuse to erase or minimize bad/evil actions/ideas, or cruel and unusual harm. Furthermore, good is determined by whatever has a universally positive effect. 

<http://faculty.bucks.edu/rogerst/jour275morals.htm>

Utilitarianism  

In utilitarianism, John Mill teaches from a centralized focus on net gain where the “greatest amount of good for the greatest number” creates the standard goodness. John Mill’s expansion on the study of utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, in which consequences of actions judge rightness or wrongness.   

<https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/>

Veil of Ignorance    

John Rawl’s theory of the original position places the individual behind a veil of ignorance in which the individual knows nothing about themselves. By placing the individual in this position of being detached from their identifiers, it forces the individual to make a decision strictly from logic and reason. So the unbiased and impartial objective person is believed to assess justice as fairness. 

<https://open.library.okstate.edu/introphilosophy/chapter/john-rawls-and-the-veil-of-ignorance/>

[thedavisreports]

Journalistic Pioneer, Dorothy Butler Gilliam Speaks on her Conquest of Journalism

Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first black journalist at the Washington Post, shares her trailblazing journey to the Clark Atlanta University media scholars who reflects her younger self. 

Gilliam was eager to make a stop during her book press tour at CAU due to her long-standing admiration for the Atlanta University Center. 

Students filled the venue with bright-eyes and bushy-tails enthusiastic to hear Dorothy Butler Gilliam speak first hand on her six-decade-long journalistic career. 

“Gilliam was not only black, but she was also a woman. Her bravery to represent intersectionality through journalism in that time period is truly inspirational” said Clark Atlanta University student, Jason Sanford.

Dorothy Butler Gilliam’s book, Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalist’s Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America, acknowledges her start in journalism and further elaborates on her position and how she pursued her goal for six-decades long. 

Gilliam confesses that her remaining at the Washington Post in 1961 was more of a burden than her actually getting the position. 

 In 1961, the Civil Rights Movement was in high gear and the hatred that surrounded the movement of black equality impacted her inside the newsroom and out the newsroom. 

 Gilliam spoke on how it was a struggle just to get to her job at the Washington Post being that taxises wouldn’t even stop to give her a charged lift through the busy DC streets. 

 When she would arrive at the job, the humiliation would keep up throughout the day. Although her coworkers were “civil, they were ignorant,” said Gilliam. 

 Although her work environment brought her much anger and irritation she was well aware of her social responsibility of black representation. 

 “I knew that I needed to be a success in order to make room for other black journalists. If I didn’t step up, there would be many years before another black journalist received an opportunity” said Gilliam. 

 Not only did she understand her responsibility as a black female journalist, but she also understood the power that her journalistic pen carried even prior to her position at the Washington Post. 

 In the heat of the Little Rock 9 interrogation of public schools chaos, Gilliam was expected to remain in her office and keep a tight lip. However, her boss had just been attacked by radical mobsters and that couldn’t stop the story from being reported. 

 Gilliam was very much so concerned about her boss, but she knew that America had to receive this story to help the cause of equality.

 Her grit during that time is what allowed her to earn her position at the Washington Post. Moreover, during the course of her time at the Washington Post, Gilliam admits although she grew a lot from that experience, the cross that she carried on her back would break her down to her knees in pure agony. 

  “I believe that journalism is currently under attack and it is a bit scary to know as an aspiring journalist, however, hearing Gilliam’s truths gives me hope and courage to remain in the field,” said Spelman student Jessica Smith. 

 After much blood, sweat, and tears, Gilliam still isn’t done showing the world what she brings to the table. 

 As Gilliam reflected back on her journey, it inspired her to write her book and develop her mentorship program to craft the next generation of skillful journalists.

 “So, why suffer through all of those troubling waters for the sake of journalism?” asked CAU student, Helena Jordan to Gilliam.

 “I knew that this was something much bigger than me. Making a difference in the media was going to have a larger impact on the world” Gilliam humbly answered to the youthful crowd of aspiring media personnel. 

[thedavisreports]

Missing Student, Alexis Crawford's Body Found in Dekalb County

On Friday, November 1st, the Atlanta Police Department took a missing person's report for Clark Atlanta University student Alexis Crawford, age 21 years old. 

Alexis Crawford's body was found in a park in Dekalb county of Colombia Dr. The police were directed to the body by one of the suspects. Since then both suspects have been warranted with for the murder of Alexis.

Jordyn Jones was Alexis' friend and roommate and the second suspect is Jones' boyfriend, Barron Brantley. 

The department did take a police sexual assault report on Oct. 27th from Alexis, a few days prior to her disappearance. In this report, Alexis described unwanted kissing and touching from Barron Brantley. 

The medical examiner's office has ruled Crawford's cause of death to be asphyxiation, the state of being deprived of oxygen; suffocation. 

The case has come to one of saddest conclusions possible and has truly weakened the spirits of fellow Clark Atlanta peers including myself.

The first time I became aware of Alexis' disappearance was via Instagram. A peer of mine posted a missing person report for Alexis. 

This report went viral on both Instagram and Twitter which allowed for people to be aware of the case and make a call-to-action. 

A little over a week after, Alexis' body was found and details about the investigation were exposed all over social media. 

The grimy details of the case caused more people to look into the case which forced it to become national news. 

Hanson addresses the evolution of the media (pg.173) which is demonstrated with Alexis' case. If it wasn't for the instantaneous reporting that social media offers, I doubt that Alexis' would've been found that soon. 

Before social media, the news took a while to spread due to its limited accessibility. Now thanks to social media, one post can bring in world awareness in less than 24 hours. 

Furthermore, I believe that the impact of social media forced the suspects to confess because they were being attacked by people across the nation and they couldn't deal with the pressure or guilt.

[thedavisreports]

Instagram Plans to Hide Likes for U.S. Users

Hanson questions "are we really living in a media world?" (pg. 2301) and I believe that we are currently living in a media-based society. 

My reasoning for this assessment is because human interactions are centered around the media unlike ever before. 

Prior to the inclusion of social media as an aspect of the media, people were more social and depended on personal interactions to connect with one another. 

Now we live in a world where likes and comments on posts equate to conversations. Children don't play outside anymore, they watch YouTube videos of other children playing with toys that they probably have. And adults network on sites like LinkedIn, instead of going to office parties and conventions to properly network.

Due to these strange evolving times, I believe that people have begun to adopt social anxiety because they're not used to human interaction outside of the virtual world of social media.

People are so consumed by the media that their identifies depend on the likes, comments, and shares of others in the virtual world.

Recently, Instagram began testing a new feature in Canada that hides public likes on all photos and video posts. Now the popular social media platform plans to expand this test to other countries, including the U.S.

Many users are in a frenzy behind this potential test. They argue that the removal of likes defeats the purpose of the application. 

Instagram is a social media platform that allows users to freely express themselves with posts among their 'followers'. People interact with each other by liking, commenting, and sharing each others' posts.

So with the removal of the interacting portion of the application, it becomes useless because people are so depending on it for personal validation that they more than likely don't receive in the real world.

[thedavisreports]

Simone Biles Becomes the Most Decorated Gymnast while rocking her Controversial Curly Hair

Record-breaking, history-making, bestselling book author, Simone Biles, under fire for fiercely rocking her curly, waist-length ponytail. 

Traditionally, gymnast are suggested to have the hair styled in a sleek pulled back straight ponytail. However, Biles choice of embracing her natural kinky hair and rocking a 'black' hairstyle has gymnast fans in a frenzy. 

Over the past few years, the face of the predominately white gymnast world has become more black with sensations such as Gabriella Douglas and Simone Biles ranking as the best gymnast in the world. 

Evidently, Biles is re-imagining what a gymnast looks like as her platform expands, and she isn't apologizing for it as she tweets "somethin a lil different ;)".

Biles demonstration of self-expression resulted in an attitude change towards culture and standards in the gymnastic community in particular. This makes me think of Hanson's perception of the attitudinal effects of the media. 

"Viewers might decide they like a new... hairstyle because of what they have seen in the media," says Hanson. (pg. 286)

Biles broke records while rocking her 'black' hairstyle in a 'white' sport. 

Blacks and POC are forced to adapt to European beauty standards in order to fit in predominantly white environments. Although Biles may not have intentionally worn that hairstyle to make a statement or directly affect society, the hairstyle certainly provoked a much-needed conversation and forced people to accept standards that may not be in their norm. 

[thedavisreports]

Millions Rally to Prevent the Execution of Innocent Man, Rodney Reed

Texas has scheduled the execution of Rodney Reed for November 20, despite evidence that exonerates him and implicates the murder victim's fiance, Jimmy Fennell. 

Renown forensic pathologists including Michael Baden, M.D., Werner Spitz, M.D., LeRoy Riddick, M.D., and Cyril Wecht, M.D. have all concluded that Reed's guilt is medically and scientifically impossible. 

Furthermore, Author Snow, a former prison mate of Jimmy Fernell, disclosed a conversation in which Jimmy confessed to murdering Stacey Stities saying: "I had to kill my n****-loving fiancee." 

Rodney Reed and Stacey Stites were having a consensual sexual relationship. Reed has been on death row since 1996 for the murder crime of Stacey. As November 20th quickly approaches, millions have gathered in an effort of justice for Reed thanks to the case going viral in only one week. 

Society's determination and dedication to get justice for an innocent man via Social Media demonstrates Hanson's theory of Social Responsibility. Under the social responsibility theory, the media is obligated to "provide the news and information needed to make the political system work", according to Hanson. (pg. 2202)

If the media did not get involved in delivering necessary news and information the judicial system would have wrongfully convicted yet another innocent man.

[thedavisreports]

Oprah Winfrey's $13 Million Dollar donation to Morehouse College marks their largest endowment

The all men's historically black college, Morehouse, celebrated the 30th anniversary of The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program. Oprah Winfrey launched the scholars' program in 1989 with initial funds of $12 million dollars. Unexpectedly, Winfrey donated an additional $13 million rising her total investment to $25 million. Winfrey's total investment now marks Morehouse's largest endowment in its history.

"I understand that African-American men are an endangered species," she said, in regards to reasoning for financially assisting the men of Morehouse.

In Chapter 1, Hanson evaluates the seven secrets of the news. The seventh secret, "there is no 'they' ", important to conceptualize in the development process of strengthening the community. Often times in the Black community we attempt to place total blame on an alienated 'they', instead of having self-accountability. Oprah saw that black boys/men in her community were at a disadvantage so she continuously invested in them. Instead of crediting 'they' with the success of marginalizing black boys/men, she credited herself with putting in the effort to promote black excellence.

[thedavisreports]

Music Streaming Services are Forcing the Extinction of Physical Albums

Physical album sales have become a thing of the past in the last 20 years due to the shift towards musical streaming services. According to The Harvard Business Review, album sales have crashed from a summit ranking of 785 million to 241 million in the brief gap of 2000-2015.

"The future of sound" (Hanson, p. 1067) is here via Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube, Tidal. Streaming services have interrupted the traditional way of not only listening to music but also news reporting and broadcasting.

People are no longer sitting around an antique radio in the family room to catch the daily news, or walking around with a cd player and headset to listen to their favorite tunes. This generation doesn't even have to deal with the frustration of hopping around to different music stores just to find one album.

Thanks to streaming services, music, news, and broadcasting are all instantaneously accessible by a click of a button.  

Pg. 1067 "The Future of Sound"

[thedavisreports]

Diahann Carroll, Pioneering Women to 21st-Century TV Diversity, Dies at 84

Carroll dies from complications of breast cancer at 84 years old. Although she has transitioned beyond the physical world, her legacy lives on.  More than half a century ago, Diahann Carroll is credited for her trail-breaking role as "Julia", the first American television series with a black female lead.

From 1968 to 1971, "Julia" starred Diahann Carroll as Julia Baker, a young widowed nurse with a son. "Julia" broke racial barriers in television that allowed for shows such as 'Scandal', 'How To Get Away With Murder', 'Being Mary Jane', etc. to even have a platform with black female leads nearly 40 years later.

In the late 1960s, Carroll was the first and only black female lead that didn't have a role as a servant to her white counterpart. If it wasn't for Diahann Carroll taking a risk with "Julia" there wouldn't be as much diversity on television (Hanson. P. 1328)

Pg. 1328 "Diversity on Television"

[thedavisreports]

The Alleged 2nd Shooter of Clark Atlanta Univ. Block Party Captured and Awaiting Trial

Atlanta Police arrested the alleged second gunman, Ahmad Coleman, of a shooting at a block party at Clark Atlanta University in front of the student library. 

The shooting left four students injured out of a crowd of over 150 students. Coleman was arrested in Mississippi and is currently awaiting an extradition hearing on charges including attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and reckless conduct.

As a current student at Clark Atlanta University, outsiders would assume that I either experienced this tragedy or heard the news first-hand from a peer. However, I didn't receive the news in neither manner. Shockingly, I found out about the mass shooting that happened right in front of my housing commons via Twitter. 

The fact that I received news that was happening right under my nose via social media, clarifies Hanson's perception of the "News in the Age of Mobile Media" as discussed in Chapter 6. As predicted in the late 1990s, instantaneous mobile media news has become the newspaper of the 21st century.  

[thedavisreports]

Morris Brown Receives Donation from New Birth Church

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church plans to redirect a donation it received from rap artist Kanye West to Atlanta's Morris Brown College. Morris Brown has lost accreditation since 2002 due to its financial struggles. The amount of donation has yet to be released, however, its insinuated to be a generous donation because it has allowed Morris Brown to get closer to accreditation. New Birth's Bryant, announced the redirection of West's donation to Morris Brown after intense prayers revealed to him that the college needed the financial assistance more than the church.

Although leaders of New Birth Church may not have consciously chosen to bring awareness to the financial struggles of Morris Brown College, their donation has brought good publicity to the College. This blank unintentional publicity stunt is an example of Hanson's "agenda-setting theory" that is described in chapter 3. The Morris Brown financial issues were made more important to the public after it was an important news story thanks to the New Birth donation. Hopefully, the news coverage over the donation will influence others to also donate which will ultimately solve the College's financial burdens so it can become re-accredited. 

[thedavisreports]

North Georgia School District Grants Transgender Students the Freedom to Use Preferred Restroom

The controversy is brewing in predominately conservative North Georgia community as its school district enforces a new policy that will allow transgender students to use their preferred restroom. Parents are in an uproar as the push back on new school policy that goes against their standards that align with traditional sexual orientations. 

Although this story is deemed as "community news", its a reflection of how national news fails to represent every community. In national news, the controversy of transgender public restroom usage was a big deal in 2015-2016. Since then, there haven't been many follow up reports, which would make the nation assume that its no longer an issue. However, as Hanson mentioned in Chapter 6, community and local news are just as important as national and global news, if not more important, because it reflects what issues people are facing on a daily basis. 

[thedavisreports]

El Paso Terrorist Pleads Not Guilty to Mass Shooting

El Paso terrorist, Patrick Crusis, confessed to targeting Mexicans in his August 3 mass shooting. However, Crusis plead not guilty to a charge of capital murder in his fatal shooting of 22 people at a local El Paso Walmart. 

Since the 2016 Presidential election of Donald Trump, many argue that Trump's political agendas and social bias has provoked deeply embedded American racism and hatred to rise to the surface. I Marginalized groups are continuously targeted being that more hate is being promoted in the media thanks to Trump's administrative office based not on opinions but on confessions of perpetrator like Patrick Crusis. 

In chapter 2, Hanson elaborates on the direct and indirect effects of the media on the public. The media coverage of Trump's administration is an example of the negative psychological effects of the media on the public. In comparison to the positive impact of the media coverage of Obama's administration, where he promoted unity and refused to tolerate hate. Therefore, Americans weren't as divided because they were too consumed by unity.

[thedavisreports]

Allyson Felix Breaks Usain Bolt's Records 10 Months After C-Section

Sprinter Allyson Felix rewrote history just 10 months after undergoing an emergency cesarean section. Felix broke Usain Bolt's record for winning the most world championship gold medals. Felix won her record-breaking 12th and 13th medals at the world track and field championships in Doha, Qatar. 

While studying this history-making event, I noticed the lack of media coverage the Allyson Felix received. Here we have a black woman from America that broke world championship records just 10 months after having an emergency c-section, and she didn't get half of the media attention as sprinter Usain Bolt when he broke the record a few years back. 

After reading Hanson's explanation on the role of ratings, it made sense as to why she didn't get the same media attention. Women simply don't get the same air-time as men because they don't bring in the same ratings as men, especially in sports journalism. The blame could be placed on media outlets, but the public is at fault for the lack of female exposure because they don't tune in. If more people watch female sports, media outlets would broadcast them more. Ratings shape what the media chooses to showcase because ratings bring in the money.

[thedavisreports]

Another Lifeless Black Body on CNN Daily Reports

Although police brutally have always been a problem in the black community it was not until the new age of technology that it received national attention. Even with this proof, America’s justice system has once again failed to defend and grant justice to the victims. 

Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Micheal Brown, Trayvon Martin, Yvette Smith, Eric Garner Aiyana Jones, and hundreds of thousands of more black bodies are constantly paraded on the news without justice. This forces me to question the purpose of the media. Why is lifeless black body only worthy of a 5-minute headline and not a thorough investigation? Is it just for ratings or for advocacy?

Hanson brings up a big point that "people are treated as things"(p. 276) in the media. His discussion on the dehumanization of humans in the media answers my questions. 

Black lifeless bodies are used as props in the media to bring in viewers because media outlets can depend on violence to draw people in not to make a call-to-action.