What Makes A Black Life (or Death) Newsworthy?

• Eric Garner, Staten Island, New York / July 17th
• John Crawford III, Beavercreek, Ohio / August 5th
• Michael Brown, Ferguson, Missouri / August 9th
• Ezell Ford, Los Angeles, California / August 11th
• Dante Parker, Victorville, California / August 12th

What do these five men have in common?  They were killed under suspicious circumstances involving local police.  Each of these deaths are under investigation.  Of the five, Michael Brown has received the most national media coverage. 

The question is simple, who decides which one of these is newsworthy?  Who's pulling the strings and telling us which ones to be outraged about?  Why aren't all of these receiving national attention?  The media frenzy around Michael Brown has not been this fervent since the death of Trayvon Martin.  Is there something we can learn from this?

Maybe it has to do with age.  Garner was a 43-year-old father of six, Crawford was a 22-year-old father of two, Ford was 25 years old, and Parker was 36 years old.  Did they not meet the criteria for garnering a public outcry?

Maybe it has to do with location. It has been well documented that although Ferguson's population is predominantly African American, their police force is predominantly white.  Is it possible that this statistic lends itself to great copy.

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