by A.man.I

As I learned about the murder of Chauncey Bailey, I turned to the news networks, figuring they would be all over the ambush style shooting of the news editor that happened last week. That didn’t seem to be the case, however, and I asked myself why?

It looks like I’m not the only one scratching my head. Richard Prince (Journal-isms) also noticed, and did some investigating:

As of Sunday, the first targeted slaying of an American journalist in the United States since 1993 had yet to be mentioned on the ABC, CBS or NBC network news programs, according to a database search.

CNN and Fox covered the story according to Prince; however mainstream press for the most part all but ignored this terrible crime. Bloggers, on the other hand were all over it. Check out ActingWhite, NativeSon, UnderCoverBlackMan, and Prince’s Journal-isms. These sites provided timely, information, and links to the story.

What does this all mean? First of all it appears that the mainstream continues to miss the mark when it comes to covering stories that the community is interested in. New media however provides a tremendous opportunity for people to be empowered to share “our” stories via blogs, email, and links. It may be easy for the mainstream to doubt the power of blogs; however, the power is that people no longer have to rely exclusively on TV, radio, and newspapers to get news and information. Just remember to check your sources.

Just a few thoughts from a TV reporter drifting in cyberspace.