Leid Stories - Elliot Rodger, Edward Snowden and News with Racial Blinders - 06/02/14

U.S. media outlets generally have held to the same story lines in reporting Elliot Rodger’s May 23 killing spree in Isla Vista, Calif., and the most recent developments in the Edward Snowden/NSA saga, triggered by his interview with NBC’s Brian Williams that aired May 28.

This is no mere coincidence, says Leid Stories. In fact, it underscores three undeniable truths about media today: Whether by default or by design, news organizations are loath to include racial factors in their coverage of stories that clearly contain these news values. Unless a story is strictly about race, race will not be part of coverage, no matter how germane it is to the issue.

In Leid Stories’ ongoing series on media literacy, these two headline-grabbing stories are discussed as barometers of how the media sees its role in a race-based society and why consumers of information should develop alternatives relevant to their needs.