A few short months ago, when multiple media outlets had to be shamed into covering the murder trial of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, the excuse given by some was that, as a local crime story, it simply did not warrant the attention of the national media. While I may not like that reasoning, I can certainly understand it.
But if that is the case, why are those same media outlets falling all over themselves to provide wall-to-wall coverage of another local crime story? What is it about the trial of George Zimmerman that compels them to abandon their “only national issues deserve our attention” standards?
The irony is that clinics like Gosnell’s house of horrors *are* more widespread an issue than just Philadelphia, or even just Pennsylvania. Whether or not media outlets choose to recognize the Gosnell trial as such, it was far more national an issue than the Zimmerman trial.
So a few media outlets made the wrong call. No big deal, right? Maybe not, if all they did was fail to cover one national issue (Gosnell). Maybe not even if they failed to cover one national issue and blew one truly local issue out of proportion (the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case). But these are the same media outlets that also failed to cover Fast and Furious. These are the same media outlets who failed to cover Benghazi.
I say we correct their mistake. I say we remind the public at every opportunity which stories truly demand the attention of the American people. On social media sites, every time we see someone post #JusticeForTrayvon, we should respond with simply #JusticeForChrisStevens, #JusticeForBrianTerry, and #Gosnell.
