Randi Rhodes
This weekend two high school football players in Steubenville, Ohio were convicted in a high-profile rape case. It was a tragic story, though to some people the tragic part was evidently more the judgment than the crime…
Reaction to the judgment was predictable. Given the way football players are treated in a town like this, the crime itself was predictable. The CNN report when the verdict was announced seemed more concerned about the fate of the rapists than the girl who was raped. CNN, we know you’re hurting for ratings, but Steubenville is a very small town. Poppy Harlow, the CNN reporter on the story, described the rapists as young men with “promising futures, star football players, very promising students.” If you didn’t know that a rape conviction was being reported, you would think these kids were in a car wreck.
If CNN was callous, Breitbart.com was crass, as you would expect. CNN lost track of what the real story was. It’s Breitbart’s job to obscure what the real story is. Breitbart blamed the media for the verdict. You know who is usually most to blame for a verdict? The perpetrators. Breitbart bemoaned “the impact on the residents of Steubenville.” The impact of the rape on the rapists… the impact of the rape on the town… eventually will someone consider the impact of the rape on the rape victim?
Related articles
- Here’s What CNN Should’ve Said About the Steubenville Rape Case (jezebel.com)
- CNN Would Like To Express Its Sympathies To The Steubenville Rapists (thegloss.com)
- CNN’s Not the Only One Peddling Sympathy for the Steubenville Rapists (theatlanticwire.com)
- CNN Reporter Labeled ‘Rape Apologist’ After Steubenville Comments (mashable.com)
- Fox News airs name of 16-year-old Steubenville rape victim (rawstory.com)
- CNN Is Awfully Concerned About the Steubenville Rapists (nymag.com)
