Media Blowing Off Phillips’ Dropped Charges
May 4th, 2010
A while back on the JoeBucsFan.com Radio Network, former Buccaneer defensive end Steve White talked about how the mainstream media has gone rather TMZ these days.
A product of the print journalism ranks, Joe likes to give his colleagues the benefit of the doubt most of the time, but the way the local MSM has handled the Jermaine Phillips case saddens Joe.
The newspapers and TV talking heads were quick to prominently trumpet Phillips’ arrest in January after an alleged attempt to strangle his wife in their Westchase home. Now, several days after Joe reported the case was closed, the MSM has yet to issue even a two paragraph brief on the subject.
That’s just wrong. If reporting the arrest is newsworthy, then it’s equally newsworthy to report the outcome.
Joe’s partners at WDAE-AM 620 reported the news, as did Joe. So the information was out there and consumed by tens of thousands.
Joe hopes his colleagues do the right thing in the coming hours.
May 4th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Thanks for this Joe. It’s part of the sensationalist society that we’ve allowed ourselves to slip into. *cough* Yellow” journalism *cough*
May 4th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Maybe Fennelly will pick up on it and write a one-word paragraph about it.
May 4th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
So he completed ten classes and now he’s a good guy again? The news was he choked out a women. Nobody cares if he took some classes and had the case closed. It isn’t news.
May 4th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
ummm… @JDOUBLE if there was evidence he did it he’d be in jail bro. you dont just get classes for domestic violence.
May 4th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Not really anything different. He committed battery against her and he did what he had to do to get it reduced.
May 4th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Seems like if te arrest is noteworthy the disposition would be also. Not that it means he didn’t do it, but in the interest of completeness.
I suppose one is more sensational than the other.
May 4th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
The guy was not wrongfully charged with a crime he did not commit. He completed a diversion program to have the charges reduced.
Does anyone with a bit of sense think that it means that he didn’t do what was alleged?
If someone gets pulled over and blows a .23 alcohol level, but then gets into a diversion program to reduce the DUI charges do you think that somehow their name should be cleared because it’s no longer a DUI but rather reckless driving?
May 4th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
The media now is purely ratings driven. That’s why “followup” stories don’t get any publicity… because they’re usually not exciting.
May 4th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
The arrest mattered because it was still plausible that he would suit up for the bucs again.
Now that it appears obvious that he wontmbe retained, due to the fact that “he doesnt fit the profile” of young and cheap – he is gone.
If it is true that he pleaded guilt or nc and received Pre-trial intervention that will not speak to his innocence. If it was nolle prossed (non-filed) that could be because the victim was not cooperating. So we would need more facts before assuming that he was wrongly accused.
May 4th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Joe here,
Thomas, the case was closed. No plea, no nothing.
May 4th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Lots of wifes drop charges after they are abused. I still don’t see it as a news story.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Joe, you’re a hypocrite. Why do you slam Jerramy Stevens when his charges were dropped, but you make Phillips out to be a saint.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Joe here,
Paul, you’ve missed the point. This is not about Stevens or Phillips. It’s about the media following through on a story.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I don’t think Joe was saying that the MSM should report on Phillips because he is innocent or guilty, but rather because they reported the arrest as news so why wouldn’t case closure be news?
May 4th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
I’d bet it has a lot to do with the fact that he’s not even on the Tampa Bay roster anymore. He’s a free agent. I would bet the biggest thing about it being headlining news was that he was a Buccaneer at the time. Have you ever seen a news story about an average joe domestic abuse case being closed? Maybe I’m wrong and their have been but my point is that he’s not a player on the team anymore and that’s probably why it isn’t news to them.
May 5th, 2010 at 2:19 am
edited to remove extremely evil comment
May 5th, 2010 at 7:57 am
” I don’t think Joe was saying that the MSM should report on Phillips because he is innocent or guilty, but rather because they reported the arrest as news so why wouldn’t case closure be news? ”
Because now he’s just some guy who wipes down tables at CHili’s , and no one cares .
Pretty simple.
May 5th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Radio Mushmouth — hardly shocked that you completely missed the point.
May 5th, 2010 at 8:44 am
I think we ought to bring phillips back to compete for the safety position one more time. We did really well for us there, when he was healthy.
May 5th, 2010 at 10:48 am
No JimBuc …The point is you asked ” why wouldn’t the case closure be news” , and I gave you the answer:
Because no one gives a shit about Jermaine Phillips anymore.
Get it , stupid?
May 5th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
You misunderstand Radio Mushmouth. If an arrest of a person is news then the closing of the case should be news too. Period. That was the point that Joe was making. It has nothing to do with whether Phillips is or is not a Buc it has to do with fair journalism.
Love that you call me “stupid,” yet that somewhat obvious point appears to be lost on you.
May 5th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
The only thing that is “newsworthy” is something that is relevant , or something that people care about. Regardless of what you and Joe would like, this is the fact of the matter.
This is why the “news” doesn’t report when you arrive at work in the morning 5 minutes late….NO ONE CARES. It’s not news , because you are irrelevant , just like Jermaine Phillips has become.
The fact that this obvious point is lost on YOU means the shoe fits…
May 5th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Radio Mushmouth . . . not worth the time to try to explain it to you . . again . . . and again. Good luck.
May 5th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
The news has absolutely nothing to do with “fair journalism” any longer, it has to do with being interesting so people pay attention.
Joe is the prime example of this …it’s not exactly “fair journalism” to refer to certain people by demeaning nicknames like “the goat”. Can you imagine a major newspaper doing this ?? Purists would consider this unprofessional and poor journalism. But no one cares and the site is sucessful , because it’s interesting , amusing , and grabs our attention.
No one gives a shit about the outcome of Phillips trial, so it isn’t news.
Welcome to the real world nitwit .
May 5th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
LOL. Profanity, name calling . . . very convincing.