By Rebekah Hutson, Press Pass TV
The Worcester Telegram and Gazette published a column called “Victim Said a Lot on Facebook” that used Facebook posts from a young man who was murdered to paint a caricature of him- needlessly putting his family and friends in the position of defending his character while they are dealing with the terrible task of burying a young father of 5.
This invited over 70 comments on the article, many hateful and dismissive of the death. We know that this kind of portrayal of young men of color is harmful to the safety of all of our youth of color. What’s more is that without a robust moderation system of commenting, like the one used by the Boston Globe, the Telegram is not only openly promoting hate in its publishing, but harboring it in its comment sections.
As part of the #RespectInReporting campaign, we’re asking the Worcester Telegram & Gazette to update their comments policy to reflect both their own mission to encourage civil discourse and foster a stronger sense of community, as well as maintaining a trauma-informed perspective of the role of journalism in promoting a strong and vibrant community. You can sign here! Please share with your networks!
Let’s get to 100 today! #RIRpptv
Still from campaign video
Rebekah Hutson is a student at Bay State College in Boston studying Entertainment Management. She is currently interning with PressPassTV as Arts & Action Coordinator, helping to manage student projects as well as managing media campaigns such as the Respect In Reporting campaign.
