Current Event Assignment

Kelvin Mitchell

Digital Journalism & Social Media

Dr. Lewis

5/4/15

In the peaceful city also my hometown of Charleston south Carolina was disturbed with a horrible shooting in

North Charleston to local residence Walter Scott. It all happen with Walter Scott being stopped by police

officer Michael Slager who is 33. This shooting took place on April 4, 2015 Walter Scott who was 50years

 old in the case of his shooting and  was stopped by Slager at a traffic light which pulled him over because of

brake light malfunctions. The story told by the pedestrian Feidin Santana and  was captured on his phone he

said he saw Walter Scott run out of his car and then he was tasered, and he continued to run an then he was

fatally shot 8 times by police officer Michael Slager. On CNN they show a video that shows Michael Slager

speeding and driving on the police camp after he heard shots and he then stopped Walter Scott because of

his brake light. The officer then ran went back to the car to get information on the victim then Walter Scott

got out an ran because the officer found that he had a warrant for not paying child support.

 In the video you could hear officer Michael Slager say, "Get on the ground one time then after they he yells

Taser, Taser!"Cnn then explains that Michael Slager didn't use the taser properly and Scott was up running

again. After that Scott was shot fatally by the officer in his back because he was trying to escape. Santana

said, "Walter Scott wasn't even trying to fight the police offer he was just trying to get away after the taser

and then he was shot." Walter Scott was just buried and people all over Charleston mourned in his death as

this was a case justice in America finally being served. Other articles that I saw said something different in Slager's defense, the attorney said they he cannot be charged with the death penalty because what he did was not against South Carolina death penalty rules.

 So he would not be charged to that degree but he is sitting in jail right now waiting and also on suicide

watch because they have no idea if he is trying to commit suicide for his doings. The damage that was done

with this shooting is lately blacks have been being harassed by police officers and being killed with cases of

Trayvon Martin, going all the way back to Emmett Till to who was killed by whites. For some time now there has been that tension  between whites and blacks because blacks are getting fed up and tired of mistreatment.

 Blacks already earned their right to freedom so why should we

still be fighting for it. For years we have been oppressed and a time for us to say enough is enough. Act like

this un American  and inhuman and as Americans we have earned that right to live by the same laws and

regulations as the white man. This shooting goes to show you there is still and unresolved issue between

African Americans and Whites which needs to be resolved that's why African Americans are so much in

anger. If it wasn't for the video evidence of the witness justice would not be served and this case would turn

into another unsolved or unjustified story against a innocent black man in America.

Astroturfing

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/08/nfl-astroturfing-convinces-10000-fans-to-support-tv-blackouts/
https://www.benton.org/headlines/nfl-suspend-tv-blackout-policy
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/09/30/fcc-eliminates-nfl-blackout-rules/16480131/
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000480822/article/nfl-suspends-local-blackout-policy-for-2015
http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/03/23/nfl-to-finally-end-local-tv-blackouts-of-poorly-attended-games/


NFL is trying to convince people that there is nothing wrong with TV blackouts and that they are trying to make fans support it. The NFL prevents games from being shown on local televisions if the games are not sold out. Former NFL player Lynn Swann submitted a 3,300 letters to the FCC supporting this rule and 10,500 fans petitioned  to keep the rule. Other people think it should be removed other wise, Ed Bienkowski wrote that, "The sports blackout rule is an antiquated rule and should be removed. The NFLs nonprofit status is over the top. They don't need the blackout rule to protect profits,” Also Spencer Carter said,“Eliminating the sports blackout rule is the true American thing to do. It's right for consumers, not for the greedy corporations!" This rule being changed is a big decision that the FCC has to make many fans aren't happy about it because they feel that they want to watch there team play and sometimes cant because they are not on television. The Astroturfing plays a part because the NFL is trying to cover up a problem that is a really big issue and the big debate around America.

Digital Ethics & Privacy

Ethics are the things we do, the way we treat one another, and the decisions we make. Ethics is knowing right from wrong and abiding by what is good in the situation. Ethics is what we live by everyday and a big part of this world today is Digital Ethics. Digital Ethics is using electronics to catch something that is not right and it is caught on cell phones now a days. Things like fights, sex tapes, police brutality, and certain people that want to be famous by doing dumb things that make us laugh are caught digitally. The biggest case now that deals with Digital Ethics is the Walter Scot shooting in my hometown of North Charleston Sc. A police was chasing a an African American man who was not even running that fast but decided to pull his pistol out an shoot the victim 6 times in the back. That is against the police code of ethics to shoot someone in the back that is never suppose to occur. Their was a guy near by who caught everything on tape with his good digital ethics who has the police behind bars and charged for murder. This is when it s good to have digital ethics because if they didn't have the video it would be another case of a black man murdered by the white man with no justice. Privacy back in the day compared to now has completely changed, back in the day people would like to keep things more private and in house. Even in media there was a lot of gatekeeping which things were chosen to be released or stay private. Now people on social media, the press and people looking for attention have no chill. There is no such thing as privacy today because its so easy to hack, and to take something that's not yours. Also because now a days there is more acceptance to what there was any questions going to be denied in the past. Things have completely changed technology will continue to enhance and privacy will continue to lessen.

http://www.theguardian.com/law/guardian-law-blog/2015/jan/12/police-ethics-digital-internet-technology

 

http://www.aristotlebuzz.com/does-social-media-privacy-exist/

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/michael-slager-death-penalty_n_7058514.html

In a country where over a quarter of adults and almost half of teenagers own smartphones -- according to a report on the nation's "smartphone addiction" from OfCom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the U.K. communications industries -- citizens are using their mobiles to chronicle the violence.

Flickr A search for "Tottenham" on Flickr yields about 11 pages of pictures -- some very graphic -- showing destruction in the streets and wounded rioters.

Blottr Police attempting to manage the overwhelming crowds can be seen in many pictures in the breaking news section of this user-generated news site.

Instagram Some of the most vivid photos of the riots were taken with iPhone application Instagram. Many show damage from the looting, including shattered store fronts and massive damage caused by fires.

Citizenside Photos of the riots when people filled the streets and endless debris and structural damage caused by it are front and center on this global citizen journalism website.

The-Latest Britain's first dedicated citizen journalism news portal has photos of the destruction, as well as video footage. One contributor got up-close footage of a police car burned by rioters.