Earlier this week it was revealed that N.Y Governor Elliot Spitzer was Client 9 in a prostitution ring called the Emperor's club. This came as a huge shock to everyone, as Spitzer was a lawyer who fought corruption, and even prostitution rings, in court. He ran his campaign on being a moral guy, and now the public feels betrayed by him. Spitzer promptly resigned, as I feel he should have, and was replaced by a blind African American, showing how well America can recover from such a bad thing with this historic first.
The N.Y Times broke the story, and it was quickly gobbled up by basically every Western newspaper. Sure Spitzer was the N.Y Governor and possible Presidential candidate, but did he really deserve the media spectacle that followed in the subsequent days. He and his wife were plastered on the front page of every newspaper. Columns discussing prostitution, Spitzer's life, and his wife's decision to stand by him were discussed in great detail. Then it was found out who the prostitute in question was, and the story took off even more. Papers devoted huge spreads of pictures from the women's Myspace and other modeling pictures.
This follows a larger trend of sensationalist journalism that is just aimed to make a buck. The presidential campaign has turned into allegations of racism, sexism, questions about personal lives, and smears on the candidate's integrity. I though that spreading gossips and hurtful things about people wasn't supposed to be a value to be had. Couldn't the Spitzer reporting have been a little bit more compassionate and understanding? Did he really deserve to be vilified in front of millions for his mistakes? I thought that we weren't supposed to judge others. As bad as what Spitzer did, the media also did a bad thing. If they stuck to reporting to real issues such as the genocide in Darfur, problems in Tibet, a balanced view to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, homelessness, and health care, America would be a much better place.
Mr. Dworkin, you missed my last weeks post
Sunday, March 16, 2008
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