Criminal Case Blog

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/03/AR2010100301659.html

The criminal case I looked at was about the lawsuit brought against Bishop Eddie Long. Long is the Bishop of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church which has grown to become a mega-church in the Atlanta area. Four men brought forth this case alleging Long coerced the men into sexual relationships with them. So far Long has only spoken to his congregation when he told them that he would fight all charges brought up against him. The only evidence so far for this case are photos that were supposedly sent by long to the victims that showed him dressed in tight or scandalous clothing, and the alleged victims receipts of gifts that were given to them by Long. As of right now nothing is certain and the details are still being investigated. When thinking about the reading for this week and this case, it is interesting to see how the media is able to make this story such a large part of the news. I personally have seen this story on television news, various newspapers and all over the internet. Just as the reading suggests, the media is able to regulate public agenda and what is important and what’s not. In influencing criminal justice policy this case may be presented with the media in mind even as the investigation continues, to either show Longs innocence or guilt. The main idea with this is that the media is how most of us will formulate our opinions on cases such as this. This crime is not entertainment to me and I don’t believe others would consider it to be entertainment but news. This alleged crime is not entertainment to me because it provides information of something that I would have otherwise not have known. Some may consider this to be entertainment though because Bishop Long is a prominent leader is his community and because he is the head of a mega- church some may consider him a celebrity, which could pertain to this entertainment factor as well, but not to me.