The so-called swine flu pandemic turned out to be a true low-point
for the mainstream media. For more than a week, the story dominated the
front pages of daily newspapers and Internet news sites, while cable
television chased it 24/7. It was a made-for-mainstream media event: a
supposedly deadly virus with a dirty sounding name that you could catch
if someone sneezed in your face or shook your hand. Just watching the
tube or picking up your local newspaper made you think we were on the
precipice of Armageddon. There was only one big problem. The
wall-to-wall coverage was entirely overblown, making it a textbook
example of what’s wrong with today’s news media.
Hidden among the breathless coverage was this important fact —
about 36,000 people die from run-of-the-mill flu every year in this
country. And only one person has died so far from the dreaded swine flu
in the United States. But the MSM drowned this inconvenient truth in a
torrent of photos of masked health workers and endless lectures about
the importance of washing one’s hands. Not surprisingly, panicked
educators quickly started closing schools around the nation, including
twelve in the Bay Area, one of which was Berkeley’s Malcolm X
Elementary School. It was classic overkill; an absurd tribute to a
dying medium’s need to reestablish its relevancy via Internet page
views, newsstand sales, and Nielsen Ratings.
By week’s end, even the Mexican health authorities, who launched the
scare with the proclamation that the virus had killed more than 150
people there, had quietly cut the death toll to 25. Sure, people were
getting sick, but they overwhelmingly reported a mild to moderate
illness, less worrisome than the average flu. In the end, the swine flu
near-pandemic of 2009 appeared destined for history’s scrap heap.
Another next big thing that failed to materialize.
Justice in Chauncey Bailey Case
Speaking of overkill, in the Bay Area news media, it’s been the
murder investigation of journalist Chauncey Bailey. The sheer amount of
time and newsprint devoted to one crime has been somewhat embarrassing,
considering that more than 100 people are murdered every year in
Oakland and none receives this type of coverage. Still, the excellent
work by the Chauncey Bailey Project and the San Francisco
Chronicle did uncover systemic problems within the Oakland Police
Department, while exposing a police chief who’s not ready for primetime
and helping prompt some real justice, too.
First, the justice part. A grand jury last week indicted Yusuf Bey
IV, the CEO of the defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery, for allegedly
ordering the murder of Bailey and two other men. The charges could
result in the death penalty or life in prison for Bey, who has long
been suspected of being the mastermind of Bailey’s August 2007
assassination. It took a long time to bring Bey to justice, in large
part because OPD decided to assign one of Bey’s friends, Sergeant
Derwin Longmire, to lead the investigation.
Last week, we also learned from the project another reason for why
Acting Police Chief Howard Jordan should not become the department’s
permanent top cop. Jordan had staunchly defended Longmire last year,
saying he had done nothing wrong, even though there was compelling
evidence that the homicide detective had no intention of going after
Bey. Then last week, Jordan said if he had to do it all over again, he
would have taken Longmire off the case because he was no longer sure
the sergeant had been objective. That sounds a lot like closing the
barn door after the horse ran away. It’s pretty clear that Longmire had
no business being anywhere near that investigation, and Jordan showed
his true colors by defending him while he was still under investigation
by both internal affairs and the state Attorney General’s Office.
Spain to Investigate John Yoo
In other investigation news, a Spanish judge announced last week
that he was opening a sweeping war-crimes probe of former Bush-era
officials for their roles in authorizing and carrying out torture. The
targets of the investigation by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, most
famous for going after Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, presumably
will include UC Berkeley law school professor John Yoo, author of the
infamous “Torture Memos.”
But while Garzon was tackling the torture issue head on, President
Obama was trying to walk a tightrope. First, he made a significant
statement last week, telling reporters that he considers waterboarding
to be torture. But then the president stopped short of saying whether
Bush-era officials should be investigated for violating US and
international laws. He also characterized the legal opinions that
authorized torture — written mostly by Yoo — as a
“mistake,” and not criminal acts.
Three-dot Roundup
Speaking of torture, an eye-opening interview with a former FBI lead
interrogator by Newsweek magazine revealed how traditional
interrogation methods worked much better than waterboarding and sleep
deprivation. … Bad poll numbers plague the series of ballot measures
in the May 19 special election, with five of the six propositions
losing by 9 percent to 27 percent. … AC Transit is planning to cut
bus service again, just months after the agency raised fares and
following promises that last November’s parcel tax measure would avoid
both. … The Contra Costa County District Attorney backed off his
threat to stop prosecuting misdemeanor crimes. … The lawyer for
ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle is trying to have the Alameda County
District Attorney’s Office disqualified from his murder case. … State
Attorney General Jerry Brown had his tires stolen outside his Oakland
hills home. … And the Chronicle reported that Oakland’s
part-time mayor, Ron Dellums, is seeking a pay raise at a time when the
city is facing an $83 million shortfall.
