22 February, 2014

Mapping the Trayvon Martin Media Controversy | MIT Center for Civic Media

Mapping the Trayvon Martin Media Controversy | MIT Center for Civic Media: The second “act” of the story begins on March 7th and 8th, ten days after Martin's death, when the story received a new wave of media attention from two of the national media's largest outlets: the Reuters newswire and the CBS program This Morning. This resurgence in interest was the direct result of efforts to publicize the story: Martin’s family was able to enlist the legal services of civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump on a pro bono basis. Crump brought on local lawyer Natalie Jackson and publicist Ryan Julison.

Within a day of joining the effort, Julison began reaching out to the largest national media sources (as measured by audience reach) and worked his way down until he found interest from Reuters and CBS This Morning. This mainstream media coverage helped Julison and Crump generate more stories, but also brought the story to the attention of an online audience. One reader, Kevin Cunningham, saw the Reuters piece shared on a Howard University email listserv. Frustrated by the relative paucity of media coverage and incensed by the lack of justice, he began a Change.org petition on March 8th.