CNN’s ratings are buried beneath the basement, and Monday’s coverage of a deadly shooting in New York City shows precisely why. A man walked into a Midtown Manhattan high-rise and opened fire. His name was Shane Devon Tamura, police quickly. Tamura, 27, entered 345 Park Avenue in broad daylight, brandished a rifle, and killed four people before turning the gun on himself.
One of the victims was an off-duty cop with a pregnant wife. The building houses multiple offices, including those of . Tamura, , reportedly held a grievance against the league. Police had not released a motive 12 hours after the attack. But some facts were immediately clear on Monday. A man with a gun entered a building and murdered innocent people in full view of onlookers and a camera.
One startling image of the shooter was immediately clear, and it was circulated widely before the sun had set on the East Coast.
And yet, somehow, the people at looked at that image and decided the black man they were seeing was “possibly white.” During on-air coverage, Erin Burnett commented that Tamura was potentially a “white” male before she asked analyst John Miller what police knew about him.
“They do not know who he is,” Miller replied. “They know he is a male, possibly white. He’s wearing sunglasses. He appears to have a mustache.”
That photo, which CNN referred to, clearly showed two facts:
A man walked into a New York office building with a gun. That man was not a white man. Two CNN employees had access to the same facts as the rest of the country, and still told viewers they might be looking for a white man.
One X user pointed out how dangerous that lie could have been: “CNN egregiously decided to throw ‘possibly white’ into their description of the (black) man police were looking for, which could’ve aided his escape.”
added, “Gee, it’s almost like they have an agenda.”
After Tamura was confirmed not to be white, CNN quietly stopped mentioning the topic of race.
No correction. No apology. No accountability.
People at the company probably wondered why CNN only managed 538,000 primetime viewers last quarter in a country of over 340 million people, Adweek. Burnett and Miller should have answered their questions.
Another wrote, “CNN is purposely lying to the American people. They no longer serve the public interest. It’s actually dangerous.”
One of the victims was an off-duty cop with a pregnant wife. The building houses multiple offices, including those of . Tamura, , reportedly held a grievance against the league. Police had not released a motive 12 hours after the attack. But some facts were immediately clear on Monday. A man with a gun entered a building and murdered innocent people in full view of onlookers and a camera.
One startling image of the shooter was immediately clear, and it was circulated widely before the sun had set on the East Coast.
And yet, somehow, the people at looked at that image and decided the black man they were seeing was “possibly white.” During on-air coverage, Erin Burnett commented that Tamura was potentially a “white” male before she asked analyst John Miller what police knew about him.
“They do not know who he is,” Miller replied. “They know he is a male, possibly white. He’s wearing sunglasses. He appears to have a mustache.”
That photo, which CNN referred to, clearly showed two facts:
A man walked into a New York office building with a gun. That man was not a white man. Two CNN employees had access to the same facts as the rest of the country, and still told viewers they might be looking for a white man.
One X user pointed out how dangerous that lie could have been: “CNN egregiously decided to throw ‘possibly white’ into their description of the (black) man police were looking for, which could’ve aided his escape.”
added, “Gee, it’s almost like they have an agenda.”
After Tamura was confirmed not to be white, CNN quietly stopped mentioning the topic of race.
No correction. No apology. No accountability.
People at the company probably wondered why CNN only managed 538,000 primetime viewers last quarter in a country of over 340 million people, Adweek. Burnett and Miller should have answered their questions.
Another wrote, “CNN is purposely lying to the American people. They no longer serve the public interest. It’s actually dangerous.”
