If you think celebrity arrests hog all the headlines, you’re not wrong. Justin Timberlake’s recent DUI on Long Island experienced major network news buzz, with ABC, CBS, and NBC dedicating over 15 minutes to it. Meanwhile, the tragic murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Texas and the shocking rape and murder of Rachel Morin in Maryland, both allegedly by illegal immigrants, hardly made a blip on the radar of these same channels.
While the networks fawned over Timberlake’s predicament, well-respected outlets like Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Newsmax, and NewsNation were hard at work shedding light on far more severe crimes engaging the nation. Young Jocelyn Nungaray was reportedly lured away and horrifically killed by Venezuelan migrants Johan Jose Rangel Martinez and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos. One of the suspects had violently breached the U.S. border just a month before Nungaray’s untimely demise.
Both Martinez and Ramos had crossed the border, met with border agents, received court dates, and were released. Yet, these concurrent murders failed to evoke similar outcries from the major networks. Thankfully, Spanish-language networks like Telemundo and Univision stepped up and lent their reporting talent.
Morin’s appalling case is another stark warning of the border crisis. Arrested in Tulsa for Morin’s murder, Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was reportedly in the U.S. illegally following another murder he committed in El Salvador. This double-murderer was gallivanting U.S. streets, committing heinous crimes.
Despite the parallel tragedy in Morin’s story – a young mother brutally attacked – the same networks that were quick to pounce on Timberlake’s story, didn’t give it the same level of attention. Celebrated shows from ABC, CBS, and NBC remained mostly silent, and it was left to less popular shows to communicate the gravity of the situation.
This glaring discrepancy in coverage tells a tale of misplaced priorities in our news media. Is a famous personality’s misdemeanor more newsworthy than the murder of innocent women and children? One stumbles due to excess while the other falls prey to the dark underbelly of our society. They are both tragic in their own rights, but the scale and impact of these crimes are incomparable.
The American public deserves better. They deserve to hear about issues that directly affect their lives and safety. Celebrity mishaps might make for juicy headlines, but they fade quickly. What lingers are the critical issues of border security and violence. It’s high time major news networks understand this and adjust their coverage accordingly. The safety of our children and our communities depends on it.
