Will the Spotlight Be Taken Off Chicago's Crime... (Media, Detroit: living in, dangerous)

[Atlanta_BD]

...once Obama is out of office?

[marothisu]

Maybe a little bit, but I doubt it that much. There's still the whole gun control debate with it....

[Link N. Parker]

I honestly dont think the spotlight has anything to do with Obama. Remember, most of the media has a left-wing bias and supports Obama. The only time I have seen a link, was with the Hadiya Pendleton issue.

There are smaller cities that have more crime per capita, but still smaller raw numbers of crime (New Orleans, for example). Technically, this makes those smaller cities "more dangerous" in some ways. But, the overall numbers that Chicago had last year (500+ murders last year) are what makes Chicago seem treacherous.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Link N. Parker

I honestly dont think the spotlight has anything to do with Obama. Remember, most of the media has a left-wing bias and supports Obama. The only time I have seen a link, was with the Hadiya Pendleton issue.

There are smaller cities that have more crime per capita, but still smaller raw numbers of crime (New Orleans, for example). Technically, this makes those smaller cities "more dangerous" in some ways. But, the overall numbers that Chicago had last year (500+ murders last year) are what makes Chicago seem treacherous.

Right, most people are stupid.

[thegrid]

Originally Posted by Link N. Parker

I honestly dont think the spotlight has anything to do with Obama. Remember, most of the media has a left-wing bias and supports Obama. The only time I have seen a link, was with the Hadiya Pendleton issue.

There are smaller cities that have more crime per capita, but still smaller raw numbers of crime (New Orleans, for example). Technically, this makes those smaller cities "more dangerous" in some ways. But, the overall numbers that Chicago had last year (500+ murders last year) are what makes Chicago seem treacherous.

you're kidding right?

If you think the corporate media is largely left-leaning, then you must be quite far to the right. At the very least, the corporate media is more sensation and spectacle seeking than political.

The spotlight absolutely has to do with Obama. The rightwingers repeatedly make the point that what's wrong with our city is a direct consequence of liberal policy. When Chicago is brought up specifically, Obama is tied in with such policies.

I do not remember such a spotlight 5-6 years ago, even when the murder rate was higher. Do you?

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by thegrid

I do not remember such a spotlight 5-6 years ago, even when the murder rate was higher. Do you?

Neither do I and I was also living in Chicago when the shootings were much worse. Chicago wasn't even on anybody's radar like that. Chicago is an underrated, misunderstood place.

A lady I used to know was part of some organization and the head of the organization was planning to have a convention in Chicago. This was shortly before Obama was in office or running. My friend a long with other members were up in arms about it being in Chicago because they thought Chicago is some rundown place. I asked her had she ever been to Chicago. She said no and that she'd never been because she assumed it was like Philly--whatever that meant.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by thegrid

you're kidding right?

If you think the corporate media is largely left-leaning, then you must be quite far to the right. At the very least, the corporate media is more sensation and spectacle seeking than political.

The spotlight absolutely has to do with Obama. The rightwingers repeatedly make the point that what's wrong with our city is a direct consequence of liberal policy. When Chicago is brought up specifically, Obama is tied in with such policies.

I do not remember such a spotlight 5-6 years ago, even when the murder rate was higher. Do you?

You are so right. They like ratings. Rep you a million times.

[rvernsey]

Originally Posted by thegrid

you're kidding right?

If you think the corporate media is largely left-leaning, then you must be quite far to the right. At the very least, the corporate media is more sensation and spectacle seeking than political.

The spotlight absolutely has to do with Obama. The rightwingers repeatedly make the point that what's wrong with our city is a direct consequence of liberal policy. When Chicago is brought up specifically, Obama is tied in with such policies.

I do not remember such a spotlight 5-6 years ago, even when the murder rate was higher. Do you?

The Media IS LARGELY left-leaning, but they also like ratings, sensation and making a spectacle. Even attempting to debate that the media isn't left-leaning is an admission of either political agenda or stupidity, usually political agenda. Go pull headlines of what gets covered during an election period and what doesn't and how those headlines read and who they benefit. The proof is overwhelming.

But to be on topic - the landscape of news delivery that social media and instant headlines on mobile devices brings to more and more people who were never exposed to national news before has changed perception even in the aforementioned 5 or 6 years. I don't think Chicago will return to the scrutiny or lack-of after Obama is out of office, news is too available.

[rubbersoul89]

Originally Posted by Link N. Parker

I honestly dont think the spotlight has anything to do with Obama.

[Attrill]

Rightwing media outlets have been bashing Chicago as hell on earth since 2008, and that definitely has a lot to do with it. It's also important to note that many liberal politicians and activists in the affected communities are happy that the problem is getting some attention, so you don't have anyone on either side fighting the mis-perceptions. That said, there are a few other things that have contributed to the insanity in Chicago crime reporting.

The big thing that happened in 2012 is that Chicago had the highest raw numbers of homicides. Obviously rates are the way to accurately judge crime in any municipality, but some people don't have the mental capacity (or willingness) to understand a concept as simple as rates vs. raw numbers.

As things stand now it looks like Chicago will probably have the highest raw homicide numbers for some time to come. The only cities that are big enough to generate the raw numbers Chicago does are LA and NYC. They've had very low homicide rates for awhile, and there's no sign that they'll surpass Chicago in raw numbers anytime soon. Houston has a large population, but it will never have the same homicide rate since it is a massive geographical area that incorporates mostly suburban style development. The cities most likely to surpass Chicago in raw numbers are Detroit and Philadelphia. Both have much higher homicide rates but are roughly half the size of Chicago, so the situation in those cities would need to be really awful to surpass Chicago's raw numbers.