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Media Report

The Profilers

by Arthur Weinreb

November 4, 2002

"There’s probably two skinny kids out there who have made a pact with each other."

"The truth is he has other responsibilities in his life".

"I believe that they’re young teen-aged kids that are involved."

"There’s a very good possibility that it has something to do with these silly video games."

"I don’t believe that they’re military, ex-military, or have ever had a connection with the military."

These are some of the comments made by the so-called "experts" who graced our television screens when the snipers who were terrorizing Washington D.C. and vicinity were being sought. The experts ranged from profilers and psychologists to lawyers and former police officers. Twenty-four hour cable stations like CNN, with its continuous "Sniper on the Loose" coverage were awash with these experts. Profilers, whose occupation was virtually unknown until the 1991 movie, The Silence of the Lambs, were everywhere, causing conservative commentator Laura Ingraham to remark that she couldn’t believe the number of ex-FBI profilers that were around. And Ingraham was not alone.

If any of these experts were any good, at least one of them would have predicted that the snipers would be two African-Americans, one a teenager and the other a Muslim convert in his 40s who drove a 12-year-old blue car and not a white van. But none of them came close. The liberal media brought the experts on to confirm what the media wanted to believe--that the sniper was a gun-loving, Charlton Heston-worshipping, video game- playing, angry, white, male loner. All they got right was the gun part and we all knew that they had guns.

After the arrests of John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, the mainstream media that were so eager to characterize the snipers became now reluctant to do so even though details of their lives were emerging. Given that Muhammad converted to Islam 17 years ago but only changed his name after September 11, spoke admirably about the terrorist attacks on the United States, was a member of the Nation of Islam, is suspected of shooting at a synagogue and drew attention to himself at a homeless shelter by flying frequently, perhaps if the media were interested in the truth, they might like to have an expert come on to say that he is perhaps an Islamic extremist. But, for the media, if it’s not an angry white male, they’re not interested. We have to be politically correct.

And what did the media and the public make of the media coverage of the shootings? In a USA Today/CNN poll taken after the arrests, 57 percent of respondents thought the media acted responsibly. Of CNN’s coverage, anchor Leon Harris said: "I’m struck by how many predictions were on the mark." Yeah, right, Leon. The only thing that the experts were on the mark about was the fact that the snipers were men.

The 24-hour cable news networks, much like the energizer bunny, have to keep going and going even if, as in this case, there were little or no new developments for long periods of time. So the airwaves were filled with supposed experts that were guessing, and, in most cases, guessing wrong. It provided good entertainment but didn’t have any news value. And sadly, the media and the public thought that the media did a good job.

The world being what it is, the "Sniper on the Loose" program will not be the last event of this nature to be covered. And the media will continue to masquerade guessing as news.

There was, however, one interesting "expert" whose views were sought. In a move that caused some controversy, Fox News reporter, Rita Cosby wrote to David Berkowitz, the infamous "Son of Sam" serial killer who was arrested in the late 70s and is now in prison for life. Cosby asked Berkowitz who he thought the sniper was and Berkowitz wrote back that he thought the killer hated America and authority and was probably sleeping in his car. The convicted serial killer was right on.

Although many convicted serial killers are no longer with us, look for Berkowitz and others to appear on the Larry King show in the future.

Arthur Weinreb is a lawyer and author and Associate Editor of Canadafreepress.com



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