Similar
Stories
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Coverage of Owen Wilson suicide attempt vastly different from last year’s Terrell Owens media circus
Am I calling the Dallas Morning News and any other outlet racist? Actually I'm not. What I'm saying is that there are distinct differences of how the media covers events based on race whether they like it or not and whether they admit to it or not.
Owen Wilson and Terrell Owens
I'll be the first to tell you that I'm a big Owen Wilson fan. Wedding Crashers was one of the funniest movies in years, and he was a big reason why. His cameo in Night at the Museum was very good, not to mention turns in Meet the Parents & The Royal Tenenbaums.
But just because he's funny on screen doesn't mean he's exempt from the everyday problems we all go through. On Monday night I saw stories floating on the web that Owen Wilson had allegedly tried to commit suicide on Sunday.
Comparisons to the coverage of Wilson's apparent attempt on his own life and reports that Terrell Owen's had overdosed almost a year ago are valid since Wilson is from Dallas. Granted he was in L.A. at the time of the incident, but you would think a native son would be covered thoroughly.
The first report in the Dallas Morning News was in Tuesday's GuideLive Section. The headline, on page 3E, reads "Owen Wilson in 'good condition.'" The story ran showing the picture to the right of Wilson with a half smile. No where in the above the fold article was the word suicide mentioned.
Now are you telling me that the Dallas Morning News had not heard one rumor in the 24 hours between the incident and the time that they went to press that Wilson had attempted to kill himself? Am I supposed to believe that when they printed Tuesday's edition, there wasn't a hint of speculation in the newsroom that Wilson tried to end his own life? I call you know what on that one.
More local celebrity news
Think back to last year about this time. When the story broke on a Wednesday morning in late September that T.O. had overdosed on pills, they couldn't get enough of it. Belo's Cowboy blog gave minute by minute details, and the Morning News website had 911 tapes, video from T.O.'s lofts, and a there was a press conference by the Dallas Chief of Police all within 24 hours of what was eventually an accidental mix of supplements.
And it wasn't just Dallas. News media from all over the country flew in to Dallas and were live from Baylor, Valley Ranch, and wherever they could go to get someone to talk about T.O.
Now back to Wednesday's Morning News. The above the fold headline to the 3"x3" story reads Hometown is in Wilson's corner:Suicide attempt stunds Dallas friends, family of movie funnyman. The article then on page 2A, with smiling pictures of Wilson and his brothers, speaks of the serious nature of the incident and the famliy's desire to do what's best for Owen. There are very few statements from anyone 3 days later.
Isn't that the way it should be? If you think someone tried to take their own life shouldn't they and their family be allowed to deal with it? But last year Terrell (and Kim Ethridge) had to go into details of who, what, where, when, and why's to feed the media's insatiable appetite for tearing down black men.
Am I calling the Dallas Morning News and any other outlet racist? Actually I'm not. What I'm saying, is that there are distinct differences of how the media covers events based on race whether they like it or not and whether they admit to it or not. And in Wilson's case there is not a rush to judge, or a rush to assume. Everyone rushed with Owens to be the first to call him crazy.
I hope Owen Wilson is able to get past this and move on with his life. I can't help but think of the scene in The Royal Tenenbaums when his brother Luke's character slit his wrist in a failed suicide attempt. Owen Wilson received an Academy Award nomination as a screenwriter for the movie.
Pegasus News content partner - Dallas South Blog
Faved or commented on by...
Related events
Latest Contests
Latest comments...
Food truck review: Cupcakes from Trailercakes
I don't think I can trust the opinion of anyone who thinks French fries are a waste of space. That b
Tarrant County Democrats Paula Pierson, Chris Turner compete to return to Texas House
I recently saw the following post online:
The District 101 primary in Tarrant County is an interes
Shawn Parikh, former Peg News staffer, on the red carpet
Jason Rice, Cougar Town -- the series in which Shawn has been appearing intermittently -- has been p
Susan Thornton, verified:
Please. The suicide attempt seems out of character for Wilson, while T.O.'s supposed attempt was one more dramatic incident in a string of them. I doubt seriously that if Bob Ray Sanders or Rayfield Wright attempted suicide (heaven forbid), anyone would rush to call them crazy.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Rick Yost, verified:
We categorize and label people as black/white, rich/poor, pretty/ugly, superstars/loosers. I grew up long ago and no longer pay attention to 'stars'. However, I too like Owen Wilson.
The super-famous and super-rich, are no more than people with fame and money. They are not immune to life.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Shawn Williams, verified:
Hell, look at these pictures that Pegasus news chose to run with this story. Which one of these guys would you feel more sympathy/empathy for? Which one of these guys looks more likely to kill himself? Which one of these guys looks more disturbed?
Thanks Pegasus!!! Were you guys trying to prove my point for me?
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren, verified:
Not trying to prove anything, Shawn-- These were just the two most similarly sized unrestricted photos I could find. I didn't give the expressions a second thought.
And maybe that does prove your point after all...
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
DC, anonymous:
Considering that the local media cover the construction of the new Cowboys stadium on almost a daily basis, I don't think it's surprising that the TO story got the coverage that it did.
Trying to spin this into some kind of racial issue looks a little oversensitive.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Clay213, anonymous:
I'm not one bit surprised.
Considering the sports section of the DMN outweighs nearly all of the other sections combined besides the car ads.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
James Scott, verified:
Yeah, couldn't it be because the signing of T.O. was a huge news story, and since everything Cowboys is always a big news story, the events of T.O.'s drama last year were going to be amplified, white or black. I think it's a bit of a stretch to bring race into this.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Shawn Williams, verified:
Why is T.O. such a HUGE story? Why is Barry Bonds such a HUGE story? Why is Michael Vick such a HUGE story? Why is Tiger Woods a HUGE story? Why are Venus and Serena Williams a HUGE story?
Blake Beavan is seen as a confident at best, a little cocky at worst. If he were from Oak Cliff and had held out with his attitude he would have been painted as an A-hole.
I don't make the rules, it is what it is.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
SonyaBlade, anonymous:
T.O. is a huge story because he's a Cowboy. Barry Bonds because no one actually cares about the game of baseball anymore, Michael Vick because he went from being a starting NFL quarterback to (most likely) being in prison, Tiger Woods is proving hes best golfer of all time, and I didn't know anyone really cared about the Williams sisters anymore.
Why is Christoper Walkin such a HUGE story? Because he is amazing.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
edsops, anonymous:
Owen Wilson is from Dallas?
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
James Scott, verified:
No Shawn, it isn't what you think it is...it's what you've built it up to be. But if you're a fan of conspiracy theories, be my guest.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Clay213, anonymous:
Why is the sports section like 60 pages and the actual news about 3 paragraphs?
The only reason Owen Wilson got any coverage is because the entertainment news gets more coverage than anything but the sports.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott, anonymous:
Race and class biases seem like a reasonable explanation for the difference in coverage, at least in part.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
kirk, anonymous:
In part, the difference is also a result of how the "official" communications on the subject have been managed. The Cowboys and Owens' handlers allowed the situation to degenerate into a media free-for-all, while information has been professionally managed and fed to the media and the public by Wilson's handlers, the police and their "experts."
One can legitimately argue whether access to that sort of expertise is a racial or class difference, but I think it has a lot to do with Hollywood types anticipating and planning for "star problems" to a much greater extent than sports teams or sports stars. That's not unusual: In the corporate world, large airlines are generally much better prepared to deal with crises than, say, locally owned chocolate companies.
By the way, the Chicago Tribune was running an online poll yesterday which asked whether the media should press Owen Wilson for details about his situation. As of 9 this morning, more than 70% of respondents said, "No."
His publicist has tapped into that sentiment very well, and crafted messages in line with public opinion. An AP story this morning says, "Wilson's publicist, Ina Treciokas, has declined to answer questions about whether the actor tried to take his own life. Wilson issued a statement Monday asking for privacy so he could 'receive care and heal ... during this difficult time.'"
Owens probably would have benefited from a similar message approach.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren, verified:
Here's an example of the Wilson coverage, from Channel 21:
<div id="cubeDiv" style="position:relative;"><span style="position:relative; z-index:2;"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="551" id="swfclipv652291" width="351"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://www.thenewsroom.com/mash/swf/cube.swf?a=v652291&m=95183&v=1"><param name="base" value="."><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed allowscriptaccess="always" base="." height="551" name="swfclipv652291" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://www.thenewsroom.com/mash/swf/cube.swf?a=v652291&m=95183&v=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="351" wmode="transparent"></object></span><span id="voxAdv652291" style="position:absolute;z-index:2;"></span></div>
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Erin_Rice, anonymous:
Apparently this Owen Wilson suicide business was important enough for CNN yesterday, which featured a panel discussion of celebrities and suicidal depression. One of the key voices in this <b>CNN</b> discussion? Robin Givens. Why CNN, why?
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Clay213, anonymous:
Scott Anonymous
Race and class biases seem like a reasonable explanation for the difference in coverage, at least in part.
Class bias?
I just looked up Terrell Owens salary, and I don't know what class you could be talking about? Do you mean bias towards someone who makes 5 million a year vs someone who got paid 10?
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Susan Thornton, verified:
Back to the original question of media coverage, the difference is that Wilson has a cadre of professionals working for him, as Kirk B. stated. T.O.'s mistake, bless him, was hiring "friends" to watch his back, who knew nothing of the way the media game is played.
As far as class bias, money has nothing to do with it.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
cloverboy, anonymous:
It's not a black/white issue. It's a matter of public perception. People like Owen Wilson whereas T.O. comes across as a spoiled smug jackass, true or not.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, verified:
I am sure some people are under the impression that Wilson is a "spoiled smug jackass" as well, considering he just tried to commit suicide and arguably has a better life than most. So yes, it is all perception - I'm also sure plenty of people like T.O.
Me thinks a full-blown article playing the race-card was a bit much on the ordeal...b/c if T.O. was white with that kind of a mouth and angst, he'd have relatively the same media circus that he's had as a black guy. Wilson doesn't invite the bad press T.O. does, end of story.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Shawn Williams, verified:
The Royal Tenenbaums was on Comedy Central this morning. The suicide attempt in that movie is even more weird now.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott, anonymous:
Clay,
There's a lot more to class than money.
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, verified:
Come again? Classifications are defined by your criteria...pretty sure if he wants to make it about money, he can.
Note: I am not Scott Anonymous. =p
Link to this comment | Suggest removal
What do you think?