“The
Fall of Jesse Jackson Jr.”
Jesse
Jackson is known for being a powerful up-and-coming African American Politian.
Being the son of famous civil rights leader Jesse Jackson Jr. has had a foot in
politics at a young age, and he pursued it. His life is just a list of accomplishments
after accomplishments. He has astounded more than just the African American
Community. He amazed politicians across the country with his multiple
re-elections into the house. The stuff he did in the House was also impressive as
proven by the important comities he was put on. He was the golden child per
say. While he already has lived a full political life he had the potential make
history, but I will address that later. The point is he was going to do things
that could have been world changing. It is truly unfortunate that he had to
take a turn for the worst in regards to his health as well as political
scandals. Now he faces $750,00 in fines; in addition he may even go to prison
for soliciting campaign money. Where did this story start? How did this story
develop across the different mediums of public news? How did the truth finally
become know to the public? That is was I want to see, the development of this former
powerhouse of a politician reach his end.
I
am going to start with a story from July 11, 2012 called “Jesse Jackson Jr.:
Rumors fly over mysterious disappearance” (1) The story is a good beginning of
what starts to ail this politician. He has been absent from Congress for months
now. It was confirmed by his lawyers that he was getting treated for a medical
condition, but the public had no idea what it was or how long it would take to
cure. After so much time of not any representation the public wants to hear
from their House member. What is even more suspicious is how he handled getting
on the reelection bid. “Jackson’s people announced his disappearance on the
very last day anyone could file for election in Illinois. No candidate can be
slated to run for his seat even if Jackson is totally incapacitated or if he
resigns, willingly or by force. If Jackson were to drop out, his Republican
opponent would run unopposed and win by default. That is not going to happen”
(3). This was very stealthy of his and his lawyers. Now the public can either
vote in their current absent House member or tolerate having a republican
represent then. The point is that Jackson is hiding from the people he is
representing. There is no immunity from or safety from his job. He simply needs
to come out as well as tell the people about the situation. It is not the fact
that he is ill; it is the fact that he is keeping everything in the dark as if
he has something to hide. That is suspicious, in addition that does not make
for good politics.
The
next story is a blog post titled, “Feds
Launch New Investigation of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr” (2). Just from the title we can see forwarding in
the story. A new possible scandal has emerged. He has been accused of misusing
funds monitored by congress. This blog, while not completely official, still
possesses a lot of credibility. Three members of NBC wrote the blog. I can even
say Michael Isikoff who assisted of the blog wrote the news article just an
hour and 50 minutes later. The
article, “Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
under federal investigation over alleged financial improprieties”(3). The news
article contains less links and sources than the blog. I believe this is
because the facts have already been checked by the editors, because of this the
need for them is not as prominent. Blogs on the other hand need to contain many
links as well as sources to be credible news or else it is just speculation and
opinion. The news has the ability to state facts such as, “the new
investigation could ratchet up pressure for Jackson to step aside. Despite his
illness — which his office has said involves his treatment for bipolar
disorder — Jackson is running for re-election, seeking a 10th term” (3)
The news article explains the facts with a little amount of sources. They can
do this because they have credibility and a reputation. Another thing to point
out is that these articles use Harris’ Forwarding and Countering. They both
forward the conversation by introducing new facts that have emerged with time
and investigation. At the same they counter the previous articles notions that
the sickness could not even exist when we now know it does. The Washington Post
article, while a reputable source, had to speculate some of the details to
allow their story to be interesting. Now we know the facts, and that has voided
their previous article.
Now
we will move forward about 4 months in the story. This article is titled’
“Jackson may lose federal pension”(4). This article is from the Chicago
Tribune, Jackson’s home state. Because of this the story goes back to the
beginning with the Chicago Tribune. It is interesting to see how the story is
reported from the state of the politician. Now all the facts have been included
into the story. There are no more suspicions
of Jackson Jr.’s guilt. According to the article, “ Jesse Jackson Jr., who
plans to plead guilty to using campaign dollars to buy more than $750,000 worth
of luxury items, memorabilia and other goods, is at risk of losing his freedom
and a federal pension estimated at $45,000” (4) Immediately the sympathy toward
him drops. It started out with accusations as well as an investigation. The way
the previous article was written allowed the reader to believe that the story
could be false. Those who believe in Jackson have hope that be remains true.
Now the accusations are true. They are facts, and the reader has to believe it.
I believe that is why the Chicago Tribune takes a somewhat neutral stance on
the subject. There is no way for them to question the facts; in addition it is
hard for the paper to talk about it in a positive way. They must remain neutral
because that is the best they can do. At the same time you can tell they are in
favor of Jackson Jr. This can be see when it states, “The job of defense
lawyers is to minimize their clients' exposure to prison, which may have been
done in negotiations over the criminal counts, and ‘to tell a story as sympathetic
as possible,’ Berman said” (4).
After
looking at all of these articles we can see the transition of how the articles
change over time. It is interesting how the opinions of the articles change as
the story changes as new facts emerge. The audience has to change their opinion
of Jackson as we discover new information about the scandal. That is how the
light of new information influences their opinion.
