WHY?

Why isn't the media covering the killing of an unarmed white youth by a black police officer?

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The case of Michael Brown, the unarmed, black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer, continues to make headlines weeks after the incident sparked riots and outrage in Ferguson, Missouri, and prompted a national debate.

Meanwhile, the case of Dillon Taylor, a white 20-year-old shot and killed by a black policeman outside a 7-Eleven in Utah has received virtually no media coverage beyond local news reports. His brother, who was with him at the 7-Eleven, says Taylor was unarmed.

The negligible coverage of the Taylor case by the mainstream media prompted many conservative critics to address the racial double standard. The Washington Times reports: "Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh blamed the discrepancy between the two cases on 'the liberal world view' that portrays whites as oppressors and blacks as victims."

The Times noted that CNN news host Jake Tapper acknowledged the discrepancy between the two cases, and noted that "the press often undercovers such topics as inner-city violence and the high rates of black-on-black crime."

According to Tapper, though, the Brown case is more newsworthy because of the national reaction it sparked, though some question whether the excessive media coverage of the violent protests actually served to fuel them.

 - - Teresa Mull