Bryan Renolds shares his opinion about the protests on and off the air.
The protests started over a month ago. The movement struck a chord with thousands across the country, across the world for that matter. They quickly descended upon Wall Street, angry about the disproportionate amount of wealth the upper bracket of income earner takes home when compared to mere mortals like us.
And now I see a big problem. Occupy Wall street – almost daily – is battling horrific news that is damaging the credibility of the movement.
Here are just a few stories:
Occupy protestor breaks EMT’s leg
Fights break out at Occupy protest
Undesirable groups give support to Occupy movements
Occupy protestor arrested for RAPE
Another woman RAPED at Occupy Philadelphia
Sex assaults plaguing Occupy protests
Occupy Oakland gets shut down following violent, turbulent week
Man falls to death during Occupy SD
Occupy Wall Street protester defecates in street
What do the above stories have in common? Answer: they are Bad Press.
And from here on out…Bad Press is the only thing that will interest the media. Beatings, rapes, arrests and violence will be the narrative until the protest finds a new direction. Think of it this way, the stories about what the movement wants are already published. It’s old news now.
So what else can be reported on?
Ever heard the phrase “If it bleeds, it leads”?
As we can tell from the stories above, tempers are already flaring.
And now only 30% of Americans have a positive view of the movement.
This is one reason why having a leader – which OWS proudly claims they have no leadership – is vitally important to the messaging of the movement. The media needs a leader to answer for wrong-doings – this is why you see presidents “condemn” or “praise” negative and positive acts, respectively. If no representation is available to give a proper condemnation, then the movement takes a PR hit.
I recall an article about Occupy Wall Street that came from Forbes magazine online.
In the article, the author tries to make a comparison about the treatment between Tea Party members and Occupy Wall Street members. In his article, he asks a great question: “Why are scores of OWS folks getting hauled off in school-bus sized paddy wagons, and not the Tea Party folks?”
I think the answer to his question is in the articles I mentioned above, because protesters in the Tea Party never raped, assaulted or broke any legs (especially legs belonging to medical professionals).
I know he was trying to argue in favor of the Occupy protesters, but unfortunately his article blew up in his face.
by bryan renolds
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