The death of Cannon Hinnant, a white 5-year-old allegedly killed by a black man, was finally given brief coverage by CNN – after nearly a week of accusations that mainstream media was burying the story to fit a narrative.
Hinnant’s death has been a hot topic on Twitter for almost a week, with thousands drawing attention to his story, but attracting little to no mainstream media coverage.
Darius Sessoms, 25, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after allegedly killing the five-year old who was playing in the front yard of his North Carolina home on Sunday. The incident was witnessed by Hinnant’s two sisters, who are seven and eight. Sessoms is black, while Hinnant is white.
While the story is horrific, it certainly seems newsworthy, especially considering the attention paid to it on social media, but mainstream media outlets like CNN, NBC, ABC, The New York Times, etc. all conspicuously overlooked it. This led many to accuse the platforms of deliberately ignoring a story of black-on-white crime, as it would not fit with the current Black Lives Matter narrative.
“This is an actual conspiracy,” conservative commentator Matt Walsh tweeted on Tuesday, referencing the media blackout. “These media companies have to make an editorial decision to blacklist stories like this. It's not like they haven't heard of it. This is a considered and intentional decision to ignore the murder of a child, and the reason is that he's white.”
5 yr old Cannon Hinnant was executed in front of his sisters for accidentally riding a bike on his neighbors lawn. There’s no pain our justice system can impose on his killer Darius Sessoms that‘ll equate to justice. CNN & MSNBC haven’t even covered it. https://t.co/p2lLofbTfJ
After days of mostly conservative Twitter users talking about Hinnant’s story and even getting #SayHisName trending, CNN finally gave in and paid attention to the event with a Friday morning story. It was given 218 words on their website.
Even though it amounted to a dry local crime item, with no mention of the racial angle – though at least they included photos of Sessoms and Hinnant’s father – critics who had taken part in the #SayHisName campaign celebrated “pressuring” CNN into covering the story.
“We pressured CNN to finally cover the murder of Cannon Hinnant. It only took them a week,” Daily Wire writer Amanda Prestigiacomo tweeted.
Remember the national media coverage of the tragic killing of the beautiful, innocent 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes when the shooter was said to be white? As soon as suspects were found to be black males, the media dropped the story.
“We have forced the Cannon Hinnant story into the national dialogue. This proves that we don't have to allow the national media to set the agenda. It is up to us. We just have to think for ourselves and demand that important stories get the attention they deserve,” Walsh added.
Others similarly shamed the network and acknowledged it would take real pressure and persistence to force politically-motivated networks to cover certain stories.
CNN finally covers the story... 5 days later and after massive pressure. https://t.co/flw5DXKspS
You’re telling me that a piece of rope hanging in Bubba Wallace’s NASCAR garage was more worthy of national coverage for WEEKS than 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant being executed in cold blood in front of his sisters?
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