http://ww4.hdnux.com/pzhotos/12/41/31/2758231/13/628x471.jpg recent photo of George Zimmerman http://ww4.hdnux.com/photos/12/41/35/2758495/7/628x471.jpg Old photo of George Zimmerman used by the main stream media http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/12/41/35/2758493/7/628x471.jpg Old photo of Trayvon Martin used by mainstream http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/graphics/martin3.jpg Recent photo of Trayvon Martin WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) When he was shot, Trayvon Martin was not the baby-faced boy in the photo that has been on front pages across the country. And George Zimmerman wasn't the beefy-looking figure in the widely published mugshot. Both photos are a few years old and no longer entirely accurate. Yet they may have helped shape initial public perceptions of the deadly shooting. "When you have such a lopsided visual comparison, it just stands to reason that people would rush to judgment," said Kenny Irby, who teaches visual journalism at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla. The most widely seen picture of Martin, released by his family, was evidently taken a few years ago and shows a smiling, round-cheeked youngster in a red T-shirt. But at his death, Martin was 17 years old, around 6 feet tall and, according to his family's attorney, about 140 pounds. Zimmerman, 28, is best known from a 7-year-old booking photo of an apparently heavyset figure with an imposing stare, pierced ear and facial hair, the orange collar of his jail uniform visible. The picture, released by police following the deadly shooting, was taken after Zimmerman's 2005 arrest on an assault-on-an-officer charge that was eventually dropped. In a police video made public this week of Zimmerman being brought in for questioning a half-hour after the shooting, the 5-foot-9 man appears much slimmer. In a case that has caused a nationwide furor over race and the laws of self-defense, Martin was shot to death by Zimmerman in the city of Sanford on Feb. 26 as the unarmed black teenager was walking back from a convenience store. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, has claimed self-defense, saying he opened fire after Martin punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground and began slamming his head on the sidewalk. Black leaders and others are demanding Zimmerman's arrest on murder or manslaughter charges, but state and federal authorities are still investigating. Betsi Grabe, a professor at Indiana University-Bloomington who has studied the effect of news images on public opinion, said photos that gain the most traction play into the desires of both journalists and the public for a story with a distinct victim and aggressor. "At the center of most stories we tell in our society, cross-culturally and across the centuries, is the struggle between good and evil," she said. "If the ingredients are there, that is what journalists will grab onto and present." Grabe said it is natural to present the most innocent-looking image of the person believed to be the victim, and the most menacing one of the suspect. A more complex portrait of the two figures has emerged since then. A photo of a beaming Zimmerman looking sharp in a jacket and tie has come out, along with a more recent picture of Martin, with gold teeth and a white sleeveless undershirt. At the same time, it was learned that Martin had been suspended from school for marijuana residue in his backpack. The Associated Press has not been able to verify the sources or creators of what are purported to be more recent photographs of Martin circulating online and elsewhere. The family's attorney has not released the photos. "Everyone's views seem to be gyrating back and forth with each new scrap of evidence that comes out," said David O. Markus, a prominent Miami defense attorney. "This is why we have courts and juries, and why the process is slow. No one should rush to judgment." Gordon Coonfield, a communications professor at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, said the early perceptions of Zimmerman as a vigilante may ultimately have no bearing on the case. He cited the case of Rodney King, the black motorist beaten two decades ago by white Los Angeles police officers in an episode captured on video. The officers were acquitted in state court, though two were later found guilty on federal charges. "I think the nation felt quite certain it saw the truth of what happened to Rodney King, and the DA tried the case as if the images spoke for themselves," Coonfield said. "Yet the state criminal court decided the images were not self-evidently true. The defense won by offering a more convincing explanation of the images, focusing on what could not be seen officers' motives, reasoning, and judgment." Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/artic...n-Fla-shooting-case-3447843.php#ixzz1qeUeJFYi
Any chance the MSM just showed the mugshot picture because.. that was the only one released? Once the other picture, where he is in a suit, was released it was shown on MSM outlets as well. I'm just not buying this argument. The media is nothing if not bloodthirsty for rating and would release any photos they had.
So what? Is Trayvon's age in dispute? By the way, the "facebook" photo is a fake. http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/martin.asp
they're bloodthirsty in their support of a certain political agenda. And i think they'd really like to see some actual blood for the obvious resons.
Sorry, kvmj, but you are wrong. The photo refered to in Snopes is a different photo as you would have realized had you taken the time to check out the photos before posting.
Zimmerman no matter how this case works out is deranged and probably needs mental help. Dude called the cops more in 3 months than I've had come into my life over my entire life (pull overs, me calling, others around me calling, etc). And I clerked midnights at a 7 11 for 4 years. BTW am I the only one that finds it funny that his father shares his name, Robert Zimmerman with Bob Dylan?
The Martin family should be suing the hell out of everyone who posted pictures that claimed to be of their murdered son but aren't.
