When covering the $30,000 settlement Columbus is paying out to Demarko Dashawn Anderson for being stomped on the head by Columbus police officer Zach Rosen, the Dispatch had a choice of what photo to use on social media for the story.
They could use:
A: A photo of the stomping
B: A photo of the police officer who did the stomping
Or C: a mugshot of the victim
Does it surprise you that the Dispatch chose C?
For what it’s worth, all three of these would have generated similar levels of audience engagement and traffic.
And, naturally, the unmoderated Facebook comments took it from there:
This is your periodic reminder that the Columbus Dispatch is not local, and has no problem exploiting your fears.
