Race Keeps Knoxville Slaying Out of National News

Knoxville, TN (TLS). The brutal murder of a Knoxville, Tennessee couple has certainly made the headlines of local newspapers and television stations, but you won't find a word of it mentioned in the national media. This is odd given the heinous nature of the crime.

Knoxville residents Christopher Newsom, 23, and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Channon Christian, a student at the University of Tennessee, were found brutally murdered in January. Both had been raped and tortured.

In fact, the details of their slaying are so gruesome that they have not been made public by police officials, but plenty of websites have provided the gory details.

Four suspects have been arrested and charged with the crimes. All four are Black. The two victims are white.

And this is the source of the controversy. Local residents and bloggers claim that had the situation been reversed, with four Caucasians raping, torturing, and murdering two young African-Americans, the details of the crime and the arrests would be all over CNN and the national media.

But so far, nary word.

Country music star Charlie Daniels claims that while the news blackout may not be racially motivated or an example of reverse racism, it most definitely is a case of 'selective journalism.'

The trial will be underway in Knoxville very soon, and prosecutors have not yet indicated if they will seek the death penalty.

Read the complete story here:
http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=6534768