The Breakroom: False Balance, Creepy Clowns, Racial Bias In Court

Caption

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton meet for their first presidential debate on Monday. The Breakroom panel discusses fair coverage of the campaigns. / Wikimedia Commons

The Breakroom gang joins host Celeste Headlee to weigh in on the week's news. The panel includes writer Nicki Salcedo of Decaturish.com, music blogger Jordan Stepp, Georgia State University professor Hector Fernandez, and Jeff Breedlove, who is the communications director for DeKalb County commissioner Nancy Jester.

BREAKROOM TOPICS:

1) The first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is Monday. Lots of people will be watching for false balance in the debate. It’s the practice of journalists who, in their push for fairness, present each side of a debate as equally credible. As we look at this election season, do you see false balance as a problem?

2) More NFL players are following Colin Kaepernick’s lead by not standing during the national anthem. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback began the practice in protest over police brutality against blacks. Some members of the Miami Dolphins have followed suit, but the sheriff's union in Broward County isn’t happy about that. It wants deputies there to refuse to work security detail for Dolphins players who won’t stand for the national anthem. Is this OK?

3) All over the South, children and adults have reported these clowns in communities, like McDuffie County, Georgia. Arrests have been made, but these clowns continue to pop up. Are there real clowns, or is it all a hoax? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evNIZfqK8uU

4) Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case about whether a Colorado man name Peña Rodriguez can challenge three misdemeanor convictions against him. According to sworn statements by two jurors in the case, a third juror said Rodriguez was guilty because he’s “Mexican, and Mexican men take whatever they want.” Science says we all have unconscious biases, but this case begs the question about whether a racist person can rule fairly on a defendant that they dislike. Do you feel it’s possible to assemble a jury with no racial biases?

5) A new song is being played at Trump rallies lately. It’s “Do You Hear the People Sing,” from the musical “Les Miserables.” So, here’s the question: What song would you play at your own campaign rally?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEiTKloMgBg

6) SunTrust Park stadium opens next spring. The total cost is about $672 million. That may seem like a lot until you hear about the new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. According to the CBS station in Minnesota, that stadium cost more than NASA’s mission to Pluto. Are we ready for a serious conversation about the cost of stadiums and why taxpayers pay for them but don’t collect any profits?