Media Coverage
Much of the media coverage was sensational, referring to the incident as the "attack of the killer lesbians," and to the group as a "seething sapphic septet". The case was also cited in a Village Voice article about rap culture and young black lesbians.
The O'Reilly Factor ran a segment entitled "Violent Lesbian Gangs a Growing Problem." The story described the incident from a point of view sympathetic to Buckle, and described a "national underground network... that's actually recruiting kids as young as 10 years old" and engaging in homosexual recruitment. The story described these gangs as groups that "just want to hurt people."
The Southern Poverty Law Center criticized O'Reilly's story as inaccurate, and criticized the segment's commentator, Rod Wheeler, as unqualified. The SPLC's Hatewatch website sarcastically awarded O'Reilly their "Most Gullible Broadcaster Award."
The Gay City News criticized the sensationalistic coverage, pointing to elements the mainstream press ignored, such as allegations that Buckle tore a chunk of hair from one woman's scalp.
A New-York based LGBT youth advocacy group, FIERCE, claimed the women's prosecution was motivated by attempts to "gentrify" the West Village area, noting the judge's comments about "how New York welcomes tourists." FIERCE also complained that "every possible racist, anti-woman, anti-LGBT and anti-youth tactic" was used by the prosecution against the women.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Greenwich Village Assault Case
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“The question confronting the Church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message.”
—Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)