Uppity: The Intellectual Playground

Welcome back to Uppity!

This edition will start, as always, with a surprise performance before we launch into the Melanin Warm-up (which will be delivered by a surprise guest this month) and then we’ll explore what the return of European tribal warfare means for Black & Brown people. And finally, we will dive into our main event: The Trial of ‘Trial By Media’.

The Trial of ‘Trial By Media’

Barring a miracle, the legally plagued Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs does not stand a chance of exoneration. And not because he is indeed inherently guilty or not guilty of what he has been charged with, that is yet to be proven either way in court. But because he has been found guilty in the other court, the one driven by media: the court of public opinion.

As a result of his deadly serious legal woes Combs has been the subject of an avalanche of news reports (more than a few are poorly researched and lacking context) and documentaries both by major broadcasters and independents (with many more in the works, including a major Netflix production by 50 Cent, a rival rap mogul). All of the above begs a question: is a genuinely fair trial – complete with a truly unbiased and uninfluenced jury - a remote possibility?

Sean Combs is far from alone in this space. Characters as diverse as Jay Z, Prince Andrew, Carole Bryant, Luigi Mangione, Gregg Wallace, Michael Jackson (posthumously), Jeremy Corbyn, OJ Simpson and many more – including ‘ordinary people’ (i.e. not celebrities) as well as communities (and even countries) have found themselves in similar media storms. Lucy Letby, for example, the convicted child killer, is currently subject to a media campaign in her favour.
Media plays an essential role in shaping society and the perceptions of people within in it. Media plays a crucial role in exposing wrongdoings and crimes. And without a robust and strong media powerful people would continue to get away with serious crimes against the powerless. But is media fit, proper and unbiased enough to truly perform this duty without fear or favour? Should media be able to supplant the court system?

This is not a debate on the rights or wrongs of what people may have done. This month at Uppity we will be taking a deep dive interrogation into the rights and wrongs of Trial by Media. Is it fair or foul? Evil or a necessary evil?

Join us for The Trial of ‘Trial By Media’.

The full panel will be announced shortly. The jury, as always, remains you.

Please note that snacks will be provided as part of the ticket price. And, as this edition takes place in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan we will endeavour to serve some food.

Host or Publisher Nels Abbey