NAACP Questions Media Coverage of Jackson Case : Protest: The organization sees a pattern of negative coverage of African Americans. It will launch a 45-day study of the press.

Leaders of the Western Regional NAACP accused the media Monday of giving excessive coverage to the allegations that Michael Jackson sexually molested a 13-year-old boy, and they announced the launching of a study to assess the media’s coverage of African Americans.

“Our primary concern is that Mr. Jackson is being tried and convicted in the press,” Shannon Reeves, West Coast director of the NAACP, said at a news conference. “We’re not going to stand by any longer and allow this to happen.”

Reeves called the allegations against Jackson “serious,” but stressed that the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People takes no position on those accusations.

However, he cited a number of examples of what he said was the media’s willingness to attack well-known blacks, including former Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who died in 1972, former Miss America Vanessa Williams and recently retired basketball star Michael Jordan.

Lawyers on both sides of a lawsuit filed by the 13-year-old against Jackson have complained about the crush of publicity that the case has attracted. They have been particularly critical of tabloid publications and television shows that pay for interviews, a practice they say can undermine the credibility of potential witnesses.

Monday’s news conference marked the second time in recent months that representatives of the NAACP have raised questions about the Jackson inquiry and the publicity it has attracted. Last month, the local organization wrote to Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams about their agencies’ handling of the criminal investigation into the world-renowned entertainer.

“What is the agenda . . . of your investigation team?” Leo James Terrell, legal redress counsel for the NAACP chapter, asked in that letter. “Why are some facts of the investigation being ‘leaked’ and others not? Is this investigation being carried out in an ethical manner?”

In an interview, Terrell added that NAACP leaders are concerned that police were not respecting the rights of children whom they interviewed as part of their investigation. That criticism echoed complaints by Jackson’s attorneys, but Terrell said his letter was not drafted at their request.

Williams and Police Commission President Gary Greenebaum denied the allegation that investigators were acting improperly.

At the news conference Monday, Reeves said the Jackson case reflects a pattern of coverage when it comes to African Americans.

“This is not only about Michael Jackson,” he said, “but about how the media uses its power to continue to aid in the oppression and degradation of African Americans in this country.”

To assess the seriousness of that problem, Reeves announced the initiation of a 45-day review of news coverage. He said NAACP members will monitor broadcast news and newspapers to measure how many stories are published or televised. Members will then try to determine how many of those stories are positive, how many are negative and what percentage of positive and negative stories involve African Americans.

“At the conclusion of this review, we will assess the need to convene representatives of major news sponsors and advertisers throughout the West Coast to address their support of unbalanced journalism,” Reeves said.