Responsible coverage highlights the peaceful 99%
During a press conference Sunday night, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas bristled when asked if the sporadic violence seen during KC’s anti-police brutality, pro social justice protests was a “distraction.” He said the headlines Monday wouldn’t be about discussions about how to re-imagine policing, or about the thousands of peaceful protesters who gathered on the Plaza Sunday afternoon. Instead, Lucas predicted the headlines today would be all about the violence—a “few dozen people surrounded by crowds who wanted to cause chaos in our city.”
Was Mayor Lucas right?
When it comes to Monday’s Kansas City Star, it looks like Lucas, no doubt to his relief, was incorrect. The front page did not take the bait that proved irresistible for other media outlets. There were no screaming headlines highlighting riots and looting and pictures of broken windows and burned out cars. Instead, the Star responsibly and correctly displayed a photo of peaceful protesters along with a headline that said, “Kansas City curfew ordered Sunday as protests mount.”
As for other newspapers across the country, Lucas appears to be partially correct. Some chose to highlight the violence or looting rather than peaceful voices. Some examples:
Arizona Republic-Curfew, emergency declared; and 12 arrests, millions in damage after looting
Los Angeles Times-Looters rampage across region
Miami Herald -Anger boils over again
However, many others took a more responsible path on today’s front pages. These include:
Washington Post-US at precipice as demonstrations intensify
Atlanta Journal Constitution-Another day of unease
New York Times-Twin crisis and surging anger convulse US
Fort Worth Star Telegraph-Area protests against police brutality continue for third day
Local television news was up a mix of responsible and sensational coverage.
KC’s TV stations did some exemplary reporting under difficult circumstances, especially KSHB-TV, which conducted several revealing interviews with thoughtful protesters about the importance of making their voices heard. One African American woman told KSHB she was marching for her 17-year old son, and didn’t want him to “become a hashtag.” Still, too much local TV over the weekend consisted of frantic, “jump-from-reporter-to-reporter” coverage that ignored the fact that a much larger group peacefully protested during the day on Saturday and Sunday. Images of these daytime peaceful rallies should’ve been interspersed with the “tense standoff” live coverage in the evenings to provide valuable context for viewers.
In my textbook Peace Journalism Principles and Practices, I produced a short list of how journalists can cover civic unrest more responsibly. These include:
1.Report on “them” (the “other side”) fairly, respectfully, and with empathy.
2. Report about the invisible causes and effects of the unrest.
3. Use precise and objective language.
4. Report proactively to facilitate dialogues before violence occurs.
5. Report counter-narratives that provide a different perspective on the protesters, the police, and the community.
6. Report with reconciliation in mind.
7. Give voice to peacemakers on all sides during and after the unrest. The moving, viral video of Minneapolis rapper Killer Mike appealing for justice is a perfect example of this.
Media have an especially large responsibility in times of crisis and civic unrest, a fact underscored by the mayor at his Sunday night press conference. Let’s hope all media take Lucas’ advice, and not lose sight of the much larger transcendent issues of racial and social justice.
Worst coverage Award
We have a clear winner: The New York Post. Especially noteworthy is the Satan-like depiction of the guy in the cop car. We expect irresponsible and inflammatory for the Post, yet this front page may be a new low, even for them.
During a press conference Sunday night, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas bristled when asked if the sporadic violence seen during KC’s anti-police brutality, pro social justice protests was a “distraction.” He said the headlines Monday wouldn’t be about discussions about how to re-imagine policing, or about the thousands of peaceful protesters who gathered on the Plaza Sunday afternoon. Instead, Lucas predicted the headlines today would be all about the violence—a “few dozen people surrounded by crowds who wanted to cause chaos in our city.”
Was Mayor Lucas right?
When it comes to Monday’s Kansas City Star, it looks like Lucas, no doubt to his relief, was incorrect. The front page did not take the bait that proved irresistible for other media outlets. There were no screaming headlines highlighting riots and looting and pictures of broken windows and burned out cars. Instead, the Star responsibly and correctly displayed a photo of peaceful protesters along with a headline that said, “Kansas City curfew ordered Sunday as protests mount.”
As for other newspapers across the country, Lucas appears to be partially correct. Some chose to highlight the violence or looting rather than peaceful voices. Some examples:
Arizona Republic-Curfew, emergency declared; and 12 arrests, millions in damage after looting
Los Angeles Times-Looters rampage across region
Miami Herald -Anger boils over again
However, many others took a more responsible path on today’s front pages. These include:
Washington Post-US at precipice as demonstrations intensify
Atlanta Journal Constitution-Another day of unease
New York Times-Twin crisis and surging anger convulse US
Fort Worth Star Telegraph-Area protests against police brutality continue for third day
Local television news was up a mix of responsible and sensational coverage.
KC’s TV stations did some exemplary reporting under difficult circumstances, especially KSHB-TV, which conducted several revealing interviews with thoughtful protesters about the importance of making their voices heard. One African American woman told KSHB she was marching for her 17-year old son, and didn’t want him to “become a hashtag.” Still, too much local TV over the weekend consisted of frantic, “jump-from-reporter-to-reporter” coverage that ignored the fact that a much larger group peacefully protested during the day on Saturday and Sunday. Images of these daytime peaceful rallies should’ve been interspersed with the “tense standoff” live coverage in the evenings to provide valuable context for viewers.
In my textbook Peace Journalism Principles and Practices, I produced a short list of how journalists can cover civic unrest more responsibly. These include:
1.Report on “them” (the “other side”) fairly, respectfully, and with empathy.
2. Report about the invisible causes and effects of the unrest.
3. Use precise and objective language.
4. Report proactively to facilitate dialogues before violence occurs.
5. Report counter-narratives that provide a different perspective on the protesters, the police, and the community.
6. Report with reconciliation in mind.
7. Give voice to peacemakers on all sides during and after the unrest. The moving, viral video of Minneapolis rapper Killer Mike appealing for justice is a perfect example of this.
Media have an especially large responsibility in times of crisis and civic unrest, a fact underscored by the mayor at his Sunday night press conference. Let’s hope all media take Lucas’ advice, and not lose sight of the much larger transcendent issues of racial and social justice.
Worst coverage Award
We have a clear winner: The New York Post. Especially noteworthy is the Satan-like depiction of the guy in the cop car. We expect irresponsible and inflammatory for the Post, yet this front page may be a new low, even for them.
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