Category: Improving Media

Headlines

The Associated Press Stylebook offers this guidance for the adjective police- or officer-involved:

Avoid this vague jargon for shootings and other cases involving police. Be specific about what happened. If police use the term, ask for detail. How was the officer or officers involved? Who did the shooting? If the information is not available or not provided, spell that out.

Local newspaper, television, and radio headlines failed to follow this basic advice, instead parroting the official release from the City of Iowa City headlined “DCI investigating Iowa City Officer-involved shooting“:

The Gazette: Iowa DCI investigating Iowa City officer-involved shooting

KCRG: Iowa DCI investigating Iowa City officer-involved shooting

KCJJ: DCI investigating Iowa City officer-involved shooting

The stylebook further offers this guidance around initial reports, emphasis added:

Be cautious about initial news releases or statements from law enforcement or other officials. Accounts by police, especially in the hours just after a crime, are very incomplete and can be inaccurate, whether about specific details or about motivations behind the crime. Press for details and substantiation: How do authorities know? If key details aren’t known or can’t be confirmed, say so in the story.

Attribute carefully and thoroughly.

If descriptions change, say so. For example: The police chief initially said the shooting was not a hate crime, without explaining that conclusion, but later said she believed the victim’s race was the motivation. She said the suspect had posted racist rants on social media.

Also remember that police may release information before officials review footage from body cameras, dashboard cameras, surveillance cameras or bystanders’ cameras. What they see later in that footage may change the story.

That’s why it is crucial to always work to verify and corroborate official accounts by talking to witnesses, victims, relatives and other sources. Use verified or vetted user-generated content to give you eyes and ears on the ground if you can’t be at the scene. Look for livestreamed videos and call nearby homes and businesses to find additional details for your coverage.

Local newspaper, television, and radio headlines also failed to follow this basic advice, instead parroting the official release language that the police “observed the subject with the knife making threatening statements and gestures”:

Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City police shoot, kill person wielding knife

The Daily Iowan: IC police officers shot and killed person armed with knife

Iowa News Now: Iowa City police officers shot and kill person armed with a knife

KWWL: Iowa City police shoot suspect armed with knife on Southgate Ave

Only one local outlet seemed to tread carefully and follow this simple guidance:

Little Village: Iowa City Police Department officers fatally shoot a person while responding to call Tuesday evening

I appreciate you, Paul Brennan.

The Narrative

Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts was reportedly well loved by the community, students, parents and teachers. He’s well educated and a former Olympian. Here he is in a suit racing students for fun. It’s sweet.

So the Ministry of Truth got to work.

Sam Olson, described by the Associated Press as an “ICE enforcement and removal operations regional official”:

This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement.

[…]

How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in a press release:

The arrest on Friday of Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts was shocking, particularly his attempt to evade authorities, and the loaded gun, knife, and large sum of cash found in his vehicle.

Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for US Senate, on her campaign X account:

ICE arrested the Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, Ian Andre Roberts — an illegal alien from Guyana & active ICE fugitive with a deportation order since May 2024. When ICE caught him, agents found a loaded gun, a hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash.

Rep. Randy Feenstra on his campaign X account:

Thank you to ICE for detaining the Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools — an illegal immigrant with a criminal record who was caught with a loaded gun and $3,000 in cash.

All of these people are rabid supporters of a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment, but in their mind Black people aren’t afforded that right. Now, throw in the mention of a “hunting” knife (Roberts was reportedly a hunter and it is nearly hunting season in Iowa) and cash — the only source for which is the ICE official’s statement — and you’ve got yourself A Narrative™ straight from the Scary Black Man Who Deserves Whatever He Gets Playbook.

The prolific use of the phrase “illegal alien” and the random inclusion of a Scary Black Man photo from 2020 are red flags this trope is in play, of course. Journalists should be skeptical, and the public shouldn’t fall for the framing.

The rule of law includes the presumption of innocence and due process.

It’s Not Even Worth Criticizing Anymore

My camera roll contains this front page from the Iowa City Press-Citizen with a story about a one-term president who’s been dead for 60 years:

Meanwhile, one of my mentors, former music critic and now emeritus professor Don McLeese, writes on social media about a Des Moines Register review of Foreigner’s Iowa State Fair performance:

An embarrassment, but I fault the paper rather than the reporter pressed into service. In graf 3 we get the names of all founding members, none of whom are currently in the band, while graf 4 gives the names of who is now in the band, without saying who does or plays what. But really, when this is your lead graf, you’ve got nowhere to go but. . .nowhere:

“Though Foreigner might be on their Farewell Tour, it felt like the very first time, as the band proved to the crowd of 11,141 on the second day of the Iowa State Fair that they will forever be one of the greatest rock bands of all time.”

This is not a bash-the-reporter post. It’s just hard to even feel like it’s worth criticizing Gannet, which strictly paywalls its sites, makes it impossible to unsubscribe, doesn’t offer its reporters the support — editors, pay, guidance, mentorship — they deserve and isn’t producing news that serve its communities.

The criticism I’ve leveled in this space over the past 15-plus years have often been dopey, but mocking critiquing has always come with some hope for improvement. That hasn’t been possible at Gannet properties for a while now, and my disappointment and acceptance is now complete, making this the last time I plan to acknowledge the present-tense existence of these papers.

So -30-, I guess.

Another flap about which I don’t care

These three tweets from Jay Rosen sum up the whole Keith Olbermann thing and why I don’t really care about it.

(Also, I really wanted to test out the new Blackbird Pie plugin.)

Realtors warn potential clients to be wary of the Web!

A story posted by KCRG warns potential renters and home buyer about the dangers of finding property online!

As technology improves, criminals keep finding new ways to scam people. Realtors say more and more con artists are trying to take advantage of people looking to buy or rent homes online.

See, Realtors nowadays have to compete harder for sales against for-sale-by-owner types (which can sell their homes for less since they don’t have to pay a commission to a real estate agent) because of, guess what, the INTERNET! So while buyers and rents should be careful using Craigslist, it seems that the Realtor source might be a little biased when warning potential clients to be wary of the Web.