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Bizarre Moments for Media at Killers’ Home

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Reporters Film What San Bernardino Couple Left Behind

American Muslims Say Media Aid in Their Demonization

Sun-Times Wants Feds to Go Deep in Probing Police

Roland Martin “Crucifies” Pastor Who Met With Trump

900 Boko Haram Hostages Freed to Little Coverage

“How to Write About the Pope Visiting Africa”

“Corrupt” Mexican Loses Case Against D.C. Correspondent

Columnist: Pull Honor for Baseball’s Color-Line Architect

Capturing the Spirit of Johnson Publishing Co. Building

Short Takes

Reporters Film What San Bernardino Couple Left Behind

“This is one of the most bizarre moments in cable-news history,” a Vanity Fair headline proclaimed Friday. The story was labeled “Ethics,” and the title was “TV Reporters Bumble Their Way Through San Bernardino Shooter’s Apartment.”

The Atlantic called it “A baffling, surreal scene” and asked, in its headline, “What the Hell Just Happened on MSNBC and CNN?”

David Folkenflik reported for NPR, “A story about a deadly terrorist attack briefly inspired a frenzied media scrum Friday morning in Southern California when dozens of reporters and TV news crews entered the home of the two shooters in the San Bernardino massacre. 

“NPR’s Nate Rott spoke to the landlord at the shooters’ apartment in nearby Redlands after the scrum began.The landlord says he allowed journalists into the home of Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik after it was returned to his control by federal law enforcement officials. Reporters quickly held up photographs to the camera, picked up documents and generally tramped throughout a site that had still been considered part of an active federal investigation just hours earlier.

“While all three major cable networks showed footage, MSNBC was particularly aggressive, claiming it had broadcast an exclusive with its footage, shown only a few minutes before its competitors. Indeed, MSNBC’s Kerry Sanders complained that rival news teams were ‘a-pushing and a-shoving.’

“He subsequently held up photographs from the apartment, presumably of family and friends, and even showed a California driver’s license of the mother of the male shooter. Her identifying characteristics, including her date of birth, address, eye color and the like, were clearly visible on screen.

“MSNBC issued a statement Friday afternoon apologizing in part for its broadcast: ‘Although MSNBC was not the first crew to enter the home, we did have the first live shots from inside. We regret that we briefly showed images of photographs and identification cards that should not have been aired without review.’

“It was a notable acknowledgement of the absence of editorial discretion. CNN took a victory lap by issuing its own statement citing a ‘conscious editorial decision not to show close-up footage of any material that could be considered sensitive or identifiable.’ Fox similarly broadcast images from the shooters’ home but did not show images of the IDs.

“Regardless, the scene was chaotic on all the networks, as though they were broadcasting live streams of reporters picking up scattered tiles of a mosaic and examining them one by one, without any hope of context or meaning.

“People on social media complained in real time, accusing journalists of voyeurism or worse. CNN’s Anderson Cooper looked visibly uncomfortable, and Wolf Blitzer later said, ‘I’ve certainly never seen anything like this.’ One of CNN’s law enforcement analysts watching the video live said, ‘I am so shocked I cannot believe it,’ though he appeared to be referring as much to the decision by law enforcement officials to walk away from the killers’ home as to the reporters’ activities. . . .”

At the Poynter Institute, Kelly McBride wrote that television reporters were wrong to broadcast live. “It requires a rigorous reporting and editing process to determine what information is relevant and what additional reporting is required to present that information in a responsible context,” McBride asserted. “Broadcasting live precludes that process and makes the reporters more voyeuristic than journalistic.”

In his on-air report, Folkenflik was asked by “All Things Considered” host Robert Siegel whether he would have entered the house.

“I think it would be almost irresistible to go in,” Folkenflik replied. “This is something you’ve wanted for a long time. But let me say two things.

“First off, it’s easy as a radio reporter to go in and decide afterward what to show. We don’t broadcast images live. We have a chance to make decisions. TV reporters doing things live don’t, and the reason MSNBC made mistakes was they didn’t exercise editorial review. I think I would have gone in — I want to be totally candid — and afterward, I’d want to take a long, cold walk and a long, hot shower, because it was a tawdry thing you’d want to get off you.”

American Muslims Say Media Aid in Their Demonization

Thursday’s New York Post, which reported the San Bernardino massacre story with the headline “MUSLIM KILLERS” before any ties between the accused husband-and-wife suspects and the Islamic State had been established, is being cited as just one piece of evidence that media are playing a role in fanning anti-Muslim sentiment.

“Arsalan Iftikhar, a human rights lawyer who is working on a book on Islamophobia in the United States, said that headline was evidence of how people jump to conclusions about a suspect in a crime who is Muslim,” Kevin Sullivan, Elahe Izadi and Sarah Pulliam Bailey reported Thursday for the Washington Post.

” ‘When a Muslim American commits a murder, their religion is brought front and center,’ he said. ‘With anyone else, [it’s] a crazy, kooky loner.’ . . .”

Columnist Fareed Zakaria added Thursday for in the Post, “It is also important to remember that there are 1.6 billion Muslims on the planet. If you took the total number of deaths from terrorism last year — about 30,000 — and assumed that 50 people were involved in planning each one (a vastly exaggerated estimate), it would still add up to less than 0.1 percent of the world’s Muslims. . . .”

The Arab American News, based in Dearborn, Mich., editorialized Friday, “The fear culture that politicians and media pundits have been nurturing for years is turning into an abyss of bigotry and hatred that threatens our communities. We are not guilty, and we should not feel guilty by association.

“Syed Farook may have had a political agenda, which would make him a terrorist. He is one of too many American terrorists. Violent extremists who hate immigrants and Muslims and women, who have attacked Jews and gays and Sikhs.

“Islamophobia and xenophobia are growing into popular industries. We fear that the profitable hatred that is being spewed against Arabs and Muslims will motivate the likes of Dylann Roof and Robert Dear to turn their guns on us,” referring to mass killers in Charleston, S.C., and Colorado Springs, Colo.

Michael Mroziak, reporting for WBFO-FM in Buffalo, N.Y., quoted Professor Faizan Haq, who teaches at Buffalo State College and the University at Buffalo and runs the website WNYMuslims.org. Haq noted the example of last week’s deadly shootings at a Planned Parenthood branch in Colorado.

” ‘I would like to know what religious group this person belonged to,’ Haq said. ‘I would like to know if there’s any training going on, or any persuasion going on where people are trying to take such actions against people of different practices.’

“Because, as leaders add, there are radicals from other faiths who have committed violent acts on U.S. soil. An immediately recalled example was the 1998 shooting death of Western New York doctor and abortion provider Barnett Slepian. His killer, James Charles Kopp, was known to have ties to violently radical Christian organizations including the Army of God and the Lambs of Christ. . . .”

Media critic Howard Kurtz wrote that he saw a growing polarization in the media. He wrote Friday for Fox News, “New York’s Daily News used to play it pretty straight — a flashy tabloid, to be sure, but one that kept its opinions on the editorial page.

“Yesterday’s taunting cover, aimed at blaming the Republicans in the wake of the San Bernardino massacre, shows how far it’s moved left.

“And it kickstarted yet another round of media finger-pointing in the wake of tragedy, just as we saw last week after the killings at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. As disturbingly commonplace as these mass shootings have become, so is the media and political blame game that now begins even before the death toll is final.

“The paper’s screaming front-page headline: ‘GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS.’ There were photos of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham and Paul Ryan tweeting prayers for the victims. ‘As latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards who could truly end gun scourge continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes.’ “

Kurtz concluded, “Everyone I talk to is depressed about the rising tide of shootings. Too bad the media are helping to divide us at a very difficult time.”

Sun-Times Wants Feds to Go Deep in Probing Police

“Out of the horror of 16 police bullets being pumped into a young man who did nothing to deserve to die, Chicago has been given an unprecedented opportunity to transform its chronically scandalized police department,” the Chicago Sun-Times editorialized on Thursday.

“Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday he would welcome a broad review of Chicago police practices by the U.S. Justice Department, reversing his view just the day before that it was a ‘misguided’ idea.

“But the mayor should go it one better. He should shake off every last bit of defensiveness and jump on this one. He should invite in the feds without a hint of reservation, pledge his administration’s full cooperation, and hire a new police superintendent who gets it — that this is very good for Chicago.

“In the last 20 years, the Justice Department has launched at least 65 so-called pattern-and-practice investigations of law enforcement agencies, 32 of which have [led]  to agreements to reform. The process can be transformative — reform on steroids — especially when the local authorities embrace it. Nobody likes a colonoscopy, but smart people get one.

“A proper Justice Department investigation would drill deep into difficult issues such as racial bias within the Chicago Police Department, the appropriate use of deadly force, and a blue code of silence that makes accountability a joke.

“A Justice Department investigation would incorporate findings from the current federal probe into the CPD shooting death of Laquan McDonald, of course. But it would look at the bigger picture, seeking more fundamental change in a police department that has been rocked by scandal for decades.

“We could cite chapter and verse on scandals going back to the days of Al Capone, but fresh in our mind are the scandals of former Commander Jon Burge, who was accused of torturing more than 200 mostly African-American suspects; and off-duty Officer Anthony Abbate, who felt his badge gave him license to beat up a female bartender; and Officer Jerome Finnigan, who led a group of officers that for years robbed drug dealers and ordinary citizens of money, drugs and guns.

“In the last 10 years, Chicago has paid $500 million to settle police misconduct cases. . . .”

Meanwhile, “Chicago officials on Thursday evening released more surveillance footage related to the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a Chicago police officer [accessible via search engine], including footage from a Burger King with an 80-minute gap around the time of the shooting,” Jeremy Gorner reported for the Chicago Tribune.

“Obtained by the Tribune in response to a series of Freedom of Information Act requests, the recordings include 12 camera angles from inside and outside the Southwest Side Burger King on Oct. 20, 2014. . . .”

On Friday, Spike Lee’s “Chi-raq,” a movie satire about Chicago’s deadly violence, opened nationally. The Tribune’s Michael Phillips wrote on Nov. 23 that the film “is destined to make almost everybody angry [accessible via search engine] — not for what it says about Chicago’s homicide statistics, especially among young African-Americans, but for how it says it. . . .” Other reviews.

Roland Martin reports Tuesday on a meeting of 100 black ministers with Donald Trump, challenging the ministers to appear on his “News One Now” on TVOne. (video)

Roland Martin “Crucifies” Pastor Who Met With Trump

“After more than 100 black ministers met with presidential hopeful Donald Trump, one pastor who attended the meeting was crucified by Roland Martin,” Cherese Jackson wrote Wednesday for Guardian Liberty Voice. “Pastor Stephen Parson, in an interview with the NewsOne host, attempted to boast about the positive outcome of the meeting, only to be exposed as another leader of the community who lacks urban literacy. . . .”

On Tuesday, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote bluntly, “Let’s not mince words: Donald Trump is a bigot and a racist.

“Some will think this an outrageous label to apply to the frontrunner for a major party’s presidential nomination. Ordinarily, I would agree that name-calling is part of what’s wrong with our politics.

“But there is a greater imperative not to be silent in the face of demagoguery. Trump in this campaign has gone after African Americans, immigrants, Latinos, Asians, women, Muslims and now the disabled. His pattern brings to mind the famous words of Martin [Niemöller], the pastor and concentration camp survivor (‘First they came for the socialists…’) that Ohio Gov. John Kasich adroitly used in a video last week attacking Trump’s hateful broadsides. . . .”

900 Boko Haram Hostages Freed, to Little Coverage

“Cameroon’s army captured a regional Boko Haram chief and freed 900 hostages during a three-day operation near the country’s border with Nigeria, the government said,” Pius Lukong and Michael Olukayode wrote Wednesday for Bloomberg News, reporting a development about the Nigeria-based terrorist group barely noted in American media.

“Aladji Gana, a local chief for the Islamist militant group, was seized by the West African nation’s forces. About 100 militants were killed during the Nov. 26-Nov. 28 operation and authorities recovered weapons, propaganda materials and jihadist flags, Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday. The fighters have been cleared from the area, he said. . . . “

Lukong and Olukayode also wrote, “The Nigerian army said on Wednesday in a statement that it’s working toward meeting a Dec. 31 deadline set by President Muhammadu Buhari to eliminate the threat of the group, which carries out regular attacks such as bombings and kidnappings.”

“How to Write About the Pope Visiting Africa”

Reflecting on Pope Francis’ Nov. 25-30 visit to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic, his first to Africa, Jennifer Foth prepared “How to Write About the Pope Visiting Africa,” published Wednesday by medium.com.

“Always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘slums’ or ‘war-torn’ in your title,” she began. “Subtitles may include the words ‘abject poverty’ or ‘developing world’ or ‘crime-ridden.’ Also useful are the words ‘ethnic,’ ‘corruption,’ ‘religious violence,’ ‘civil war,’ ‘tribal,’ and ‘security risk,’ as these are descriptors that apply only to Africa.

“Never feature a picture of the pope with fellow African bishops and priests at the beginning of your article, unless he is visiting South Africa and meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu or any white South African clergy.

“A church built with generous donations from Western missionary groups; the mud-ridden slum that the Pope plans to visit against the better judgment of his security team; crowds of ululating women in kitenge pattern dresses lining the streets as they await a sighting of this holy figure in white; token Maasai warriors greeting the Pope at the airport: use these images above your lede.

“In your text, describe whichever country the pope is visiting as you would the entire continent: hot, dusty, with rains that come as a ‘blessing’ to the poor and starving masses. Don’t concern yourself with precise descriptions. . . .”

Columnist: Pull Honor for Baseball’s Color-Line Architect

“His plaque in Cooperstown, N.Y., was in need of amendment, or editing, the moment it was unveiled at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939,” Kevin B. Blackistone wrote Wednesday for the Washington Post.

“To be sure, of the achievements it cited of Adrian Constantine Anson, better known as Cap — ‘GREATEST HITTER AND GREATEST NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYER-MANAGER OF 19TH CENTURY . . . .300 CLASS HITTER 20 YEARS . . . ‘ — it omitted his most remarkable.

“Cap Anson erected the color barrier in baseball.

“His effort to make baseball all white — which, disturbingly, didn’t deter us from fondly calling it America’s pastime — became the game’s hallmark for more than half a century, 60 years.

“But there is no acknowledgement in Anson’s hall of fame display of his role in spearheading racial segregation in baseball, which as this country’s bellwether professional sport led our other professional team sports, including the NFL and NBA, as well as popular individual sports, most notably heavyweight boxing and golf, to shun athletes of color as well.

“Princeton University last month was forced to confront its historically sterilized celebration of one of its icons — its alumnus, former university president and 28th U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson. It hadn’t adequately acknowledged his past as a maker of racist public policy that had a deleterious impact on countless black citizens.

“Well, Cap Anson is baseball’s Woodrow Wilson problem. And the game ought to take a lead from Princeton on how to correct it. . . .”

Capturing the Spirit of the Johnson Publishing Co. Building

“Since February 2013, Barbara Karant has holed up for six hours at a time inside the former Chicago headquarters of the Johnson Publishing Company. Armed with lunch, lights, a tripod and her camera, she was there to photograph the building’s abandoned interiors,” Maurice Berger wrote Friday for the New York Times “Lens” blog.

“The resulting series of images — ‘820 Ebony/Jet,’ a reference to the company’s most popular magazines as well as the building’s street number on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s Loop — uncannily embodies the spirit of the legendary African-American company that occupied the building for 40 years. . . .”

Berger also wrote, referring to company founder John H. Johnson and building architect John Moutoussamy, “Ultimately, the Johnson Publishing Company building was a daring social statement, a monument to the ingenuity and determination of Mr. Johnson and the people his publications represented. It was also an important showcase for black cultural expression, from Mr. Moutoussamy’s vibrant architecture to the corporate collection of African and African-American artists displayed throughout its offices. . . .”

Short Takes

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