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Chauvin Verdict Could Be Watershed Moment

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Even BET Cut Away to Cover the News

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News media gather in Minneapolis Tuesday as people celebrate the guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. A sign is changed to show “justice served.” (Credit: Victor J. Blue/New York Times)

Even BET Cut Away to Cover the News

Aside from the fact that Black Entertainment Television went live to cover the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict, two other developments stand out in media coverage of the trial: New attention to the falsity of statements made by police in the news media’s “police said” culture, and the continuing danger of disinformation by right-wing media, which is creating an alternative view of reality for its consumers.

In that sense, the eagerly awaited verdict could be a watershed moment, like the murder of George Floyd itself.

If most media agreed on a theme, it was that the finding that Chauvin was three times guilty in last year’s murder was a significant victory in the fight against racist law enforcement, but that there is plenty more work to do. To underscore that, police killings of people of color continued.

Scott Clement and Emily Guskin reported Friday for The Washington Post, “Six in 10 Americans say the country should do more to hold police accountable for mistreatment of Black people, far outpacing concerns about those measures interfering with how law enforcement does its job, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.”

Another takeaway was recognition of the pain carried by people of color in general, and Black journalists in particular. Some pleaded for an end to the stressful repetition of the damning video showing Chauvin draining Floyd of his life.

This May 25, 2020, image from a police body camera shows bystanders to the George Floyd murder. They include Alyssa Funari, left, filming, Charles McMillan, center, left, in light colored shorts; Christopher Martin, center in gray; Donald Williams, center in black; Genevieve Hansen, fourth from right, filming; Darnella Frazier, third from right filming. (Credit: Minneapolis Police Department)

The “Dart Center has responded by dramatically scaling up its newsroom trainings, creating new resources specifically for journalists from underrepresented communities, and placing a new emphasis on maintaining resilience during open-ended (read: unrelenting) stress,” Sarah Scire reported Thursday for Nieman Lab. Her piece noted that the stress extends far beyond Black journalists and is also caused by other traumatic news in the last year.

Nicholas Charles, writing for the Daily News in New York, was one of many who tied faulty coverage of police violence against communities of color to lack of diversity in newsrooms. “From parroting false claims and running with one side of the story to continuously making excuses over ‘lack of talent pool,’ we have seen time [and] again how a lack of diversity in newsrooms can adversely affect our communities,” Charles wrote Thursday.

The realization that police lied in their official report of the Floyd murder set off light bulbs.

“As they talked to the public about the company’s journalism, Michael Kilian, Gannett’s New York state editor, said, ‘it became quickly clear that public safety coverage was the big impediment to trust,‘ ” Julia Craven reported Friday for Slate.

“Kilian noted that even referring to police as ‘the authorities’ in a news story was being discussed, since it further reinforces a historical lack of scrutiny given to law enforcement.”

Yet, according to Courtney Hagle, writing Thursday for Media Matters for America, conservative media responded to such sentiments “incredulously, pointing to the guilty verdict as an example of the criminal justice system functioning as it should and as supposed evidence that systemic racism is not as widespread as some claim. Right-wing media also complained that the somber and conflicted emotional reaction expressed by many in response to the conviction reveals that those on the left will never be satisfied, even when getting what they wanted in a guilty verdict.”

Amanda Marcotte wrote Wednesday for Salon, “Shortly after the verdict was announced on Tuesday, far-right Twitter cranks like Paul Joseph Watson and Matt Walsh were insisting Chauvin was the real victim here and that the jury was ‘intimidated’ by the ‘mob.’ Minutes later, that line was already being broadcast on Fox News, as Greg Gutfeld, with his usual unfunny ‘humor,’ was pretending to be ‘glad’ Chauvin ‘was found guilty on all charges, even if he might not be guilty of all charges,’ because ‘I want a verdict that keeps this country from going up in flames.’ “

Derek Chauvin is handcuffed after the verdict is read. (Credit: Court TV/pool)

Most prominent among this crowd was Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

“To viewers of ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ ” Erik Wemple wrote in the Washington Post, “the George Floyd story is one of civil unrest, fires and broken windows. And when someone comes on air and dares to explain the atrocity, well — that person needs to be cut off and shut down. That’s because the truth of the Floyd murder threatens the fragile white-grievance ecosystem that Carlson has fashioned on Fox News’s airwaves. It speaks to the systemic racism that Carlson so commonly mocks. So desperate was Carlson to exonerate the system of Floyd’s death that he claimed that Floyd had died of a drug overdose.”

While Gutfield was opining on Fox immediately after the verdict, BET, surprisingly, was televising live from Minneapolis. The network was using the feed from the CBSN streaming service. Both BET and CBSN are owned by Viacom.

A spokesperson told Journal-isms that “the ViacomCBS merger has enabled and encouraged collaboration between networks across the company. The synergy between our iconic brands gives us broader opportunities to reach audiences and deliver timely content to our viewers.”

However, the collaboration was also available on Jan. 6, when overwhelmingly white rioters sacked the U.S. Capitol for the first time since 1812. As other networks broadcast the shocking and historic images, BET was showing a Tyler Perry comedy, continuing its inconsistent history in covering news.

In its news releases, BET says it is “the nation’s leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news, and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience.”

TV One, which went on the air on Martin Luther King Day 2004 to emphasize its connection to King’s values, was showing the sitcom “A Different World” when the verdict was read. The network did not respond to a request for comment.

The relatively new Black News Channel has promised a different approach. On Wednesday, spokesperson Tim Buckman supplied this list of journalists who provided this network’s coverage:

“Kelly Wright anchored BNC’s coverage from the network’s Washington D.C. bureau.

“BNC anchors Laverne McGee and Del Walters also contributed.

“On the ground in Minneapolis were BNC correspondents Derrick Lewis (usually based in Houston), Dray Clark (usually based in New York) and Chief Legal Correspondent Dr. Laura McNeal.

“Camera operators in Minneapolis were Nelson Castillo, Tom Kelly and Leon Gonzalez.

“BNC field producer Olivia LaBorde was also in Minneapolis.

“Kelly Wright interviewed several guests in the coverage that immediately followed the verdict, including NY Times Columnist Charles Blow (‘Prime with Charles Blow’ makes its debut on BNC May 3rd) and Legal Expert Rick Petry.    

“BNC also issued the following statement yesterday:

” ‘Unfortunately, no chain of events can undo the abhorrent murder of George Floyd or soothe the pain that our collective community feels at this time in the wake of ongoing tragic incidents involving the murders of Black Americans. However, today’s verdict was the correct one. It is our hope that this decision helps the Floyd family — and all who knew and loved Mr. Floyd — take that very first step toward healing.

“Additionally, today’s verdict reinvigorates BNC’s commitment and mission to cover the unique perspectives and voices of Black and Brown communities, with the appropriate context and cultural competency necessary to tell and reflect our stories accurately.

“We encourage those activated by these recent events to continue to push forward. The true work toward achieving real equity is not complete based on today’s decision alone, and we should all remain committed to effecting true and lasting change.”

Similarly, NBC-owned Telemundo related the coverage to its Spanish-speaking viewers.

“We broke into our regular programming with special breaking news coverage just before the verdict was announced. The special coverage included live on-the-ground reports from Minneapolis and Washington,” spokesman Kevin Gray messaged Journal-isms.

“The Chauvin verdict was also the lead story on our main 6:30 pm newscast with extensive coverage including interviews with Latinos in Minneapolis who gathered awaiting the verdict, analysis of the verdict and an interview with Danielle Pilar Clealand, a Florida International University professor and social justice expert where the issue and how it relates to the Latino community was discussed in-depth.

“The story also led our 11:35 pm newscast.”

Univision did not respond to a request for comment.

USA Today cartoonist and illustrator Mike Thompson, who is based in Detroit, drove to his Minneapolis hometown not only to help document the Chauvin verdict, but to assist in telling the story of the city. (Credit: Mike Thompson/USA Today)

In mainstream media, “The news networks did an outstanding job on a day that we knew was coming, but still came sooner than expected,” according to the subhead on an extensive summary by Tom Jones of the Poynter Institute. “It wasn’t perfect, but it was good.” The media reaction was also summarized in CNN’s “Reliable Sources” column.

USA Today spokesperson Hayley Hoefer messaged, “USA TODAY National Columnist Suzette Hackney (pictured) ‘moved’ to Minneapolis three weeks ago to embed with the community as the trial of Derek Chauvin began. She was outside the Hennepin County Government Center almost daily.

“She was a regular presence at George Floyd Square. She got to know regulars in both places. She settled into the community in the morning, during the day, at night, throughout the weekends. She interviewed shop keepers, public officials and supporters of the Floyd family, as well as Minnesotans who have lived with this case as a constant backdrop for the past year.”

In addition, “Over the weekend, USA TODAY cartoonist and illustrator Mike Thompson, who is based in Detroit, drove to Minneapolis to be a part of our coverage team. Mike is from Minneapolis, so this was going home for him. He wanted to help document not only the verdict, but also help to tell the story of the city.

“As lawyers were delivering closing arguments in the case, Mike went to George Floyd Square – blocks from where he attended elementary school – and made a video that would later become the basis of a page of sketches he made.

“He was outside the Hennepin County Government Center for the verdict, observing, photographing and taking videos. He quickly headed out to begin drawing, creating powerful art out of what he had seen.“

Andres Guardado, 18, was fatally shot by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy last year in Gardena, Calif. (Credit: Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

A Surprising View on Police Shootings of Latinos

“Andres Guardado, shot five times in the back last June in Gardena by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. Sean Monterrosa, shot in the back of his head two weeks before Guardado by police in Vallejo, Calif., while he knelt with his hands up. Manuel Diaz, shot down by an Anaheim officer in 2012 as he ran away,” Gustavo Arellano (pictured) wrote Tuesday for the Los Angeles Times.

“Will the police killings of Latinos ever end? Have we learned anything from the past? . . .

“A Washington Post investigation found that between 2015 and 2020, Latinos died at a rate of 23 per million residents after encounters with police, second only to Black people, at 31 per million residents, in a contest no group wants to win. . . .

“The latest victim: Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old killed by Chicago police last week after an early morning foot chase. A video shows the boy dropping a gun and raising his hands a split second before an officer fatally shoots him.

“American law enforcement has brutalized Latinos from the time the United States conquered the American Southwest 170 years ago.

“So a question inevitably, understandably arises among Latinos after each tragedy: Why don’t police shootings of Latinos get more national attention? . . .”

Arellano provided his own reason.

The “actual answer to this question of apathy is a painful, self-reflective one: Police shootings of Latinos aren’t more widely known because the problem is us.

“We too easily forget our history.

“Black Americans know too well their community’s legacy of extrajudicial killings. Too few Latinos do about ours. With the exception of Toledo and maybe Guardado, only the most committed ‘defund the police’ types would know the other names I mentioned without the help of Google.”

Arellano also wrote, “We too easily forget our own role in police brutality. . . .”

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Richard Prince’s Journal-isms originates from Washington. It began in print before most of us knew what the internet was, and it would like to be referred to as a “column.” Any views expressed in the column are those of the person or organization quoted and not those of any other entity. Send tips, comments and concerns to Richard Prince at journal-isms+owner@groups.io

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