Thread by @ScottHech

It was the bullet’s fault, the New York Times told us.

An outrageous police killing. An unarmed man & 14 y/o girl. Shot w/ no regard for human life. Cops won’t be held to account. And get this: If the man they killed were still alive, they’d charge *him w/ the 14 y/os murder. Blame him for making them shoot.losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/12/24/sho…

Shooting bystanders & then charging the people cops were trying to shoot with the bystander’s murder is unfortunately all too routine. Here LA cops “shot into a Trader Joe’s, killing an innocent bystander—& the man they were shooting at was charged with that bystander’s murder.”

https://twitter.com/AWKWORDrap/status/1390653935933870082

Most people don't read beyond headlines. So most damage is already done no matter how comprehensive & nuanced the actual story is (an already unfortunate rarity in criminal justice journalism). Police have killed 1,646 people since George Floyd. Why do editors still do this?

Perhaps part of why media keeps repeating mistakes: “Extreme events of injustice generate public outrage & awareness. Then stories fade, everyone forgets, & the status quo prevails. It’s as if this crisis isn’t happening." Tremendous insight from @msolurin:teenvogue.com/story/law-and-…

In this piece, I offer a roadmap for journalists & editors. “Media outlets, editors, & reporters need to turn to sources beyond just police & prosecutors, convey genuine nuance in their reporting & headlines, and stop the use of dehumanizing language." thenation.com/article/societ…

I’m deeply invested in doing everything I can to improve the state of justice journalism. Better journalistic practices are a racial & social justice imperative. More thoughts on problematic current practices & what journalists & consumers of news can do right now to improve:

https://twitter.com/ScottHech/status/1445820985094017034

First read this: “LAPD have shot at least 37 people in 2021, mark[ing] a dramatic rise in cases where officers shot or killed people.”

Then ask yourself why the media has dedicated thousands of stories to a few isolated thefts from wealthy luxury stores.

This is story bias.

LAPD HAVE KILLED FOUR PEOPLE IN JUST THE LAST WEEK. This is in part why police are working overtime to spread disinformation about “crime surges” & scare the public with rare cherry picked cases of violence. They’re trying to deflect attention. Why do we keep buying it? Think!