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| Walter Scott |
Dear Richard,
South Carolina Police Officer
Michael Slager has been charged with murder after being caught on tape shooting
unarmed 50 year-old Walter Scott eight times while his back was turned, and then
planting evidence at the scene. 1 But prior to the release of that
harrowing tape, if you’d read local coverage of the shooting in Charleston’sPost and Courier — South Carolina’s largest newspaper — you would have gotten a
very different story.
Rather than
fairly presenting both sides of a still-developing story, an article by
reporter Andrew Knapp tries and convicts the victim, Walter Scott, by
overemphasizing Michael Slager’s version of events, as well as Scott’s
irrelevant criminal record. 2 All the while, it was Officer
Slager who needed to be under the microscope.
The shooting
death of Walter Scott — and the ensuing cover up — reflects a law enforcement
community in disarray. In the past five years, South Carolina police have fired
weapons at 209 people and not one officer has been convicted.3 This
is a state in crisis; the last thing Black South Carolinians need is
for the Post and Courier — the South’s oldest newspaper, with a circulation to
over 90,000 people — to act as the public relations arm of police departments
in dire need of very serious reforms.
Knapp’s piece exemplifies a media
landscape that blindly trusts the word of law enforcement, inadequately
examines police brutality cases, and stereotypically defines Black people by
criminality.
Research shows there are dire consequences for these reporting practices,
including the fueling of a violent and racist culture of policing that
endangers the lives of Black folks every day.4
Had that
video not leaked, the media narrative likely would have never swung in Scott’s
favor. Rather than keeping South Carolinians informed and holding accountable
those in power, the Post and Courier's reporting assisted local police
in disseminating false truths and protecting a murderer. They must own up to
their biased reporting practices.
Knapp’s piece is rife with
manipulative compositional strategies designed to sway the reader in Officer
Slager’s favor.
In fact, the article literally leads with Slager’s version of events.5
It is not until the end of the second paragraph that we learn that we are
actually reading an account relayed to Knapp by Officer Slager’s attorney.
Later, after emphasizing Slager’s title and accomplishments, Knapp finally
mentions Walter Scott by name — followed immediately by his criminal record. No
explicit mention, however, of Slager’s multiple accusations of police
brutality.
As we continue to demand justice
for Walter Scott — as well as dignity and safety for Black communities in South
Carolina and nationwide — let’s also hold the media accountable for its
lop-sided, biased reporting, and demand fair, humanizing coverage of Black
victims of police violence.
Thanks and
Peace,
Arisha,
Rashad, Matt, Brandi, Dallas and the rest of the ColorOfChange team
April 10, 2015
April 10, 2015
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