Okay, journalists, let's have a talk, shall we? Because I am damn tired of seeing lazy reporting and lazy framing like this.

First off: Let's remember what these protests are about. Racial injustice. Centuries of racial injustice.

Langston Hughes said it better than I can.

These "riots" exploded out of rage over the deaths of Black Americans. Deaths we see & deaths we don't see.

Looting is not the story. It wasn't the story after Katrina. Or after the Rodney King verdict. Or the protests of '68.

If anything, "looting" is a side story at best.

This thread details how badly journalists mess this story up, over and over again: https://twitter.com/DrJasonJohnson/status/1265988259953414149

When I'm teaching reporting the question I ask my students over and over again when they make a claim is: Says who?

It's a riot? Says who? There are looters? Says who?

That's followed by: What do they get from telling you this or framing something this way?

When reporting, we are supposed to report the facts, but also look for alternative interpretations of facts/events/things.

We aren't supposed to parrot the language nor the framing of those we interview - ESPECIALLY the language/framing of people in power.

Watching MSNBC this morning, the anchor and reporter were focused on the "looting" and "rioting" and property damage, with little no to no mention of the murder of George Floyd that sparked these protests.

And, that's on the supposedly "liberal" cable news channel.