Thread by @city_bureau, At #PublicNewsroom 138, we're unpacking media narratives around Adam Toledo. Follow this [...]

At #PublicNewsroom 138, we're unpacking media narratives around Adam Toledo. Follow this thread for live updates

https://twitter.com/city_bureau/status/1387891309004959744

https://twitter.com/city_bureau/status/1387891309004959744

There's still time to RSVP to take part in the conversation: https://www.citybureau.org/events/2021/4/23/public-newsroom-how-should-we-cover-the-story-of-adam-toledo

Or you can watch us on Facebook live: http://www.facebook.com/CityBureau

Public Newsroom: How Should We Cover the Story of Adam Toledo? — City Bureau

What do we expect from newsrooms in their coverage of this story and of police violence? Last month, Chicago police officer Eric Stillman shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Little Village,...

https://www.citybureau.org/events/2021/4/23/public-newsroom-how-should-we-cover-the-story-of-adam-toledo

City Bureau's Community Resource Organizer, @_elliemejia, is introducing tonight's topic: What do we expect from news outlets when they cover the killing of Adam Toledo? When they cover Little Village? Or police violence?

Joining us in conversation:
- Jackie Serrato ( @HechaEnChicago), editor in chief of the South Side Weekly ( @SouthSideWeekly)
- Sebastián Hidalgo ( @PhotosBySebas), independent photojournalist

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This is a heavy topic, so we encourage people to stay grounded, take care of themselves, and be mindful of how you show up in this space.

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Attendees are sharing answers to the

icebreaker

question: your name, neighborhood, and one way you're taking care of yourself or others this week

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Many are finding joy in plants and nature

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@PhotosBySebas grew up in Pilsen and has been doing a lot of visual research on Chicago over the past year

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@HechaEnChicago grew up in Little Village, two blocks from where Adam Toledo was shot. Jackie calls herself a "barrio journalist" and is hearing a lot in the community, as well as in the media

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@_elliemejia asks: Let’s take a moment to unpack some of the harmful, criminalizing narratives emerging around the killing of Adam Toledo. Who is crafting these narratives, and to what end? What is their impact?

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@HechaEnChicago says that when police violence happens, the Chicago Police Department publishes a press release version of their story, and that is what gets picked up by established media.

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@HechaEnChicago explains how ShotSpotter technology works to summon police when gunshot sounds are detected.

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@HechaEnChicago tells the story of what can be seen in the bodycam video: Adam Toledo turned around with his hands up. A gun was recovered at the scene, but there was no armed confrontation with the police, contrary to what a top prosecutor claimed.

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Facts are distorted by people in power.

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@PhotosBySebas' biggest concern is the role of photography and videography and the relationship to this tragedy. He questions how the video was released and what was shown, frozen and edited.

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@PhotosBySebas: "I worry that while more of these videos will come out to hold police accountable, people will become desensitized."

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Narratives quickly rose up blaming Adam and his parents. But Adam Toledo was a child. He was 13. He was not in the gang database.

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@_elliemejia asks @HechaEnChicago about @SouthSideWeekly's editorial decisions as a newsroom about the coverage of Adam Toledo and ongoing police violence. What questions did they confront?

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@HechaEnChicago says they didn't do as much reporting, but rather listened and ran op-eds from Little Village and Back of the Yards community members. You may recognize the depiction of Adam Toledo with a purple, clouded background https://southsideweekly.com/opinion-blaming-the-victim/ #PublicNewsroom

Op-Ed: Blaming the Victim – South Side Weekly

Media and public officials were quick to speculate about Adam Toledo’s life even as they told us to wait for the facts surrounding his death.

https://southsideweekly.com/opinion-blaming-the-victim/

In another op-ed, Berto Aguayo, resident of Back of the Yards and executive director of anti-violence program Increase the Peace, shared his experience as teenage gang member https://southsideweekly.com/op-ed-we-are-adam-toledo/ #PublicNewsroom

Op-Ed: We Are Adam Toledo – South Side Weekly

We can stop the bleeding and finally address the disinvestment that's hurt our communities

https://southsideweekly.com/op-ed-we-are-adam-toledo/

These op-eds countered a column written by Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn that suggested Adam Toledo may have been to blame

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@HechaEnChicago: "We can't take the police account at face value... We don't need CPD's commentary on the video footage."

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@PhotosBySebas worries about how people read the news. As journalists, we're always dissecting information and expanding it. Someone who is working an hourly job probably doesn't want to come home and read the news.

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@PhotosBySebas: There are other ways to contextualize beyond the video. Spend as much time as possible in the communities you want to serve. He likes to conduct surveys to collect more information from community members.

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@PhotosBySebas says there's a shortage of photo editors.

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@HechaEnChicago respects newsrooms' decisions not to share the graphic video of Adam's shooting, but also respects community members' desire to hold the police and the city accountable with the video.

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Question in the chat: Speaking of youth getting brutalized on the streets, why would reporters share these triggering images on Twitter? How can we be genuine in reporting violence in our Black and brown communities if we showcase their trauma online?

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@HechaEnChicago retweeted a screenshot prior to COPA's release of the police footage in solidarity with Little Village community members calling for accountability. The next day, COPA published the video.

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Comment in the chat: As a Black person, I don’t feel like viewing police killings does anything for me.

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@PhotosBySebas speaks to the power and weight of photography in these situations.

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@_elliemejia asks: I imagine that as people witness stories be misreported and harmful narratives being propagated, they might be wondering what they can do in response. What is something anybody could do to try and hold a news outlet to account?

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@PhotosBySebas suggests writing a letter to the editor (i.e. the Chicago Tribune) or even picking up a camera yourself

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@HechaEnChicago says @SouthSideWeekly doesn't publish letters to the editor but they do run op-eds, and you don't need to be a white collar professional to write one

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Question: How do you navigate negative narratives people were starting to articulate about Adam, his family, gangs in the neighborhood, etc.?

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@HechaEnChicago It's hard not to get emotional but it's important to understand the history of La Villita as a neighborhood, ancestral trauma and the colonized history of Mexican peoples

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@PhotosBySebas In every book about Chicago, there is a sentence about Mexican Chicago saying that it is underrepresented and misunderstood

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@PhotosBySebas You often find yourself very close to the issues you're trying to address. But you have to remind yourself that you have options as to how you explore this story and pursue solutions

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@PhotosBySebas: "I try not to undermine my community members. I think people are very knowledgeable about the solutions they need, they just don't have a place at the table."

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That's a wrap on this panel discussion. Now that we've heard from two journalists, participants will have the opportunity to come up with declarations of how they expect media outlets to cover this topic. Stay tuned for highlights...

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And we're back! @PhotosBySebas shares from his breakout group: News needs to be 360. It's about lived experience. We expect news coverage to be nuanced. It's about being part of the solution, not part of the problem.

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Another group talked about accountability for newsrooms, a desire to see authentic community voices in reporting and the importance of knowing when to step back

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Journalists need to know when to give people who are grieving space.

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Another group: People doing the reporting should be from or familiar with the areas, historical context, diversity in sources (race, age, income)

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When you report on an urgent story like this it's important to not be extractive. Keep following up and maintaining relationships with your sources.

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@HechaEnChicago encourages you to read and submit to @SouthSideWeekly and @PhotosBySebas encourages people interested in documenting their communities to reach out!

Thanks for following along with the #PublicNewsroom.

Still sitting with this? We recommend this collection of interviews with Little Village residents in the wake of Adam Toledo’s killing, produced by radio interns at @yollocalli Arts Reach https://soundcloud.com/yollocalli/wattz-up-on-quarantine-ftp-for-the-people

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