Changing How Protests are Covered

 Zoe Touris

zt700218@ohio.edu

Photo courtesy of KUT

Black Lives Matter protests erupted nationwide after the horrific video of a police officer killing George Floyd was released, causing an uproar throughout the country. Instead of framing these protests to publicize grievances from people who typically exist outside of the traditional power structure, the media chose to focus exclusively on the violence at the protests. Why is that? The Protest Paradigm

Scientists have dubbed this phenomenon the "protest paradigm." It's the idea that "the press contributes to the political status quo by reinforcing whatever the government thinks," which in this case was to frame these protests for justice as a nuisance. The role of journalists is to hold these powerful institutions accountable and look out for the greater public they serve. But when news companies' goals are to cater to the government to create the most editorialized stories, the role of journalism is lost.

For example, the Washington Post published an article with the headline "A night of fire and fury across America as protests intensify," and the New York Times released a similar headline, "Appeals for calm as sprawling protests threaten to spiral out of control." These headlines exclusively focus on the violence and negative aspects of the protests, casting a shadow over the true meaning behind these protests for justice in the black community. 

When the audience reads headline after headline painting these significant protests as a threat to our society, it creates a domino effect and undermines the significance of these justified protests. Instead of focusing only on the violence of these events, journalists must consider the causes of protests. Journalists are in the people's best interest as watchdogs for powerful institutions.  

Capturing Faces at Protests

Photo courtesy of the BBC

Another issue that must be considered concerning the coverage of protests is whether or not to publish photographs including protesters' faces. For example, during the coverage of the Black Lives Matter protests, journalists received backlash for publishing protesters' faces without blurring them out.

The police were arresting protesters involved with these protests and used photos published to identify who was participating in these protests. However, it is still essential to capture historical events like these. So what should journalists do?

The discussion should be about how/if journalists are getting consent from their subjects and informing them exactly where these photographs will be published and where they might end up. In addition, there must be an ethical and thoughtful approach to gathering these images instead of snapping someone's picture without any consent. 

Showing faces is essential for tying a connective issue when covering such an important issue. However, it is still the journalist's job to work from an ethical position and not overstep anyone's boundaries.