Grumpy Editor

Expect 1992 L.A. riots anniversary coverage in print, TV

With many print/broadcast editors ever craving for anniversary stories --- partially because it’s an easy way to fill chunks of editorial space around ads or chew up TV time --- look for lengthy pieces through Sunday on the 1992 Los Angeles riots, predicts Grumpy Editor. 

Editors get especially excited when recycling anniversary events that include elements that grab attention. 

The April 29, 1992 L.A. unrest coverage included images of police actions, fires, smoke, looters storming supermarkets and TV stores --- even National Guard troops getting into the fray. 

The 1992 rioting broke out after a jury acquitted four Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King after a high-speed pursuit. 

Reappearance of that footage is likely to be seen on TV. 

The rioting over five days resulted in about $1 billion in property damage, 63 deaths and thousands injured. 

Also look for King to appear in interviews.  He’s making the rounds pitching the book, “The Riot Within:  My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption,” coauthored with Lawrence J. Spagnola, that debuted this week.

 

Violent crime figures focus on reported incidents in 2010

Violent crime rates dropping for the fourth straight year received heavy broadcast/print coverage yesterday --- with apparently few editors or writers raising eyebrows, notes Grumpy Editor. 

Key word in the information from the FBI is reported as with crimes reported to authorities.  Many victims, for various reasons, fail to file crime reports.

Estimated also appears in released material. 

Nationwide, an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes and an estimated nine million property crimes occurred in 2010, reports Associated Press. 

The decline, say criminologists, is attributed to an aging population, better policing and continued high rates of imprisonment for criminals, adds AP. 

This runs counter to other news stories that cross editors desks during the year that point to jobless younger people in troubled economic times turning to crimes, slimmer budgets with freezes or cuts to police departments, and closing of prisons along with early release of inmates in efforts to reduce costs in a down economy. 

Robust gang activity is keeping many police departments busy and away from other investigations. 

Most television stations’ news programs often air shooting stories first.  “If it bleeds, it leads,” is the cry of TV news editors. 

Thus, it’s difficult for many Americans to agree with headlines such as:  “Crime rates continue decline in U.S. despite high unemployment.” 

Meanwhile, not mentioned in the latest crime tally stories are lesser offenses --- from identify theft to imposter scams --- directed at consumers. 

The Federal Trade Commission places identity theft at the top of the list of consumer complaints, accounting for 250,854 out of 1,339,265 complaints filed last year.  Never-ending various scams not only are multiplying, but are being aimed at seasoned investors, too. 

Many of these also go unreported to authorities. 

 

Media relations training slated for Suffolk County police

As a result of New York’s Suffolk County police ticketing a television news photographer who was doing his job, all officers will undergo “media relations refresher training,” learns Grumpy Editor. 

As reported here on Aug. 8, Phil Datz, a credentialed member of the press working for Stringer News Service --- which provides news footage to New York area TV stations --- was approached by a Suffolk County police sergeant demanding that he leave his position while taping the conclusion of a daytime police chase. 

The sergeant declared, “You’re about ready to get locked up.  It’s an active scene.  Go away.” 

A video of the July 29 incident showed no crowd, no heavy activity, no traffic congestion, no closed street as Datz taped while standing in a public area where young people casually walked through the scene.

Datz, 34, even called the public information office at police headquarters to advise what was happening, then resumed taping. 

That still was unacceptable to the police officer who cited Datz for obstruction of  governmental administration, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $1,000 fine. 

Suffolk County police now plan to drop charges against the lensman.

The Press Club of Long Island said the incident indicated “a clear case of police abuse of authority and infringement of the journalist’s First Amendment rights.”