Critics Of Progressive Judges Find A Willing Ally In Local Newsrooms With few exceptions, news outlets in Harris County, Texas, spotlight singular instances of crime to allege that legal reform policy is a threat to the public. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
A Lack Of Evidence Doesn’t Keep The New York Times From Declaring a ‘Spike In Crime’ In two articles, the Times asserts a ‘spike’ in crime since the passage of bail reform in New York, an increase that the articles themselves note they can’t prove. Adam H. Johnson
Singling Out Crime ‘Suspects’ As Homeless Is A Media Double Standard That Unjustly Penalizes The Poor Leading with housing status for homeless people is a common trope in the news reporting business and one in urgent need of re-examining. Adam H. Johnson
‘Weird News,’ ‘Dumb Criminals’ and the Media’s Monetization of Human Misery There’s a cynical local-to-national news pipeline designed to mock the powerless under the guise of “odd” news stories. Adam H. Johnson
How the Media Can Stigmatize Parents and Separate Families Stories that uncritically blame child welfare agencies for the deaths of children at the hands of their parents can contribute to increases in child removals—with devastating consequences for families. Elizabeth Brico
The Media’s Misguided Backlash Against Criminal Justice Reforms in D.C. and New York Many liberals support reform in theory. But when unpopular decisions need to be made, it’s back to the 1990s “Tough on Crime” playbook. Adam H. Johnson
Misplaced Outrage Over Kentucky Governor’s Pardons Harms Criminal Justice Reform Sensational headlines may score short-term partisan points, but long term they contribute to a toxic culture of Willie Hortonism. Adam H. Johnson
Uncritical Reporting on a Biased Baltimore Spy Plane Poll A close examination of a poll backed by a business group reveals loaded questions, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and the shortchanging of very real privacy concerns. Adam H. Johnson
Exploiting New York City’s Chinatown Killings to Attack Bail Reform The New York Post used a tragedy to target bail reform activists, rather than point to the challenges of a failed mental health system and poverty. Adam H. Johnson
A One-Sided Report on North Carolina Gun Violence The Charlotte Observer built a narrative on gun crime that relies almost exclusively on police and prosecutors, ignores the violence of incarceration, and offers zero non-carceral solutions. Adam H. Johnson
Helping ICE Stir Up Anti-Immigrant Fervor in Maryland WJLA’s Kevin Lewis selectively reports on immigrants arrested for sex crimes to paint a misleading picture of violence in Montgomery County. Adam H. Johnson
How Local Media Should Report on Safe Injection Sites In a rare case of local media nuance, a Boston TV news station provided a humane and health-focused segment on safe drug use. Adam H. Johnson
Report Praises High School in Jail But Fails to Ask Why Kids Are Locked Up at All A Pittsburgh public radio piece lacked critical reporting about the many problems with jailing children in adult facilities. Adam H. Johnson
Assuming Guilt While Reporting on Mass Arrests Kansas City news outlets called scores of people ‘violent criminals’ based solely on the word of police and the federal government. Adam H. Johnson
Bail Isn’t Supposed to Be a Punishment. Why Does the Media Keep Acting Like it Is? How high or low bond is isn’t a measure of how severe the state considers a crime. Adam H. Johnson
Painting a Distorted Picture of Crime ‘Spikes’ in New York City Murder rates are at an all-time low in Brooklyn, but one would hardly know it reading the New York Times. Adam H. Johnson
Sensationalist Tale of an Elderly Killer Feeds False Narrative The New York Times’s coverage of the one-off case of a 77-year-old man omits key facts about how older adults are treated by our punitive legal system. Adam H. Johnson
Stoking Hostility Toward Homeless People Dozens of reports about an indigent man in Bradenton, Florida, showed the cruel excesses of local news’s homelessness coverage. Adam H. Johnson
Media Frame: Stop Quoting Bill Bratton For far too long, the press has leaned on wrong-headed tough-on-crime officials like the former NYPD commissioner when reporting on the criminal legal system. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Media Frame: 5 Common Tactics Used to Discredit Reform D.A.s The backlash is underway against a recent wave of prosecutors who champion criminal justice reform. Here are some methods of attack. Adam H. Johnson
Media Frame: Chicago ‘Bean’ Graffiti Outrage Prioritizes Property Over People Outlets ran over 200 articles covering the vandalism. The outsize attention will likely damage young lives. Adam H. Johnson
Media Frame: A ‘War on Cops’ Narrative Without Evidence ABC News claims anti-police violence is on the rise but offers no data. Adam H. Johnson
Media Frame: Time to Ban Ride-Along Police TV Reality shows like ‘The First 48,’ ‘Live PD,’ and ‘Cops’ are interfering in legal cases, exploiting people of color, and threatening lives. Adam H. Johnson
Media Frame: Stoking Panic Over ‘Flood’ of ‘Juveniles’ in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor The sensationalist coverage of a handful of fights highlights local media’s misplaced priorities. Adam H. Johnson
