Crime News, Stereotyping and the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline

+

Crime News, Stereotyping and the Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline

Los Angeles Gang Conference

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Danielle Killian, Killian Communications

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

+We Are Here

Violent Crime in Los Angeles, 1989-2010

2010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995199419931992199119901989

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

All Violent Crimes Homicide Forcible Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault

Based Upon Data from LA Almanac: http://www.laalmanac.com/crime/cr02.htm

HO

MIC

IDES

Los Angeles 1992

1092 Homicides

2.99/Day

Population: 8,863,164

Your Odds: 1 in 8116.45

Los Angeles 2012

298 Homicides

0.82/Day

Population: 9,962,789

Your Odds: 1 in 33,432.18

So much has changed!

For the better…

+Problem: We Know a Secret

Compared to 20 years ago, is the City of Los Angeles SAFER, not as safe, or about the same?

38 – Safer

27 – About the Same

30 – Not as Safe

5 – Don’t Know/Refused

In the last 20 years, [has CRIME] gotten better, worse, or stayed the same?

33 – Better

28 – Stayed the Same

34 – Worse

5 – Don’t Know/Refused

Source: 20th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots Survey. 2012. Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University.

57 Percent Do Not Know We Are Safer62 Percent Do Not Know Our Stuff Is More Secure

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

+Charge: Change the ConversationJanuary-July 2011: 100,000 Mentions, 1000 Stories

CA DMAs: LA, SF, SD, Fresno, Palm Springs, Sacramento

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Agenda Setting

Prominence: How visible is the story? Top of the fold, breaking news… The more “in our face” it is, the more important it seems.

Tempo: How many stories are there about violence? Or a particular type of violence? When we hear something with great frequency, it feels important.

Visuals: Not only do visuals catch our attention, they help us remember stories.

Frames: Frames give context to messages and information. We understand the Oslo massacre differently when it is equated to Oklahoma City than when it is likened to 911.

Messages: What is usually said on the topic? What is the range of conversation between those labeled as “left” and “right?”

Status Conferral: Who gets interviewed? Who is quoted? Who is just paraphrased or interrupted? These trends provide subtle cues as to who is a preferred expert.

Salience: How relevant (location, affiliation) is the topic to the audience? How much will we care?

We watched, listened and read a little differently than we would on a day-to-day basis. We were looking for signs of agenda setting… trends that would indicate the media we consume is teaching us that some types of violence are of greater concern than others.

Is there a conversation?!

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

+ Finding: Local Broadcast Drives Opinion of Public Safety

+Yes, because we watch…

71% of Americans regularly watch local television news. How Americans Get TV News at Home. Pew Research Journalism Project. 2013.

Digital news surpasses newspapers and radio, but it still has only a fraction the influence of broadcast. Pew Research Center 2012 News Consumption Survey.

Local television, which remains the primary place Americans turn to for news, saw its audience increase for the first time in five years. Pew State of the Media 2014

The audience for local TV news grew in all three major timeslots in 2013. Matsa, Katerina Eva. Local TV News Sources Bounce Back. Pew Resarch Fact Tank.

But that’s not the only reason.

+More importantly… it drives opinion and dominates judgment.

What is MEMORABLE

DOMINATES judgment

What is EMOTIONAL is MEMORABLE.

What is FAMILIAR rings TRUE.

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

+Broadcast Reports a Violence Forecast Opinion Is Set at the Level of Intuition, Not Intellect

+It forecasts how much… more stories feel like more crime.

Ten 15-Second Stories

5 30-Second Stories

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

+What, when, where, who-to-whom, and how tell us WHY

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

+Familiar outcomes “ring true”Patterns in Outcomes Have Even More Profound Effects as Forecasts

+Patterns in resolutions can calm or FUEL FEAR and create unresolved ANGER

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

RACE UNKNOWN 53% WHITE 29% LATINO 22% BLACK 12%

Scope At least 70% of those who act in groups, and 33% of lone perpetrators

38% of lone perpetrators and 100% of perpetrators under 10 years of age

Greatest threat in public spaces, most likely to be identified as part of a group, 40% of those singled out to represent a group

Least proximate threat, mentioned as perpetrators in only 3% of local broadcast stories

Acts Officer/suspect offenders. Most likely to commit HOMMICIDE.

Most likely to have a FAMILY or romantic relationship with the victim

Most likely to be connected to a (violent) property crime, least likely to be involved in a shooting

Something committed far, far way… 40% of acts occurred outside of the DMA in which the story ran

Character 28% of those characterized as repeat offenders

Most likely to be named and described – 48 percent of adults

40% of those characterized as REPEAT OFFENDERS

Most likely to be a teen or young adult

Visuals N/A 46 percent of mug shots Most perp walks Least likely to be pictured in a mug shot

Resolution 87% are still at large Most likely to appear IN COURT, like law enforcement

Nearly double the CRIMESTOPPER and tip requests associated with whites and 8x that associated with African-American suspects

Most likely to be IN CUSTODY when the story runs

Produces FEAR CALM, DISIPATED ANGER UNRESOLVED ANGER, FEAR… Possibly CONTEMPT

(Indicates) LATENT FEAR

California’s Suspects and Perpetrators

+Unresolved Fear and Anger Are Expected Results When We Are…

Representing a large group of perpetrators

Characterized as parolees or repeat offenders “known to police”

Connected to crimes that occur in local public spaces

Connected with property crimes

Shown in perp walks

Associated with crime stopper alerts

+Language MattersFactiva’s Top US Sources July 2012-February 2013

Crime and Courts

Illegal Immigrant(s)Illegal ImmigrationImmigration

Legal ImmigrationUndocumented Immigrant

+Violence Forecasting

Crafting Fear, Anger, Disgust… and Opinions

The Problem Root Causes

Methodology Solutions

Why Broadcast Stereotypes

Violence Forecasts Start Line

Danielle KillianKillian Communicationskilliand@mac .com310.427.7889@fearless365LA

+“The Impact of Hate Speech and Other Irresponsible Media Content”

L.A. Gang Violence Prevention & Intervention ConferenceMay 13, 2014

+What is hate speech?

National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)

Speech that advocates or encourages violent acts or crimes of hate, or speech that creates a climate of hate or prejudice, which in turn may foster the commission of hate crimes.

Key takeaways:

•Developed a replicable methodology for qualitative content analysis of hate speech by examining clips from three commercial talk radio pundits: Michael Savage, John and Ken, and Lou Dobbs.

•Found significant instances of hate speech in the clips by way of: (1) targeted statements; (2) unsubstantiated claims; (3) divisive language; and (4) indexical terms related to political nativism.

Key Findings:

•Found that hate speech on talk radio has cultivated a social network of hosts and guests, resulting in an echo-chamber, online and off, that promotes hatred.

•Media personalities and political figures representing the Republican party and the Tea Party dominated the social network.

•Clear Channel and Fox News are key components of the network.

+ Key findings:

Listening to hate speech could be harmful to our health.

Listeners subjected to hate speech experienced a spike in the production of a hormone that could, over time, have a significant negative impact on listener’s heath.

This effect seems to occur regardless of listener’s race, ethnicity, nativity, or ideological alignment with the speaker.

+Belief in Stereotypes about Latinos

An in-depth, two part study

Part A: National telephone poll of 900 non-Latino respondentsAsked about perceptions of Latinos in the media

Part B: Online survey of 3,000 non-Latino respondents nationwideMeasured how exposure to positive or negative images of Latinos in the media may independently contribute to stereotypes about Latinos

+National poll results – basic overview

People still rely heavily on TV news for their information: 66% watch major network and cable news; only 30% trust Facebook, Twitter and other social networks or online-only news sources

Conservative talk radio and Fox News audiences are less likely to be personally familiar with Latinos yet more likely to hold anti-immigrant and anti-Latino views.

There is a common misperception that Latinos and undocumented immigrants are one in the same. Over 30% of survey respondents believe that a majority of Latinos in the U.S. are undocumented.

“Illegal aliens” elicits more negative feelings than “undocumented immigrants.”

+Findings from the National poll

Source: NHMC/Latino Decisions national telephone survey of 900 non-Hispanic adults

Lawyer/Judge

Teacher

Nurse/Doctor

Dropouts

Police

Maid

Gardener

Criminal

5%

4%

5%

13%

12%

31%

31%

36%

33%

38%

40%

33%

44%

30%

33%

35%

33%

32%

32%

19%

24%

19%

13%

14%

14%

9%

6%

10%

4%

5%

5%

3%

How Latinos are perceived in Television and Film

Very often Sometimes Not too often Never

+Belief in Stereotypes about LatinosResults sorted by which Media respondent was shown

Source: NHMC/Latino Decisions online survey of 3000 Non-Hispanic adults, July 2012

Comparing Adjective-Pairs

Print Positive

Radio Positive

TV News Positive

Entertainment Pos

0 5 10 15 20

12

15

10

16

10

17

10

16

"Lazy"Percent who agree

50556065707580

63

61

59

60

72

60

69

60

"Hardworking"Percent who agree

+Belief in Stereotypes about LatinosResults sorted by which Media respondent was shown

Source: NHMC/Latino Decisions online survey of 3000 Non-Hispanic adults, July 2012

Comparing Adjective-Pairs

2530354045505560

47

38

43

40

55

40

49

40

"Intelligent"Percent who agree

Print Positive

Radio Positive

TV News Positive

Entertainment Pos

0 5 10 15 20 25

13

21

13

20

10

24

15

18

"Unintelligent"Percent who agree

+Belief in Stereotypes about LatinosResults sorted by which Media respondent was shown

Source: NHMC/Latino Decisions online survey of 3000 Non-Hispanic adults, July 2012

Comparing Adjective-Pairs

2530354045505560

43

35

43

37

59

33

43

38

"Patriotic"Percent who agree

Print Positive

Radio Positive

TV News Positive

Entertainment Pos

10 15 20 25 30 35

20

29

23

25

15

31

21

24

"Unpatriotic"Percent who agree

+Conclusions and Implications

• Most comprehensive study of media effects

• Demonstrates the public is exposed to a wide range of negative stereotypes of Latinos in the media

• Exposure to negative images of Latinos in the media is found to directly cause negative attitudes

• Exposure to positive images of Latinos is found to cause positive attitudes

• This study exposed subjects to a single viewing of a 1 minute clip – we believe the effects in the real world are even more amplified

• One may extrapolate similar impacts of media on other people of color, including African Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans

+Combating racism and stereotyping in media

• Advertiser education campaigns • Media training• Writer’s program• Network meetings• Advocacy• Promoting Latino Talent•Hate Crimes Reporting Act of2014

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For more information about NHMC’s Research:

www.nhmc.org/reports

jgonzalez@nhmc.org