An important question regarding a separate Police communications Department has been missed: What motivates the huge media overreaction to this policy change? Considering the paltry coverage of many other, larger policy changes in City Hall, why has this issue been the lead story on TV news? It would be easy to say this story has gotten disproportionate coverage just because the media loves covering the issues that potentially affect them, but I think the explanation goes deeper.
Media outlets are especially inclined to overreact to changes in Police Communications because crime stories are their gravy train -- more than sports, more than investigations of corporate malfeasance (white collar crime), far more than boring government. Why has perception of crime levels remained constant or increased even while crime itself has been decreased? Because crime coverage doesn't vary by volume -- there's almost always enough to fill up the first five minutes of broadcast, even if they have to go out of state to find it. As they say, "if it bleeds, it leads." Let's get real about police communications competence and its relationship to media. ---Has Cyndi Barrington been responsive to reporters? Or even returned their calls? Perhaps the calls from the daily crime beat reporters but interestingly NOT calls from weekly reporters inclined to write broader or more introspective stories about her department. (See quotes below from Anderson and Brauer) ---Do reporters (or the public) feel confident they've been getting full & accurate information from police communications about BAD NEWS i.e. alleged incidents of excessive force or other police misconduct? No. The department (represented by Barrington) always goes into full "information containment" mode followed shortly by complete denial. --Do reporters (or the public) get ANY information from police communications about GOOD NEWS? No. The police officers who treat people with respect and are involved in the communities they patrol should be livid about the lack of coverage of their work. Likewise the communities who band together to stand up to drug dealers, build human capital in their neighborhoods and institute community patrols together with the good cops I just described. This isn't about "happy news" or snuggling puppies -- it's about setting an example for what community policing can achieve when respectful, service-oriented cops and active community members team up. These success stories almost never get covered despite the efforts of those community leaders to get positive attention. It is the Police Communications Department who should be DEMANDING this example-setting coverage, because they have the power to get it. While the mainstream media feel free to ignore the community leaders, those same media owe Police Communications a huge debt. The media depends on them for quick access to the constant flow of negative, "if-it-bleeds, it-leads" stories which television news stations in particular depend on. Isn't it about time the community got something positive back from the media? What's Cyndi and Police Communications been doing to balance the ledger? Or is it that these old-style leaders in the department don't actually want to collect on this communication debt? Perhaps they prefer the mayhem-only coverage even though it shortchanges their best officers from the recognition they deserve. Perhaps they think only and always portraying the "inner city" as a hopeless battleground serves their interest more by helping to justify the acts of their rogue elements they refuse to control. As with others, I will await the details of this policy change to see how well it works. But I'm not going to suddenly and conveniently pretend police communications have been remotely competent in order to claim the Mayor had no legitimate reason to seek changes. On the contrary, separate Police Communications has not served the community at all. QUOTES "one reporter in my shop actually did a little dance when he heard Barrington was gone. Cyndi wasn't mean, or malicious, just endlessly unavailable. So there's a silver lining to this turmoil." -- Southwest Journal Editor David Brauer "Ah, yes, Cyndi Barrington (nee Montgomery). Her departure causes me just a little bit of glee, she whom I've come to believe legally added "Did Not Return Phone Calls" to the end of her name." -- City Pages Reporter Gerry Anderson Jonathan Palmer Victory TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
