MEDIA : 1992 Los Angeles Riot

      Nowadays, the internet has an important role in the media world and is becoming as popular as television. The popularity of this new support of communication forced TV channels to create their own websites, and broadcast articles on them. I chose two different articles from two different TV channel websites which covered the issue of the 1992 Los Angeles riots very differently.

      For five days in the spring of 1992, Los Angeles had been the home of one of the most destructive riot in the United States history. This terrible event erupted after four policemen were acquitted in the case of Rodney King beating, despite the scene being videotaped by a neighbor. The riot began on April 29 in South Los Angeles, and the city was plunged into chaos. The entire nation was watching on television looters were breaking store windows and emptying shelves, Korean grocers were shooting with assault rifles on top of their stores, and beatings included the brutal one administered to truck driver Reginald Denny. After the Army troops came to Los Angeles, the riot slowly stopped with the Rodney King televised speech where he pleaded for peace and unity between communities.

      With the 20th anniversary this year, a lot of media have been talking about these dark days in Los Angeles history, comparing the situations now and before. Some articles explain the purpose and the reasons of the riot, trying to show what changes occurred after. The writing from ABC News is really complete and covers well the riot question. Without omitting the victims and all the horrible murders, it explains why violence erupted and not only talks about the King case. It goes deeply into details showing that the black and latino communities could not afford their treatment anymore. Their living conditions, their poor wages and their relations with the authorities were not acceptable, and it was time for them to act for their rights. The article also tries to list the benefits of the riot. It talks about the different reforms instituted in the LAPD right after the riot and the better relations between Korean and black people. It also adds that a popular strip mall was built in the neighborhood thanks to the basketball player Magic Johnson and others. However, the situation still remains unstable for people from these communities.

      Some other media keep talking about the damages and their costs, the human toll, and all the negative effects of the riot, without trying to understand. At least, they don't explain why it happened. Thereby, the FOX News' article is more focused on the victims and all the eluded cases of murder. After making a statement on the material damages, it details every of the 22 homicides remaining classified as open or unsolved. Furthermore, in order to touch the heart of the readers, it highlights the case of the 'Good Samaritan', a 15 years old boy shot on a corner during the wave of violence. We can also realize that the article employs a negative vocabulary to make the general tone darker. The way it uses words such as 'Days Of Outrage', 'brutal' or 'supposedly in the name of justice', clearly show the intention of the writer : to remind to the reader, how horrible the 1992 Los Angeles riot was.

      The racial subject is really sensitive in United States, where people seem to be really divided in race communities, and the 'black question' still remains difficult to talk about. In such a case of rioting, the medias should explain the reasons why people were acting with this violence. It does not mean we should excuse all the damages and the murders but, as a representation of the collective thinking, the media should show to those people that they have been understood.

Links :
ABC News article
FOX News article