Jackson Free Press

Salon has an intriguing story, with screen shots, exploring whether the media are treating blacks who are taking items from stores differently than whites doing the same thing.

One of the images, shot by photographer Dave Martin for the Associated Press, shows a young black man wading through chest-deep waters after "looting" a grocery store, according to the caption. The young man appears to have a case of Pepsi under one arm and a full garbage bag in tow. In the other, similar shot, taken by photographer Chris Graythen for AFP/Getty Images, a white man and a light-skinned woman are shown wading through chest-deep water after "finding" goods including bread and soda, according to the caption, in a local grocery store.

Previous Comments

ID

134156

Comment

Due respect, but I think it is reaching to assume anything about the motivations behind this coverage, and not at all the most important thing right now. For all we know, the reporter was there and saw what happened.

Author

Scott Albert Johnson

Date

2005-09-01T11:42:49-06:00

ID

134157

Comment

No one said it's the most important thing; it's just one posting of many. However, it is important to remind media to think about personal biases in their coverage, and a lot of media are looking at this site. We don't want a long-reaching effect of this disaster to more prejudice, rather than less. And media coverage matters.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-09-01T13:42:20-06:00

ID

134158

Comment

All of the media coverage that I have viewed regarding New Orleans has consisted largely of blacks, it is as if all the whites left prior to Katrina or have since been evacuated.

Author

K RHODES

Date

2005-09-01T15:25:10-06:00

ID

134159

Comment

An e-mail I just got from a dear friend in NYC addresses the above post in part (note that she is black, and her husband Joe is white). It's interesting to hear her perspective on the news they're getting: Great to hear you guys are OK. It really sounds horrific down there. I know our company is working on a relief package for the Red Cross that I'll definitely get in on, but I'll also email around some of the more direct resources you have on your site. it sounds like either $$ to the red cross or good to specific charities in the area is the way to go for now. Your reports on the Free Press are a nice change from the coverage we're getting up here. It's all very drama sensationalized (and also disturbingly white-centric). Noticed your pick-up of the "looter" vs "finder" controversy. The human interest stories on the networks are about 90% white people, and very little is being covered of the black people. Mostly white people who got out of NO in their SUVs.I thought I was being sensitive, but Joe as sitting with me and thought the same thing. It feels kind of like the Titanic. The 3rd class couldn't get out and no one's really talking about it. Really tragic and horrendous. But stay positive. We're all praying for you guys. Love to Todd Carol

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-09-01T16:14:23-06:00

ID

134160

Comment

KRhodes, I'm sorry to say, but there probably is considerable truth to that. Granted the coverage of New Orleaninas themselves (the CITY, not the suburbs) was probably a little too slanted toward one race, but N.O, like just about every other city in the nation, has been all but abandoned by the white middle class (yes, m.c. of other races too, but numerically, the commanding majority are white). Furthermore, the well-to-do and even the borderline poor likely had sufficient motorized transportation to get the hell out of there (this is definitely a multi-racial group). Sadly the numerical majority of those who were either too poor to get out are black. If this disaster doesn't speak to the stark differences in society, I don't know what does.

Author

Philip

Date

2005-09-01T17:28:45-06:00

ID

134161

Comment

Interesting e-mail came in tonight about looting. One does wonder how they're supposed to stop looting on the Coast if the people aren't getting water for days and other needs met!?! I'd probably be "looting," too, in that case, but for necessities, not some of the stuff we saw images of people stealing. But water, food, baby supplies ... hey. I realise the logistics of rescue are horrendous but, when I watched C-Span gov't officials Friday p.m. broadcast, the most pressing concern of the administration seemed to be Law and Order. Well, after a few days in such desperate straits, without food or water and experiencing abandonment I think I would be breaking into supermarkets. I don't think I would shoot anyone but, hey, you never know. Does it take civil unrest to get gov't attention? La. and surrounding areas have long needed special help, never got it. Chickens come home to roost. My unbounded admiration for all those whose faith in God or themselves kept them going. My sorrow for those who lost someone. Such a dangerous place to live. It belongs to nature and the swamps. Sincerely, I wish you well.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-09-01T21:23:22-06:00

ID

134162

Comment

Also, I just got a press release from BlackNews.com about the black-white looting media coverage issue: BLACK LOOTERS, WHITE FINDERS - IS THE MEDIA RACIALLY-BIASED ABOUT HURRICANE KATRINA? Long Beach, CA (BlackNews.com) - It's no question that there is massive looting going on in the gulf coast area by white and black Americans. People of all colors are doing what they can to survive. But why is the mainstream media saying that the Black people are looting supplies, and that the white people are finding supplies? A recent report from DiversityInc.com found one picture by an AFP/Getty Images photographer and another by The Associated Press (AP) - and each had a different caption when published. The AFP/Getty photo shows two white people with food, with the caption that they were "finding" bread and soda from a grocery store. However, the AP photo shows a black person with some food, with the caption saying he had just finished "looting" a grocery store. Dante Lee of BlackNews.com, comments, "I've seen this variation several times, and it certainly reveals that the mainstream media is indeed racially-biased." Pat Means of Turning Point Magazine, says, "The media must be careful in its labeling of people who are simply trying to survive. The media can not practice racism, when everyone is doing the same thing." Others agree that the media is definitely targeting African-Americans to make them look worse than they already do.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-09-01T21:24:54-06:00

ID

134163

Comment

You know what? Based on what has been posted so far, I completely disagree with these accusations. Look at this statement: "It's no question that there is massive looting going on in the gulf coast area by white and black Americans. People of all colors are doing what they can to survive." This press release is absurd on many levels, and I can deconstruct it if any of you really want, but that sentence really kind of sums it up. I have seen literally dozens of video clips of people looting items that have nothing to do with survival. Most of these people are black, because most of the people who are still in New Orleans in black, because most of the people who couldn't afford to evacuate are black! This is common sense, people. A reporter's job is to report, not to tread lightly on people's sensibilities. I am all for calling racially biased reporting when it happens (for example, the selective sensationalising of missing persons, leaning toward the pretty and white). And I acknowledge that some of this bias probably exists, but a few anecdotes comparing the reporting of *different wire services* (AFP calling it "finding", AP calling it "looting") does not a phenomenon make. Before indicting people for racism or any other "ism" in a situation like this, it might be prudent to take a deeeeeeeep breath.

Author

Scott Albert Johnson

Date

2005-09-01T22:33:09-06:00

ID

134164

Comment

When I stated that most of the media coverage consisted of blacks, I meant the looting as well as the individuals being shown stranded. It does seem reaching to cry foul over the captions of two photos, of which the photo consisting of two whites has also been described as consisting of a white male and a ìlight skinî female, which I interpret, as meaning the woman, is black. Now as to any racial implications, as I viewed Primetime Live earlier tonight, they discussed possible racial implications regarding what is seemingly mostly blacks having been left to survive as best they can in New Orleans. It was argued that if it were middleclass whites stranded, they would have surely received help or an evacuation would have occurred by now, if not initially. Prior to viewing this program I wondered why hadnít more been done to evacuated people that didnít have the means to leave prior to Katrinaís devastation. As for the looting, I was disturbed by the president calling for ìlaw and orderî to be upheld regardless of the macabre circumstances. I personally was disgusted by the looting of electronics and or anything else not pertinent to ones survival as well as the total disregard those that were being filmed as they looted the aforementioned ( some smiled as they were filmed) had for their mugs being broadcast on national television. Yet I would completely do the same thing if food, clothing, or anything else that was pertinent to my survival wasnít accessible in this dire situation!

Author

K RHODES

Date

2005-09-02T00:15:54-06:00

ID

134165

Comment

Here it is in a nutshell folks, now read carefully because I'm only going to write this once...Ignorance is the bane of any society. The media is always sensationlizing and mind controlling. just look at what they've done to you. The issue is the people, not what the media says about the people. When you let shallow words steer you from the real issue, you are truly living the cliche' "the blind leading the blind" ladd, could you just please close thie topic. It has no merit whatsoever in the bigger scope of what happend. it's just another liberal soapbox to gnash teeth on.

Author

Jocelyn

Date

2005-09-02T08:45:16-06:00

ID

134166

Comment

....George Bush is being ignornant right now. He's ignoring the situation.

Author

Jocelyn

Date

2005-09-02T08:53:21-06:00

ID

134167

Comment

Not to beat a dead horse, but here's a cogent handling of this question from the authoritative "urban legend" web site, snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/photos/katrina/looters.asp Note that this page does not dismiss the issue of racial bias, but it also raises the issue I raised about the unfairness of comparing reporting from two different sources as if they were the same. It also introduces some possible context to what may have happened.

Author

Scott Albert Johnson

Date

2005-09-05T02:16:35-06:00