During the latter half of the week of November 14, readers of the Post-Dispatch and watchers of the local news on TV learned that an undercover police officer had been shot in the leg after he and his partner stopped to question people in our neighborhood. The written coverage gave a possibly misleading picture of us as “crime-ridden” or experiencing a real “rash” of robberies. Regrettably, the media are part of the problem in the public perception of criminal activity. They tend to specialize in “crime of the night” journalism. Their attention to crime and sensationalism detracts from any chance of obtaining serious coverage of local politics, among other things. And, it certainly leads many people to infer that the city is a lot less safe than it actually is. Yes, there is crime, but nothing that justifies the attitude of one of my students, who told me that her husband forbids her coming east of Skinker after dark.
To get back to our own situation, I understand that there were some crimes committed in October and early November near the area where the officer was shot. Captain Heath of the 7th District noted an unusual blip in the reports and assigned a special team there. At this writing, it is likely that those apprehended in the incident may have been responsible for the earlier headaches. The captain is certainly to be commended for his prompt response and we send all our best wishes to the officer who was wounded.
Despite this seemingly good outcome, I decry the nature of the coverage and am only grateful that it didn’t mention our neighborhood’s name. I have heard others blame the media for a lot of our problems, particularly the widespread perception of cities as war zones. We don’t need to hear all this. How low does the media place the common denominator for what it thinks the public wants? The local news is part and parcel of the term “tabloid journalism” and all that it conveys. Newspapers should be more careful, especially if they are not the New York Post.
Some of you reading this now may have been blissfully unaware of the incident. Your low media consumption may truly be a blessing. If any of you disagree with my comments, please send a letter. It will be printed. But, before you do, watch the 10:00 o’clock local news and see if these words aren’t apt. And, turn on your porch lights all night long and keep your eyes open when on the street, especially after dark. We need to look out for ourselves and each other. We are our own best protection in this neighborhood.
