lpetrich
Contributor
Someone skeptical about this alleged crime wave:
Alec Karakatsanis on Twitter: "THREAD. I noticed something fascinating: ..." / Twitter
David Menschel on Twitter: "1. Property crime in Chicago is at a many DECADES-LONG LOW ..." / Twitter
Alec Karakatsanis on Twitter: "THREAD. I noticed something fascinating: ..." / Twitter
Responding to a Chicago Tribune story,THREAD. I noticed something fascinating: many of the reporters concocting the new hysteria over "retail theft" are using the *exact same* words and patterns in each story. It's pretty wild. Let's take a look:
Let's use today's dangerous @chicagotribune article as an example. First thing to notice: who does the newspaper choose to use as sources? Here they are in chronological order:
1. CEO of local retail lobby
2. National Retail Federation
3. Police
4. CEO of state retail lobby (5 paras!)
5. CEO of World Business Chicago
6. Pres. of restaurant lobby
7. CEO of Illnois Hotel lobby (7 paras!)
8. New hotel CEO (6 paras!)
9. CEO from earlier (7 more paras!)
Does this look familiar? Check out the sources in the very similar recent @ap article about "brazen" San Francisco "retail theft."
1) Right-wing DA association president
2) "Authorities"
3) California Retailers Association President and CEO
4) "National retail groups"
5) Director of business lobby group
6) Sheriff
7) AG
8) DA
9) Centrist non-profit
10) Atty for prosecutor lobby
11) More same business lobby
It's weird, but both those article source lists look eerily similar to what the New York Times published!
-Corporate spokesperson
-Corporate VP
-"Retail executives and security experts"
-"Industry veterans"
-"President of the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail"
-"Some industry experts"
-"Head of the California retail trade group"
-Governor
-CLER president (again, twice)
-Sheriff
I cannot stress this enough: when you see articles like this, ask yourself: Why is this news? How did it get to the reporters? What is the goal of the article? How did they choose which voices to quote and which to ignore? Who benefits?
Next, did you notice that this article continues the pattern of the same exact words and phrases as other similar recent articles across outlets?
"brazen"
"organized crime"
"flash mob"
"smash and grab."
How is this happening?
One thing that many casual news readers don't know is that articles, and the specific words used in them, are often carefully crafted by expensive corporate marketing consultants. It's something wealthy business groups pay a lot of money for.
There is a big marketing industry for corporations and cops that teaches them to use the same words and phrases when they pitch journalists. It's not a coincidence that different journalists are all using same words, and those words were carefully chosen by wealthy people.
This is intentional, and it subtly changes the way we think. For example, the slick phrase "smash and grab" is pure marketing. It's vague, scary, and hard to fact check. Such theft is likely close to 0% of retail thefts, but it's all we're talking about. What does it even mean?
The result of all of this is a public massively distracted from far more important issues. Did you know that these same corporations engage in wage theft every day that dwarf all other property crime combined? Read this whole thread:
Take the frenzy over “retail shoplifting” from big corporate stores, which has taken over local/national news. Same reporters don't cover the $137 million in corporate wage theft *every day,* including by the same companies whose press releases about shoplifting they now quote.
We must help each other become more critical consumers of the news, and we must hold journalists accountable for the role they are playing in scaring the public into deeply destructive human caging policies that crush poor people.
UPDATE: it’s especially interesting to compare the breathless Chicago tribune reporting with actual facts:
David Menschel on Twitter: "1. Property crime in Chicago is at a many DECADES-LONG LOW ..." / Twitter
Nice to see some actual *evidence*.1. Property crime in Chicago is at a many DECADES-LONG LOW you irresponsible purveyor of sensationalist, fearmongering garbage.
2. Assaults (which Chicago police call “aggravated battery”) are *DOWN* DRAMATICALLY compared to two & three years ago in the police precinct that includes the Mag Mile. Also down compared to four years ago, YOU AWFUL FEARMONGERERS.
3. Irresponsible “reporters” like @chicagotribune @RobertChannick are creating a hysteria based on falsehoods, then turning around and acting like all they are doing is noting fear in the community WHEN IN FACT THEY ARE MANUFACTURING THE FEAR WITH THEIR REPORTING.