The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik takes aim at politicians and others who assailed media coverage of the protests of police treatment of Freddie Gray. City Council president Jack Young said, “I’m heartbroken and disturbed by the way the media is focusing on the negativity of this city…We have young people who are out there protesting peacefully, but you’re not focusing on them.” President Obama said much the same thing, saying that “peaceful protests…didn’t get that much attention.” Zurawik says, “Frankly, they did get quite a bit of cable and local attention, in fact.” The critic called Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera “an embarassment” by, among other things,reporting that the protesters “want trouble.”
Zurawik faulted CNN for covering the White House Correspondents Dinner and nothing of violence in Baltimore on April 25. He praised NBC’s Chuck Todd for criticizing Obama for not visiting any of the places where police conduct has been a big issue, such as Ferguson and Baltimore. Says Zurawik: “The terrible images of cars and buildings burning through the night, as looters crawl through the shattered windows and doors of businesses, are indelibly etched into my mind along with those of millions of viewers worldwide. But don’t blame the media. They didn’t light the fires and loot the stores. They just showed what was happening in Baltimore to the world. That’s what we do.”