Tacoma's Image In The Media - Jan 07
The News Tribune has a story this morning asking whether the Foss High School shooting will have an impact on Tacoma’s reputation. I wondered that same thing yesterday and began following how newspapers and blogs around the world carried the story. I don’t normally follow crime blotter type stories on Exit133. However, I do follow Tacoma’s image in the media and yesterday’s shooting at Foss High School has definitely become a big-picture Tacoma image story. What I found is that the News Tribune’s original story appears to have the potential to do some of the worst damage to the long term reputation of the city. The article starts out fine, but ends with:
A woman whose 15-year-old son attends Foss said he has complained about gang activity and other youth violence at the school.
“You know what’s sad? My son’s 15 and he wants to save up for a bulletproof vest,” she said.
The quote may point to a bigger story in our schools, but it’s not directly relevant to this story – at least not yet. And while every other detail of the reporting is about the immediate story at hand, this one reflects on the rest of the city. A significant Seattle blog picked up on this quote in its constant whats-wrong-with-Tacoma theme. I’ve read this quote in several newspapers across the country and in Europe. Luckily, I’ve also seen several newspapers carry nearly the exact same story without that closing quote. So at the same time the world’s media is watching, this potentially irrelevant quote is traveling the world. “Tacoma – where our kids need bulletproof vests.”
It reminds me of the coverage during the beltway sniper investigation. A reporter asked a neighbor about whether they thought it was strange to hear gunfire from their neighbor’s home. The response was something to the effect of, “This is Tacoma – we’re used to gunshots.” I thought to myself, not in the Tacoma I know. What a sweeping generalization. That interview was broadcast around the world and was quoted to me by several friends over the next year.
The whole story is a tragedy. Just remember, the world is watching.