Live Interview: "Action News" & the Rise of Anti-Black Local "Crime" Reporting . w/ Layla A. Jones

In this Citations Needed Live Interview with Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Layla A. Jones, recorded virtually on May 20, 2022, we discuss the advent and massive influence of the Eyewitness and Action News formats of local evening news. The model entrenched perceptions of urban decay and violence for a primarily white and increasingly suburban audience. As Jones writes in her article, "Lights. Camera. Crime.":

This format launched in Philadelphia, first with the birth of Eyewitness News in 1965, and then with Action News in 1970. Over the next few generations, the pervasive and seductive twin broadcasts would spread to stations across the country — and with them, negative narratives about neighborhoods that would effectively “other” certain groups based largely on race, class, and zip code.

More than half a century later, the impact of this efficient and pioneering approach remains, but continues to be condemned as harmful, as critics call for a reimagining of stories that tell a fuller story of communities, one that more accurately captures the humanity and dignity of all who live there. 

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Guest

Layla A. Jones (@bae_lay) is a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and author of the piece “Lights. Camera. Crime.,” one of the first entries in a special project from The Inquirer examining the roots of systemic racism through institutions founded in Philadelphia.

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Show Notes

Lights. Camera. Crime. - How a Philly-born brand of TV news harmed Black America.

Layla A. Jones | March 29, 2022 | The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Media’s Profitable, Indefensible Addiction to Mugshots

Adam Johnson | January 23, 2019 | FAIR

Publishing Police Press Releases as Local ‘Crime’ Reporting

Adam Johnson | October 10, 2018 | FAIR

If It Bleeds, It Leads: Understanding Fear-Based Media 

Deborah Serani Psy.D. | June 7, 2011 | Psychology Today

The relationship between media portrayals and crime: perceptions of fear of crime among citizens 

Meghan E. Hollis, Sharece Downey, Alex del Carmen & Rhonda R Dobbs | January 31, 2017 | Crime Prevention and Community Safety

Television News and the Cultivation of Fear of Crime

Daniel Romer, Kathleen Hall Jamieson & Sean Aday | February 6, 2006 | Journal of Communication

Crime, News and Fear of Crime: Toward an Identification of Audience Effects

Ted Chiricos, Sarah Eschholz, Marc Gertz | August 1, 1997 | Social Problems

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Transcript

For a full transcript of this Live Interview, go here.

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