By Micha Green, AFRO Washington, D.C. Editor, mgreen@afro.com
Black media organizations are calling out a Bay area television station after posting a controversial photograph of Nia Wilson, the 18-year-old who was brutally stabbed to death at a train station in Oakland, California on July 22.
Wilson’s death immediately made headlines when police say a White male, now identified as John Lee Cowell, 27, ruthlessly stabbed the teen and her sister Latifah Wilson, 26. Latifah survived the attack. While his family is claiming Cowell has mental health issues, other reports suggest his motivation for allegedly stabbing the women was racial discrimination.
Black journalists are upset after a Bay Area television station, KTVU, used a photo of Nia Wilson with a “gun” in her hand. The assumed gun was actually a gun-shaped cell phone case. (Screenshot)
No matter the reason behind the attack, people are mourning and rallying for justice.
Photographs of the young woman with a promising future are circulating online, yet KTVU, a Bay area TV news affiliate, decided to post a picture with a different narrative. KTVU used a photo of Nia Wilson with a gun in her hand and several Black media groups as well as activists are speaking out.
The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Bay Area Black Journalists Association and the Maynard Institute criticized KTVU for their use of a photo of the teen with a gun because they said its goes against the basic tenant of journalism, to “do no harm.”
“The use of the photo can be seen as an attempt to dismiss her humanity and silence those who view her death as a racially motivated attack. It was also in violation of copyright laws,” the journalists and organizations wrote in a joint statement.
The photo, the journalists point out reinforces “unconscious bias, particularly against people of color, who are over-represented in stories about crime and violence,” particularly when Nia died in such a vicious manner.
Yahoo Lifestyle reported that the so-called gun in the photo was not even real, but a gun-shaped cell phone case making the usage of the picture even more preposterous.
Pulling all their cards, the journalists also brought up an incident from 2013, when the station was covering the Asiana Airlines crash and released the names of four pilots using racist puns such as, “Sum Ting Wong” and “Ho Lee Fuk.”
“These incidents would appear to illustrate a lack of cultural competency and training around unconscious bias among station staff and leadership,” the statement said.
Now, despite the station’s and anchor Frank Somerville’s apology on air and Facebook, the journalists are requesting a meeting with KTVU’s executives in order to discuss its portrayal of people of color.
“NABJ, BABJA and the Maynard Institute have requested a meeting with executives at the station this week or at the NABJ Convention next week to discuss how KTVU will avoid making such an egregious error in future stories, particularly as it relates to its portrayals of persons of color,” according to a statement attributed to all three groups.
