How KARE 11 Hurts South Minneapolis Neighborhoods
I don’t like it when KARE 11 says that people are being robbed at gunpoint in South Minneapolis, then fails to describe where in South Minneapolis the robberies are happening for seven paragraphs.
Here’s a map of South Minneapolis with the area KARE 11 took 7 paragraphs to describe:
The entire map covers an area with more than 100,000 residents. The video version of the story uses a similar map 7-paragraphs into the read. Why is KARE creating irrational fear in people who live miles and miles away from what is essentially an issue involving 2-3 neighborhoods?
This would be like saying that the Northern suburbs of St Paul are having an outbreak of robberies without saying whether it’s in part of Roseville, Arden Hills, Little Canada, or Falcon Heights.
And this is the type of thing that makes friends of mine in the suburbs think that all of Minneapolis is bordering on Baghdad when it comes to safety, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Just a thought: Lead with the map.
Or would people tune out once they realize that their lives aren’t in danger?
September 28th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
The folks in North Minneapolis have talked about this same thing.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:53 am
Seriously, they obviously got their info from the crime alert bulletin that the MPD put out, but they couldn’t be assed to name any of the neighborhoods the police listed. WTF?
My biggest issue with them in that article was saying that “nobody was injured,” because I was the person who was assaulted on 54th and Elliot Ave S (although no gun was involved). I have the bruises and scrapes and bumps to prove that I was uh, injured. Saying nobody was injured or that nobody was injured by a gun are two different things.
September 29th, 2008 at 3:14 am
[...] Edit: KARE11 has picked up on the story, but poorly. It’s nice to read that “no one has been injured!” I’m just curious as to where my busted-ass knee and arm came from, then? Morons. No one has been injured by a gun. Important distinction. They also couldn’t be assed to name the specific neighborhoods this happened in. [...]
September 29th, 2008 at 6:43 am
I think it was my complaining about this to the Tribune that started the infamous MNspeak neighborhood thread.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I can’t say I agree with you on this one…thats obviously south minneapolis. In my opinion 35w is the split off between south and southwest mpls.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Ryan, how about they just say a robbery happened in the Twin Cities? Or somewhere in Minnesota? That, too, would be accurate, although it would also cause concern among more people than necessary.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:27 am
They could have also said “deep South Minneapolis, practically Richfield” which is how I describe it…
September 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
As another commenter noted, this is an issue North Minneapolis has been dealing with for years. So much so that most people seem to assume the entire area (which encompasses probably a quarter of the city) is a wasteland with hookers on every corner and bullets flying through the air like so many Lake Nokomis mosquitos.
Just like every other area of the city, the character of the neighborhoods can change within just a few blocks. Cross an invisible boundary and you go from hookers and gang violence to quaint bungalows and welcome wagons. It’d be nice if the mainstream media would do their homework and start recognizing that.
September 29th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I didn’t grow up in MN, and still have areas of town I don’t know how to describe…in no small part because of how little the neighborhood names and locations are used and referenced in the media here.
It was a total surprise when I heard Mpls has 77 neighborhoods, and 70% of them actually do have some meaning (little downtown shops, schools, parks, and playgrounds). But it has taken me years to learn even the basics of Camden vs Nokomis vs Seward because of how little people in the media here bother to mention them.
That location in So Mpls is over 40 blocks west of my home in So Mpls…if I go 40 blocks east, I’m standing at Selby and Dale…should I worry whenever there is a crime report out of there now?
Maybe if we refer to KARE 11 as ‘a local Gannett Broadcasting affiliate’, they will get the hint after awhile.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
In fact, this brings to mind an idea I had a few years back when I was railing about the worthless TV and radio content, and actually fooling myself into thinking they were open to new ideas (scoff, they quickly set me straight on that account).
Anyway, the idea was for TV, who at the time was scouring for the elusive MN connection of any MN transient on any national story, to instead focus a little Charles Kuralt/Jason Davis/Thom Hartmann/Ken Speake action to produce 5 minute segments discussing each St Paul/Mpls neighborhood. It could quickly cover both the history and the current situation and feature a couple historic/current characters.
It would be fricken eye candy for the locals (who would see scenes of their life playing out) and total eye opener for the transplants (who generally have no idea of what is lurking around that corner they never turn on). It could actually put some ground under people’s feet, instead of asphalt.
But no, the local producers knew better than I what I would want to watch.
That’s why I don’t have a TV anymore.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
[...] they did get to mentioning the specific location in the video and online versions faster than the last time they did this, but they’re still irresponsibly branding a HUGE area of Minnesota’s largest city with [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 5:04 am
That would be funny if somebody stole the kare11 news truck/helicopter.
October 1st, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Maybe if we refer to KARE 11 as ‘a local Gannett Broadcasting affiliate’, they will get the hint after awhile.
That’s great.