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Breaking News:

LA Is Peaceful, VibrantInspiring Non-Violence: Building a Peaceful, Vibrant LA

Non-Violence No Higher Calling – LA Launch Event

Danielle Killian, Killian Communications

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

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believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such

copyrighted material as provided for in section 107

of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17

U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is

distributed without profit to those who have

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Our world may be safer than it appears.

Now that that is out of the way…

+ In 2011, we set out to better understand our public

conversation about violence, turning where we all turn

for information about our communities.

National Broadcast Local Broadcast Syndicated Radio

California Radio Print and Online Print Online Resources

+ There were quite a few events described as violent in

the news at that time…

“I’ve never seen so much truly

newsworthy news in my entire

career…” Bob Schieffer,

Face the Nation

Tucson

Bryan Stow

Dominique Strauss Kahn

Casey Anthony

Arab Spring

EQ/Nukes in Japan

Joplin and Irene

EU Austerity Protests

Oslo

Budget Crises

Stock market fluctuationsSupreme Court on

CA Prisons

Wisconsin Union Protests

Debt Ceiling

+ So, we narrowed ourselves to in-depth review of 1000

randomly selected stories about physical violence in

the US, working to mirror the way California voters

consume news.

National BroadcastSix California

Broadcast DMAsSyndicated Radio

California Radio Print and Online Print Online Resources

+

Agenda Setting

Prominence: How visible is the story? Top of the fold, breaking news… The more “in our face” it is, the more important it seems.

Tempo: How many stories are there about violence? Or a particular type of violence? When we hear something with great frequency, it feels important.

Visuals: Not only do visuals catch our attention, they help us remember stories.

Frames: Frames give context to messages and information. We understand the Oslo massacre differently when it is equated to Oklahoma City than when it is likened to 911.

Messages: What is usually said on the topic? What is the range of conversation between those labeled as “left” and “right?”

Status Conferral: Who gets interviewed? Who is quoted? Who is just paraphrased or interrupted? These trends provide subtle cues as to who is a preferred expert.

We watched, listened and read a little

differently than we would on a day-to-

day basis. We were looking for signs

of agenda setting… trends that would

indicate the media we consume is

teaching us that some types of

violence are of greater concern than

others.

Blah, blah, blah, right?!

+ Analyzing broadcast news was a

challenge…Most “messages” came in

the form of images:

Sometimes the images flashed so fast,

it could take 30-45 minutes to capture all the information

in a 30-second clip!

Where Where Where Where What What Who

WhatTo

WhomWhere What What

To Whom

Result

ResultTo

WhomWho Who Who Result Result

Result Where Who Where

+ There are some images

that will never fade from

our memories.

+ The tempo of stories gave us a feeling about whether crime was

increasing or decreasing… but no data was

available to act as the Doppler Radar for this safety forecast.

Ten 15-Second Stories

5 30-Second StoriesWhere Result Where WhereTo

Whom

Where What What Result Who

What WhoTo

WhomWhere What

WhatTo

WhomResult Result

To Whom

Who Who Who Result Result

Result Where Who Where Who

Where What What

What ResultTo

Whom

Who Result Result

Lots of stories and images gave us

tension and made us think crime must

be increasing.

Longer stories with fewer

images gave us less tension

and made us think crime must

be decreasing.

+We weren’t alone in sensing an increase.

Most Angelinos, surveyed shortly after the FBI

released crime statistics, did not feel safe.

Compared to 20 years ago, is the

City of Los Angeles SAFER, not

as safe, or about the same?

38% – Safer

27% – About the Same

30% – Not as Safe

5% – Don’t Know/Refused

In the last 20 years, [has CRIME]

gotten better, worse, or stayed the

same?

33% – Better

28% – Stayed the Same

34% – Worse

5% – Don’t Know/Refused

Source: 20th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots Survey. 2012. Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University.

+ Our read inverted the truth.

Violent Crime in Los Angeles, 2010-1989

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989

All Violent Crimes Homicide Forcible Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault

Based Upon Data from LA Almanac: http://www.laalmanac.com/crime/cr02.htm

+Let’s get it straight. Even that flat

line of homicides is deceptive.

Violent Crime in Los Angeles, 1989-2010

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995199419931992199119901989

All Violent Crimes Homicide Forcible Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault

Based Upon Data from LA Almanac: http://www.laalmanac.com/crime/cr02.htm

Los Angeles 1992

1092 Homicides

2.99/Day

Population: 8,863,164

Your Odds: 1 in 8116.45

Los Angeles 2012

298 Homicides

0.82/Day

Population: 9,962,789

Your Odds: 1 in 33,432.18

So much has

changed…

+ How do you read these headlines now?Deadliest year in decades. Overall crime down 2 percent in LA during 2012; murders, petty thefts up slightly. Crime rate in Los Angeles falls for 10th straight year, making it the safest big city in America, but cell phone thefts are way up.

+ We don’t know things get better because, as

the world changes, the news stays the same.

International ViolenceNational Violence

California Violence

Violence in LA

News

International Wars

National Violence

California Violence

Violence in LA

News

Violence and News Circa 1992 Violence and News Circa 2012

We think violence is intractable…When was our first homicide-free day?

How long have we gone without a murder?

Why aren’t we PROUD?

Why aren’t we celebrating???

Why aren’t we celebrated?

We despair for lack of

TRUTH.

We have a bigger population. We are

more diverse. We are younger.

Our neighborhoods are more integrated. We are enduring high

unemployment.

Still…

WE ARE SAFER, LA.

The TRUTH is full of

HOPE.

+

Yes, we still need to

improve.We will still mourn.

We will still regret.

We will still disagree.

…why can’t our path forward be paved

with hope?

+

We can win.There are millions of things you and I can do right now to prevent violence from ever

happening. Help a kid get a drivers license. It can make him less susceptible to joining a gang.

Stand up to a bully. Adult and peer support stops bullies in their tracks. Learn or teach

financial literacy. Violence is correlated with financial stress. Offer an ear without judgment. Mass

shooters leak their plans. Be the adult or friend they tell. Trim a bush, mow a lawn, plant a tree. Maintained spaces and tree canopies can repel crime and add calm. Include. Many

who hurt themselves or others feel rejected. Meditate. The ability to place 5 seconds between heartbreak or a perceived offense and the reaction prevents violence from suicide to murder.

Celebrate. We are winning. Let’s turn homicide free days into violence free years.

+ We won’t learn from

watching…There are millions of things you and I can do right now to prevent violence from ever happening. Help a

kid get a drivers license. It can make him less susceptible to joining a gang. Stand up to

a bully. Adult and peer support stops bullies in their tracks. Learn or teach financial literacy. Violence is correlated with financial stress. Offer an ear without judgment. Mass shooters leak their plans. Be the

adult or friend they tell. Trim a bush, mow a lawn, plant a tree. Maintained spaces and tree

canopies can repel crime and add calm. Include. Many who hurt themselves or others feel

rejected. Meditate. The ability to place 5 seconds between heartbreak or a perceived offense and our

reaction prevents violence from suicide to murder. Celebrate. We are winning. Let’s turn

homicide free days into violence free years. We won’t learn from the news. Learn at NonVio.org.