Hewing to the official line put forth by a Schell-shocked administration, local broadcasters seemed to agree that nobody from around here could have been responsible for the looting and smashing that took place Tuesday. PR vs. reporting Such a desire to find fault out of town is understandable if you're a politician. But by blaming troublemakers from Eugene, Ore., and characterizing all violence as nonlocal behavior, some TV journalists put themselves in the position of becoming PR agents for Seattle. That's especially problematic when the journalist doesn't distinguish between the city and city officials. KING-TV's anchors illustrated the danger of combining boosterism and reporting.
Today is anything but normal.
And yesterday, Margaret Larson commented mournfully on how the police just couldn't seem to win with protesters. KING's field reporters were under no such pro-establishment illusions. Scott Miller and Jim Forman did solid work describing events late Wednesday night. Forman, who was gassed on Tuesday and knows well the fringe perils of police action, allowed a strong note of doubt to color his narration when cops began routing protesters and passers-by alike on Capitol Hill. Mid-Wednesday, the station's photographers captured memorable footage of officers wantonly using pepper spray on two people who had stopped to help a fallen man.