Annie Malone’s CEO and others are criticizing media coverage of the center’s annual parade, including a story in the Post-Dispatch associating the parade with
violence. Tens of thousands of people show up for the parade. This year, about 30 minutes after the parade ended, there was shooting at 20th and Olive, a few blocks from the parade route. The first story about the parade ran on A2 on Monday and carried the headline “Annie Malone parade brings out thousands&hellipCharity event festive violence breaks out afterward.” In addition to the shooting, the story mentioned a fight between two groups of people that “almost sparked a stampede.” Richard King, CEO of the Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center, told the paper there is “no known link” between the parade Sunday and the shooting at 20th and Olive. says King is comparing coverage of the parade with that of “bad behavior during Mardis Gras and drunkenness during St. Patrick’s day events.” “Headlines for the St. Patrick’s day parade, read ‘The Beads Are Always Greener.’ For the Mardi Gras parade in 2009, the headline ‘Krewes Unload Their Loot.’ When there’s coverage about the Annie Malone parade there’s coverage about what’s negative and not even connected to our parade, ” King is quoted as saying.
It would be interesting to look at crime statistics from the times around the three events to compare. Does violence ever occur near those events without being linked to the events I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m curious what you think. Is there a double standard at work here