One would think that the targeted attack against Mexicans by a white nationalist merits mention that the reason 23 were killed by Patrick Crusius is that he drove close to ten hours to target and kill as many Mexicans as he could. That is not the case with all of the El Paso news media with the exception of one outlet. The fact is that a community comprised of over 80% Hispanics that was targeted for being Mexican was ignore by most of its local news media.
KFOX14/CBS4
On its online story, KFOX14 stated the fact that the city was holding a commemorative event for the murders of 23 people in El Paso. The story makes no mention of the fact that the reason the murders occurred was because one individual targeted Mexicans for mass murder.
Another KFOX14 online story again focused on the day’s remembrance events without mentioning the underlining fact that Mexicans were targeted for murder four years ago.
A third story offers more information, including an interview with the aunt of one of the victims. Interestingly, the KFOX14 report mentioned that at the time the victim, Ivan Feliberto Manzano, was being killed, the aunt was heading back to Juárez “after visiting family members in El Paso.” Manzano was one of eight Mexican nationals targeted that day by the killer, Patrick Crusius. Somehow the editors and reporters at KFOX did not think it important enough to report the fact that Crusius targeted Mexicans that day.
KTSM
KTSM’s “top story” about the targeting of Mexicans four years ago focused on the Healing Garden event where the names of the 23 were read out loud. The online story made no mention that Mexicans were targeted that day.
A second story about the Healing Garden explained that a mural was in the works. Like the other KTSM story, no mention that Mexicans were the targets that day was made in the online report.
A third KTSM story yesterday lists the day’s remembrance events without mentioning that Mexicans were targeted by a white nationalist from Allen, Texas.
However, KTSM’s Andra Litton started her profile of her “El Paso Strong Remembering those we lost August 3,” appropriately with, “The white nationalist shooter, who aimed to kill ‘Mexicans,’ murdered 23 people and injured another 24.” But that was it for the news media coverage by the local outlets.
We need your support to keep delivering the news and information that is important to you. We are seeking to raise $5,000 to cover our costs through the end of the year. We would not be asking if we did not need your support.
KVIA
KVIA’s online story focused on the events honoring the victims. It adds that the community needs healing. Although the story mentions that “four years ago, El Paso was changed forever,” it lacks the reason why El Paso was changed forever.
The reason? A white man drove about ten hours to kill Mexicans.
KVIA anchor Stephanie Valle moderated a panel on “the impact of extremism on El Paso” on Monday. The discussion, “The Pipeline of Extremism” was hosted by El Paso’s Anti-Defamation League. Absent from the online story was any mention of the underlining result of Patrick Crusius extremism – the killing of Mexicans.
Yesterday’s story by Isabella Martinez “commemorating August 3 victims with events throughout the day,” again neglected to mention that the mass murders were targeted at Mexicans.
Remembrance and healing must include the why people were killed that day.
Univision 26
One would think that the local Spanish language affiliate of Univision would have some coverage of the events that targeted Latinos/Hispanics four years ago. Surprisingly but not so surprisingly, the killing of Mexicans on August 3, 2019, apparently was not newsworthy enough for Univision’s local affiliate to feature it online. Not one mention on the first page of the local affiliate’s list of stories!
Surely, maybe it was buried somewhere in Entravision’s other online page. It wasn’t on its landing page for El Paso. It seems that the local Entravision page has little support from local reporters as one of its stories on its front page is a voter’s guide by El Paso Matters from May 6.
Border Report
The Border Report, a Nexstar Media Group supported group of journalists that focus on border issues ran a story about the events four years ago. Nexstar owns KTSM in El Paso. In the online story, Julian Resendiz writes that community activists “warned that the politics of fearmongering and the anti-immigration rhetoric that led to the 2019 shooting could precipitate another tragedy.” Resendiz quotes Fernando Garcia, the executive director of Border Network for Human Rights that the attack was “racism against Latinos and people of color.”
Resendiz’ story was carried by FOX 5 in San Diego. But KTSM, the local Nexstar affiliate did not run the story. However, KTSM’s Litton’s story mentioned the underlining fact that Mexicans were targeted by Crusius that day.
El Paso Matters
The story about the August 3, 2019 murders by El Paso Matters focused on the day’s commemorative events like most of the other El Paso news media. The story by Priscilla Totiyapungprasert lists the locations of the events across the community. Although Totiyapungprasert writes, “a white nationalist drove to El Paso,” she neglects to add why Crusius drove to El Paso – the killing of Mexicans.
El Paso Times
The El Paso Times, who according to this week’s El Paso Inc. Whispers section is down to “eight news reporters” who “work from home” posted a photo gallery of the day’s commemorations. No mention that Mexicans were targeted that day was what brought people together to commemorate.
However, this morning’s article by Adam Powell does mention the underlining factor that led to yesterday’s many commemorations across El Paso. Powell wrote that “many of the memorials for those killed by a white supremacist who traveled to attack Hispanics in El Paso’s binational community.”
A day late but at least a mention of the targeting of Mexicans was tangentially made by Powell.
The Albuquerque Journal
The Albuquerque Journal did what no other El Paso news media outlet was willing to do. The story by Reyes Mata III, who is an El Pasoan and a journalist based in El Paso, according to his LinkedIn profile wrote that “amid the modern horror of escalating mass shootings, the Mexican borderland of El Paso felt the hammerfall (sic) of this nation’s cultural war.” Mata added that Crusius “was after Mexicans” when he murdered 23 people four years ago.
That a news outlet in Albuquerque publishes what El Paso media does not speaks volumes about how El Pasoans relate to their Mexican brethren on a day where they were targeted for being Mexican.
We need your support to keep delivering the news and information that is important to you. We are seeking to raise $5,000 to cover our costs through the end of the year. We would not be asking if we did not need your support.
The City of El Paso
The City of El Paso keeps an online virtual remembrance wall where individuals can post messages about the August 3, 2019, attacks that targeted Mexicans. As of this morning there are 129 messages. Not one mentions that Mexicans were targeted that day. The City’s virtual message wall carries that admonition that “any negative, political, or contentious messages will be removed as this site is intended to send positive messages of love to the community.”
It is unknown if messages that include the fact that Mexicans were targeted that day have been removed or are the posted messages simply a reflection of a community unwilling to talk about the fact that Mexicans were targeted that day.
In a community comprised upwards of 80% Latinos/Hispanics, one would think that a small mention that Patrick Crusius killed 23 simply because they were Mexican would be in the news stories of the day. Except for KTSM, that simple fact was ignored by the others.
That facts you just presented about the coverage are the truth. Especially of US/Spanish broadcasting stations. Entravision and Telemundo do nothing in financially supporting anything in our community unless they can sell sponsorships to make money. Sure they will donate advertising PSA and run those spots mostly from 12 to 6am, but when it come to putting some cash into El Paso Tejas…Ni madre. So much for corporate business support.
Unless you live under a rock- of course everybody knew that this person targeted Hispanics on that fateful day. Why keep rehashing the obvious? What is really your point?