Oberheim Effect on Police Coverage in Local Media
“Glad you are writing again. We need your work more than ever. Seems the cops have gained everyone's sympathy since George Floyd.”
--Chris Evans, Sentences subscriber
I was recently talking with a reporter from a local media outlet who will remain anonymous for the sake of this story. We were chatting informally about the pitfalls of reporting on the police in Champaign-Urbana. He mentioned how after the death of Champaign police officer Chris Oberheim, he had to be concerned about any negative reporting on the police.
In 2021, Oberheim was killed after responding to a domestic violence call. In a tragic incident, Oberheim, a white officer, and Darion Lafayette, an African American man, were both killed in an exchange of gunfire. WCIA, Channel 3, a television station in Champaign, ran a story about the incident which drew outrage from police supporters and right-wing media.
This was a year after the police killing of George Floyd. Media outlets across the country were reflecting on how to report “officer-involved shootings” with greater sensitivity. WCIA ran a sympathetic story, with a photo from the memorial service of Lafayette portraying him with angel wings and a halo.
Police supporters went ballistic over the memorial photo and launched a campaign to effectively “cancel” the TV station. Local companies withdrew their advertising dollars from WCIA. Lanz Plumbing, Heating & Cooling (who I used to use and have since quit calling for service) pulled their advertising. Bankco Overhead Doors did the same.
WCIA was forced to issue an apology, but this this was not after they had lost thousands of dollars in ad revenue.
Two years later, the right-wing attack continues to have a chilling effect on local media.
As the anonymous reporter told me, in big cities such as Chicago or elsewhere, where there were many different media outlets, news media could play “hardball” in police coverage. Champaign-Urbana, he said, was “almost like the South.”
Please know that when you support Sentences, you are supporting critical coverage of local police. This works to correct the pro-police bias that quietly operates in the local media.