And the Star Tribune Editorial Board's 2014 award for public service in broadcast news goes to … KSTP-TV and reporter Jay Kolls, for a Nov. 6 story on Betsy Hodges, the gang-sign-flashing mayor of Minneapolis. Congratulations!
We jest, of course. There was nothing remotely award-worthy about the "journalism" that produced the story now referred to as "Pointergate." And the public service role played by Kolls and KSTP, while undeniable, was clearly unintentional.
Still, thanks to the viral life of a story that lasted just over three minutes, the growing frustration over police-community relations in Minneapolis has been a statewide topic of discussion for a week. And the worthy reform push by Hodges and Police Chief Janeé Harteau is receiving more attention than ever.
That's the positive result of a ridiculous story in which law enforcement sources alleged Hodges might have been flashing a gang sign in a photo with Navell Gordon, an African-American employee of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC). The story reported that Gordon — whose identity was not revealed by KSTP — has a criminal record, and it hinted that he might have gang ties. It failed to report that Gordon was door-knocking with Hodges and Harteau to get out the vote in north Minneapolis when the photo was taken and that his job with NOC is part of his effort to get his life back on track.
Incredibly — or maybe not for those familiar with the context — police union leader John Delmonico went on camera with Kolls to put his own spin on the pointing-mayor photo. Referring to Hodges, Delmonico weighed in with this gem: "Is she going to support gangs in this city or cops?"
And there you have it. With that quote, Delmonico provided video evidence of the lengths the union will go to discredit anyone who tries to shake the status quo in the Minneapolis Police Department, including the mayor. The union chief also managed to throw the black community under the bus in the process.
Thanks, KSTP.
Our main purpose is not to put Kolls or his station on trial here — the reporter and KSTP already have faced plenty of ridicule in post-Pointergate news coverage and on social media. (We also acknowledge that this newspaper has suffered its share of self-inflicted wounds over the years — including on these pages. Mistakes happen.)