Brutal murder, followed by brutal and disgusting reporting.

[Ms. Toad]

(Cross posted in GD):

The brutal murder of a transgender woman has prompted almost every news organization that reported on the murder to blame the victim, publish her arrest record, and repeatedly label her as a man. The murder was a heinous crime, the misgender identification by news organizations who have not taken the time to learn how to report on issues related to transgender people is offensive.

. . .

At TransGriot, Monica Roberts calls the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s articles “transphobic,” a “journalistic hate crime,” and adds, “this is the worst piece of alleged reporting on a trans murder I’ve seen in a while.”

Roberts writes:

Misgender the person at every opportunity? Check

Use police mugshot? Check

Drag old criminal record into the story? Check

‘Deception meme’ injected into story? Check

‘Tragic transsexual’ meme injected into this story? Check

Use salacious and sensationalist headlines? Check

Not give a rats anus about the victim’s dignity and their femme presentation? Check

Disrespecting another African-American transwoman? Check.

Cemia Dove's body was found about 2 miles from a bike route I rode this summer with my trans* girlfriend from high school (who was traveling for the first time as a woman, in advance of transitioning about 3 months later) - so this strikes pretty close to home. (Cemia Dove is the name she preferred, according to her friends. Very few reports include either the correct first or last name, so if you are looking for articles covering the story most use the last name Acoff.)

[Skittles]

1. it is egregious

I'd like to know how they respond

From the end of the article:

We shared with the Cleveland Plain Dealer our guide to reporting on transgender victims of crime, and have informed them of the issues that still remain with those two stories. We have also asked the Cleveland Plain Dealer to meet with local transgender advocates and community members, to better understand the sensitivity that was missing from its reporting, the way both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times did following similarly insensitive stories.


I take that to mean NYT and LAT learned a lesson from their insensitivity?

[Ms. Toad]

2. I am not familiar with the NYT & LAT stories.

They do have an editor monitoring the comment section who has made a few changes to the story.

I've written a letter to the reporter. Tons of people making comments. Hope it makes a difference.

[LostOne4Ever]

3. I feel sorry for her and her family

It sounds like she has been harassed by the transit cops for years. Then she gets brutally murdered only to have a reporter do everything he can to defame her.


Im glad there are at least some people here at DU and the new civil rights project who can see her for being an actual person.

[Ms. Toad]

4. There are a number of people responding to the story pretty effectively

and there is a rally planned today in Cleveland to protest the treatment she received.

[Ms. Toad]

5. Rally today in Cleveland - if anone happens to be in the vicinity

http://www.facebook.com/events/100575020146982/