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The AP Stylebook states that protests “refer to specific actions such as marches, sit-ins, rallies or other actions meant to register dissent. It can trivialize the value of movements by reducing them to criminal actions and ignoring the underlying causes they represent.Ī protest, on the other hand, has a very different definition. According to TIME, the term riot has often been associated with race-related activism and used to lessen the value of movements like the civil rights movement and the Black Lives Matter movement.
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The trend began in the 1960s, when the term riot was used to emphasize a sense of chaos and disorder during civil rights activism across the country. Labeling activism against police brutality and for racial justice as rioting is a tactic that has been used to stigmatize activists and their causes for decades. Riots are generally uncontrolled and often are associated with destruction of property. Tom Cotton, almost exclusively referred to the activism as riots and denounced the activities as violent and illegal.ĭaily Bruin Copy’s decision to, in most cases, label those events as protests instead of riots was due in large part to the connotation of the term riot.Īs described in the Associated Press Stylebook entry “riot, unrest, protest, demonstration, uprising, revolt,” the term riot is typically synonymous with violence and chaos, and inciting to riot is a criminal offense. However, some right-leaning news outlets, such as Fox News, and Republican politicians, such as Sen. The Bruin’s news coverage typically referred to Black Lives Matter activism in the Westwood area and across the country as protests, though some events were more peaceful than others. Months before Wednesday’s events, Daily Bruin Copy editors spent the summer editing stories that covered protests in Westwood in response to the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody May 25. Language holds power, and the connotations of the language surrounding such emotionally charged events are especially important to address. Part of the job is to make sure publications use unbiased language, but it can be difficult to identify and address implicit biases in high-pressure, shocking situations.ĭeciding whether to frame a demonstration as a protest, riot or coup exemplifies a larger consideration copy editors have to take into account when editing stories. Amid the uncertainty and fear spreading around the world, copy editors had a big question to answer: How should we word this?Ĭopy editors often have to make snap decisions when editing breaking stories about civil disturbances. Capitol on Wednesday to disrupt the certification of Electoral College votes. Welcome to the Copy Shop – the platform for members of Daily Bruin Copy to rant about the Oxford comma, discuss sensitivity in mass media and attempt to generally demystify the mind-boggling and all-too-misunderstood world of the copy editor.Įmotions ran high across the country as supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the U.S.