The violent insurrection in Washington, D.C. Wednesday was both utterly predictable and unimaginable. My feelings about those events go well beyond the scope of this blog, so instead of laying out my feelings, I’m going to share a variety of responses to how our media responded to these events over the next few days.
There was a lot of talk about what words should or should not be used in headlines about Wednesday’s riots/insurrection/attack on the capitol. The term “mob” became popular relatively quickly, but the term “protestors” and “supporters” also saw quite a bit of ink.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, however, went all in with their headline:
My hometown newspaper pic.twitter.com/MrESYrhbWA
— Carrie Brown (@Brizzyc) January 7, 2021
Here’s a collection of several other front pages:
On today's #frontpage:
'Betrayal of his office'
–Pelosi, others call for using 25th Amendment
–DOT secretary resigns, allies desert president
–Barr issues a scathing criticism of former boss pic.twitter.com/mHc3xV4d7T— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 8, 2021
The front page of Thursday's Washington Post:
Trump mob storms Capitol
President incites crowd to acts of insurrection, violence pic.twitter.com/4H8YVYO3jW
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 7, 2021
@nytimes front page for Thursday, January 7, 2021. An unparalleled moment in history that shook the core of American democracy. pic.twitter.com/OZh6EDVVPB
— Jacob Moscovitch (he/him) (@JacobMoscovitch) January 7, 2021
TRUMP-INCITED MOB STORMS U.S. CAPITOL
Here's an early look at the front page for January 7, 2021. pic.twitter.com/IKadxX65VA
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 7, 2021
The New York tabloids were predictably tabloidy, but even the Murdoch-owned New York Post took a hard stand (in a Post kind of way) on the rioters with Friday’s cover:
Today's cover: DC police release photos of suspects in US Capitol siege https://t.co/Mb6sVZsWPd pic.twitter.com/Re3rvoKwMO
— New York Post (@nypost) January 8, 2021
Unsurprisingly, the progressive NY Daily News was pretty blunt with their cover:
SIEGE — https://t.co/f1KOjvN8s0, https://t.co/xEZrbgXxpW
• Trump incites insurrection
• Mob storms Capitol
• Congress cowered in chamber, returned to confirm BidenDaily News editorial:
A day of infamy. Trump delivered this. https://t.co/ZjfiABUK5r, https://t.co/Z8Srw3YWoq pic.twitter.com/hRgGDaQCTt— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) January 7, 2021
And finally, the cover of next week’s New Yorker:
Cover of @NewYorker — America at half-staff pic.twitter.com/FijnZO8jXX
— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) January 7, 2021
Coming soon: Reactions from around the world, and stories of hope from dark times.