COUNTERPUNCH LETTER : Crimes TV Ignores: Hunger, Poverty

I was not surprised to read that Barbara Bliss Osborn’s students thought that a pressing issue facing Los Angeles today is the O.J. Simpson trial (“Mayhem Drives Major Newscasts,” Counterpunch, May 1). Viewers of Los Angeles local news may incorrectly surmise that the only violence stalking our cities is crime.

In fact, the more pervasive violence of hunger, homelessness and poverty is taking the real toll, and efforts to respond are met with little or no attention by the electronic media.

Missing from the evening news, for the most part, since the onset of the O.J. Simpson trial were such recent events as: city-sponsored hearings on hunger; interfaith religious leaders opposing congressional welfare proposals with a re-enactment of Moses being delivered into the bulrushes; a wildly successful youth conference on hunger (which saw youth across the city focused on a common good); and a colorful celebration of National Youth Service Day.

And now that we are in the surreal period of the “sweeps,” we dare not hope for even a modest view of reality.

News Director Bill Lord and KNBC’s decision to drop excessively violent coverage can make room for the reporting of the real problems facing Los Angeles. When will the other electronic media make an attempt to give air time to these issues?

CAROLYN OLNEY

Associate Director

Interfaith Hunger Coalition

Los Angeles