The murder heard around the world marks its fifth anniversary Sunday.
On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on the neck of George Floyd and held it there for nearly 90 seconds. The incident was filmed by 17-year-old Darnella Frazier and went viral. Chauvin was eventually found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The killing ignited international outrage and massive protests during a pandemic that had already rocked the nation. Floyd’s death further galvanized the grassroots Black Lives Matter movement, pivoted on a racial reckoning calling for remedies to the troubled history of justice for Black people in America. National news outlets extensively reported on numerous large and small corporations as they frantically scrambled to express solidarity with protesters, pledging reforms to address past shortfalls and improve diversity and equity.
While other noteworthy anniversaries of momentous events that have shaped the nation have often inspired documentaries and prime-time specials hosted by top news personalities, many TV news outlets are treating the Floyd anniversary with a more subdued tone.
That approach is taking place during another kind of urgent reckoning, propelled by the Trump administration’s assault on civil rights, which has been targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs and policies established in the wake of Floyd’s murder.
Some examinations of the effect of Floyd’s death on the nation and the justice system have moved forward. PBS and NewsNation are among venues planning packages reflecting on Floyd’s legacy. KMSP Fox 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul has produced “After George Floyd,” which examines “what’s changed — and what hasn’t.” The hourlong documentary hosted by KMSP’s Symone Woolridge will be streamed on the Fox LiveNOW platform and will be available for Fox-owned-and-operated stations around the country. The report will air locally Friday and Sunday on KTTV Fox 11.
Other prominent media are taking more measured tones. Representatives for CBS, NBC and CNN said the outlets were planning some coverage but did not offer specific plans indicating a deeper dive into the incident and its effects. MSNBC, which is shaking up its programming after criticism by Trump for its left-leaning commentaries, did not respond to inquiries about their plans.
The Floyd anniversary arrives at the same time that MAGA conservatives and the Trump administration have engaged in relentless attacks on mainstream media outlets that have been critical of the president and his agenda. Fiery debates surrounding so-called wokeness have highlighted programs on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and others.
Among the venues that have come under fire is CBS News and “60 Minutes.” CBS News and Stations President Wendy McMahon stepped down earlier this week, saying in a note to staff that it was “clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.” It’s the latest chapter between the company and its journalists over CBS’ handling of Trump’s lawsuit against the flagship news program.
Trump has also taken aim at ABC News, which agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s presidential library to settle a lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.
Speculating on the media coverage of the anniversary, Selwyn Jones, who is Floyd’s uncle, said in an interview that there are many people who believe “old systemic things” have not changed since his nephew’s death.
“It’s the reason why we still have escalated cases of police brutality and escalated cases of domestic violence,” he said. “George’s case completely shook up the whole world. It was the most catastrophic thing that people have ever seen, and it woke a lot of people up.”
Jones, who co-founded the Justice 929 Organization, a charity devoted to promoting civil rights and social change in honor of Floyd, was critical of the media and the justice system. “What I can assure you is that there are more people engaged in the social movement than ever before. Has the media kept up the pace with that? Absolutely not,” he said. “Are we seeing drastic changes in the laws? Absolutely not. That’s the political climate.”
Phillip Atiba Solomon, a psychologist and chair of African American Studies at Yale University, said he’s skeptical of news coverage that would suggest there’s been dramatic change. “I am concerned that there will be a lot of stories making assumptions about what the effects of what happened with George Floyd’s death have been,” he said. “I would hope that we are a changed country, but I’m not sure what I would point to say that’s definitely true.”
Solomon is co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, which is labeled as the nation’s leading organization focused on eliminating racism in public safety. The organization partnered with Time magazine in early May to produce a special issue featuring interviews and essays examining the continuing struggle for racial justice.
He feared some media stories about the anniversary might misrepresent the progress of the last five years: “It is not clear to me that there has been a wholesale change in public safety — for sure not nearly as much as the nation was asking for at that time.”
Much of the Floyd coverage will be locally based.
Emily Stone, vice president of digital content for Fox TV stations, called Floyd‘s death “a national, major and relevant story that was horrible. We know folks will be interested in seeing the coverage from Minneapolis that we are offering from Fox LiveNow. We have the ability to take that perspective from our local station and amplify that to a national audience.”
Kelly Bishop-Huffman, news director of Fox’s KMSP, was the station’s assistant news director when the story about Floyd‘s death broke.
“We all felt an overwhelming feeling from the get-go that we were facing an overdue moment on what was going on in our country,” Huffman said. “The second I saw that video, I knew this was a line-in-the-sand moment.”
As for analyzing the current perspective of the killing, Huffman said raising awareness about the country’s racial reckoning shouldn’t stop. “There is progress in many areas, but maybe not as much as others,” she said. “We are trying to remain hyper-focused. You obviously have to look back, but we are concentrated on looking at the now and in looking forward, and that’s the concentration of our stories.”
For Jones, there is no such thing as too little coverage when it comes to Floyd’s death.
“If I could control all elements, we would be talking about George Floyd every day in the mass media,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, that can’t happen. But some things have a three-week shelf life. My nephew is going to have one weekend every year where everybody remembers the day that George Floyd changed the world.”
Here are other planned reports that could appear on national broadcasts in the coming days:
- ABC News national correspondent Alex Perez, one of the first reporters on the scene after Floyd’s death, and who also covered the protests and the aftermath, will file a report from George Floyd Square in Minneapolis. ABC-owned television stations in Texas and North Carolina will sit down with Floyd’s loved ones as they reflect on his life and legacy.
- CBS Minnesota is checking in with the Black community and Minnesotans to see how they are doing and feeling about the anniversary. Reporters will also interview local police, community members and city officials about the stalled plans to create a monument at George Floyd Square.
- Fred de Sam Lazaro, special correspondent for the PBS News Hour, will report on the status of racial justice and police reforms in Minneapolis, conducting interviews with Floyd’s family members and Medaria Arradondo, the Minneapolis police chief at the time of the incident.
- NewsNation is set to cover a commemorative walk at George Floyd Square on Saturday, with additional reporting during the weekend. “On Balance” anchor Leland Vittert, who covered the 2020 protests, will also offer his perspectives.
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