#Muckedup chat with Messenger

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#Muckedup chat with Messenger Live

Tony Messenger, the editorial page editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, joined an online Twitter chat Tuesday night to discuss Ferguson coverage, and the opinion page's cooperation with The Guardian to gather stories of racial profiling. The Twitter account for Muck Rack, a website for journalists and public relations professionals, moderated the discussion, which used the hashtag #muckedup. The hashtag is used for all of Muck Rack's weekly discussions.

As with many Twitter chats, many side questions were asked and several other conversations were sparked.

The #muckedup chat included questions directly for Messenger, followed by questions for others following along. Below are Messenger's answers to the moderator's questions, then some of the audience's answers to the moderator's questions.

Tonight we tackle the contentious topic of #Ferguson in greater detail, w/ help from a @STLToday journo: http://t.co/s67cl9jD3h #muckedup

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Please welcome @tonymess, editorial page editor with @STLToday & member of Assoc. of Opinion Journalists! #muckedup http://t.co/WnP6nzWOEd

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A lauded journalist, @tonymess earned the #BurlOsborneAward for Editorial Leadership from @NewsEditors & the #WalkerStoneAward. #muckedup

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Here's a recent column by @tonymess after visiting the scene: "Finding an American story in #Ferguson." http://t.co/VTmTOWc1fN #muckedup

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A video editorial produced by @tonymess when the protests/police response were most intense in #Ferguson: http://t.co/4Ic9WcLuL4 #muckedup

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More background on @STLToday's coverage: "Lessons from #Ferguson: We earned this." http://t.co/JpvfMQ8uus #muckedup #michaelbrown

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Still more @STLToday coverage of #Ferguson: #MichaelBrown and the disparity of due process - http://t.co/mhTBY1daMB #muckedup

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Q1a to @tonymess: Over the course of 3 weeks, a lot has happened in the #Ferguson. How have you seen the narrative, etc. evolve? #muckedup

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@muckrack Every day brings a new angle or moment. I think the funeral of Michael Brown will be a turning point. Protests changing #muckedup

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@muckrack Early story was the shock of the death, then protests, then rioting, now funeral. On editorial page, our focus is ... #muckedup

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@muckrack ... the underlying story. Poverty. Racial divide. Divided community. Poor police training. How to fix big problems. #muckedup

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@muckrack Protests are now smaller and away from #Ferguson, at courthouse or prosecutor's office, or city hall. They won't stop. #muckedup

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Q2a to @tonymess: @SLToday is local & more familiar w/ #Ferguson. How has it set apart your coverage from that of national media? #muckedup

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@muckrack @SLToday I think it has helped us (and other local media) tell the deeper, long-lasting stories of the racial divide. #muckedup

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@tonymess @muckrack I've noticed this in STL news coverage. More historical context in stories as inter/natl media leave. #muckedup

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@muckrack As well as the complication that this isn't so much about Ferguson but the St. Louis region. #muckedup

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@muckrack That being said, I believe the national coverage has also been outstanding. How outsiders see us is important story. #muckedup

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@muckrack While much of @stltoday coverage has been day-to-day, some of the "think pieces" from outside media point to solutions. #muckedup

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@muckrack It's been amazing to see my colleagues do incredible work on this story. It's just beginning. #muckedup

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#MuckedUp, Thanks for your answer, @TonyMess, I was wondering how you locals viewed the national #journalism coverage.

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@JosephSapia Some locals turned off by cable TV coverage. But from my standpoint, the whole media package has been important. #muckedup

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Q3a to @tonymess: Tell us about this week's pending collaborative effort with the Guardian. What inspired it & what can we expect? #muckedup

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@muckrack When Ferguson story broke, I knew we needed to do something to expand our reach. So much more than a local story. ... #muckedup

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@muckrack I had met @sullduggery at a dinner and had been following the work of @GuardianUS and thought he might be game. #muckedup

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@muckrack We came up with a digital project asking people to tell us in their own words their stories of racial profiling ... #muckedup

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@muckrack We will both publish in our own platforms stories from St. Louisans and others telling about their police experiences. #muckedup

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@muckrack Hopefully (fingers crossed) we publish at @stltoday and @GuardianUS later this week. #muckedup

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#MuckedUp: @tonymess, do they have to sign names to it or have use of their names, as in just-a-few-yrs-ago #Journalism? Anonymous = danger.

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@JosephSapia These are all real people. With names and home towns, and photos in many cases (tried to get them for all). #muckedup

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Q4a to @tonymess from @JournalismEnds: Have media made too much of journalists being arrested? Any mole hills made into mountains? #muckedup

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@muckrack @JournalismEnds Yes. Though it did contribute to an international understanding of the situation. #muckedup

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@muckrack @JournalismEnds Of course, I am currently in a Tweet chat about how the media covered Ferguson, so: Pot. Kettle. Meta. #muckedup

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Q5a to @tonymess: What lessons have you gleaned in covering #Ferguson? Any applicable to national/local journalists elsewhere? #muckedup

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@muckrack Audience has changed. It's global. More important than ever to fight through the haze to let real people tell story. #muckedup

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@muckrack We have to find a way to step back from the NOW of what we do and think, connect dots, offer perspective. #muckedup

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@muckrack This is a selfish one, but opinion journalism matters. We have to get beyond traditional right/left voices. #muckedup

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@muckrack On editorial page over past two weeks, we skipped our syndicated columns almost every day to find local Ferguson pieces #muckedup

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@muckrack I received very few calls wondering where Gerson or Dionne or Krauthammer were. Opened my eyes a bit. #muckedup

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To view responses from the audience, click the right and left arrows on the slideshow of tweets below the question from Muck Rack:

Q1b for everyone: What have each of you observed in the #Ferguson narrative since you began following it? #muckedup

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@muckrack A1b) First big notice was how badly the police force handled the initial blowback. #muckedup

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. @muckrack: Q1b Also felt constitutional rights being violated were never called into question until reporters got arrested. #muckedup

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. @muckrack A1b: Disturbed media kept taking Police at face value after repeated lies. Logical questions not asked 4 follow up #muckedup

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If nothing else, the #MikeBrown situation has shown importance of transparency 4 local agencies that work 4 the public. #Ferguson #muckedup

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Q1: I was surprised to see so much more coverage of police brutality (which isn't new) than the story. #muckedup

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A1b: The lack of clarity on what happened that led 2 #MikeBrown being shot by Darren Wilson. #Ferguson #muckedup

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kimchandlermcdonald

A1b - from my perspective the partisanship has been stupefying - and the socio-econmic divide decidedly depressing. #muckedup

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#MuckedUp, A 1B: What I would like to C more is the cop shooter's side, also the effect on businesses/innocent bystanders.

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A1b) Leaps in logic, ahead of facts. #muckedup

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#MuckedUp, A1B: From nat'l news, seen day to day coverage, racial issues, concern over police treatment, the outsiders pro & con involved.

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A1b Role of Twitter in covering and getting information: also anonymous involvement. #muckedup

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A1b. Sorry. Misread the Q. Looked like a small section represented the whole town...? I think. (Never been to Ferguson) #muckedup

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A1b. I've noticed the photographs used to represent Mike Brown. Not that much coverage about it here in Canada. More on Twitter. #muckedup

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@AustinCrossCBS

@mattdelman @muckrack Many wish to make Michael Brown a martyr for the race cause. Does a martyr need a flawless record? #muckedup

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Kirsten Browning

@mattdelman A1b) And then things got cuddly with Capt. Johnson in charge ... and then they got rough again. #muckedup

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@AustinCrossCBS @muckrack Sometimes with very bad results, like the "no angel" comment in the Times. #muckedup

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@AustinCrossCBS

@muckrack A lot of strong opinions. And a lot of speaking ill of the dead: http://t.co/Vm49md5Bmg #muckedup

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Q2b to everyone: What differences, if any, have you noted between #Ferguson coverage, depending on outlet? Significance? #muckedup

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#MuckedUp A2B, Fear some real-time TV coverage incites trouble in pursuit of being live on TV. Print allows stepping-back, then reporting.

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kimchandlermcdonald

Q2b. Most interesting to me is seeing intl. coverage studiously avoid any comparison re their own, local socio-econ divisions #muckedup

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A2b: Local coverage has emphasized the human element -- @RiverfrontTimes did gr8 profile of #MikeBrown that ran Aug. 10. #Ferguson #muckedup

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Q3b to all: What do you think of a nat'l/global outlet collaborating with local one to tell a local story w/ global impact? #muckedup

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@muckrack It's excellent. It should be done more and will make for a much more detailed narrative. #muckedup

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@iJournalista @muckrack I think it has potential. Media world is changing so quickly. We all do different things well. #muckedup

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Kirsten Browning

@davemeddows Very good point. Both outlets have much to offer each other, in that sense. #muckedup

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@iJournalista You'd hope so. You can't helicopter in a reporter and expect them to have local knowledge. Collaboration works. #muckedup

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@mattdelman @iJournalista @davemeddows Unless there's a REAL commitment 2 telling WHOLE #Ferguson story,my gut says it's a gimmick.#muckedup

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A3b. I'd like to encourage it. Journalism is journalism. As long as it's accurate, impartial & responsible, it's good enough. #muckedup

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@NomadLynnette @muckrack Wouldn't be surprised that somebody has done it before, but we're not following a template. #muckedup

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Lynnette Hoffman

Collaboration between local & international reporters to extend reach sounds like a great idea. Is there a precedent? @muckrack #muckedup

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Kirsten Browning

@muckrack Could it be that #glocal (let's call it) coverage is the way to go for local stories with high impact like this? #muckedup

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@muckrack A3b) It's awesome and I wish more major global outlets did it. #muckedup

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#MuckedUp, A3B, Interesting way of doing it. But I would have to see the outcome to really judge.

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Q4b to all: Your turn. Has anything seemed overblown by outside media: journalist arrests or otherwise? #muckedup

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Ericka Lozano-Buhl

#muckedup Q4b: Mike Brown's background. This is a great response to @nytimes #NoAngel article: http://t.co/7CqMeMFwyR

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roeland roovers

@muckrack foreign media, in my view, had no reason to be in town. The story for report, USA still has huge racial/poverty problem #muckedup

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A4b (cont.): Journalists arrests deserved focus because if #media ppl were treated like crap, imagine what Everyday Joes deal w/. #muckedup

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A4b: The emphasis on protests as opposed 2 community endeavors, like residents cleaning up the streets afterward. #Ferguson #muckedup

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Linda Perry Barr

@lindaperrybarr

@muckedup A4B the importance of the National Action Network in mediating between family and police has been blown up in NYC #muckedup

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Kirsten Browning

@elozanobuhl I was wondering if someone would bring that up! But @jeligon's response was very humble and apologetic, I thought. #muckedup

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Q5b to all: Has #Ferguson coverage opened your eyes to any new themes or lessons you'll carry with you in your own work? #muckedup

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The speed false info spread on social media was breathtaking. Too much to try to debunk everything. #muckedup

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@muckrack IMHO many of the "Pro's" had no idea of Police tactics or equipment Did not bother to learn #muckedup

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#MuckedUp: A5B: After 36 years as a reporter, it reminds me to set aside the noise and go for the #journalism.

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Some people following the chat had questions for Messenger:

@tonymess @muckrack Tony, has police training (or lack of) been a long-running problem in the city? #muckedup

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@davemeddows @muckrack The problem is that St. Louis is broken into tiny municipalities, so training is difference across region. #muckedup

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@tonymess Is there a case - across the US really - for policing to be state controlled? To standardise training, oversight etc? #muckedup

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@davemeddows @muckrack There are 90 municipalities in St. Louis County. That is a big part of the problem in #Ferguson story. #muckedup

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@davemeddows Ironically, the city of St. Louis just ended 150 years of state control of police. #muckedup I don't think that is the answer.

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And Messenger had a question for the audience:

Is it breaking the rules if I ask #muckedup question? How are journalists in Australia responding to the Ferguson coverage? What resonates?

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@muckrack @tonymess the Australian media are portraying it as, "Seriously folks - take a look at how these guys look like army" #muckedup

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@muckrack @tonymess It received wide coverage at the height of the riots. Aussie corros on the ground. Not so much now. #muckedup

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@muckrack @tonymess Very little on the poor sod that got deaded. #muckedup

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@tonymess Much focus was on the police-media clashes. It's difficult to sell the broader context here. #muckedup

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@davemeddows I think if you go back and read our editorials on @stltoday almost all of our focus is on the broader context. #muckedup

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