When a local TV news segment gets widely shared on social media, it usually means one of two things: either a journalist swore on air or a cute kid interrupted a live broadcast.
But in the case of Minneapolis station KSTP, it seems, there's a third way to get noticed: produce a scoop so outrageously thin on reporting you can hear the howls of laughter from thousands of miles away.
Here's the substance of KSTP reporter Jay Kolls' Thursday night scoop: the mayor of Minneapolis, Betsy Hodges, was photographed with a young black man on a get-out-the-vote drive, Navell Gordon. The two are pointing at each other. That's it.
But in Kolls' ominous report, the pointing became throwing gang signs, and the police become outraged that the mayor was somehow referencing a particular local gang, and thereby somehow endangering law enforcement.
No matter that the chief of police was standing right next to the mayor at the time of the pointing, and had no problem with it (a fact that goes unmentioned in Kolls' report; the police chief is cropped out of the photo). No matter that Gordon isn't a gang member. No matter that the mayor has been photographed countless times before with the same awkward pointing gesture (also unmentioned).
Watch the full segment below in all its embarrassment-to-journalism glory:
Kolls found one retired officer who expressed a befuddled kind of outrage. He also got a quote from the president of the police federation. The mayor ordered a pilot program where police wore cameras starting Thursday; the police federation is not happy about that. This also goes unmentioned.
And as many viewers pointed out, there's a not-so-subtle, not-so-funny racist dog whistle aspect to the whole report. Gordon's face is fuzzed out -- to protect the innocent, KSTP has said, though it has the upshot of making a young black man look scarily anonymous. They have no problem bringing up his two prior convictions, either, without regard to the fact that he's turned his life around. (Also worth mentioning at this point: Jay Kolls himself has a DUI from 2007.)
It's also not as if Gordon didn't want to be photographed: check out the video of his day out with the mayor, chief of police and other volunteers below.
All in all, you can probably see why Kolls and KSTP have been buried in online complaints -- and why the hashtag #pointergate became a top trending topic on Twitter. Because if pointing is a gang sign, we're all in gangs now!
@KSTP BREAKING NEWS!!!! Bill Clinton is throwin up gang sign with known felon Nelson Mandela #pointergate pic.twitter.com/B9f4ic9nFy— Police Clips (@PoliceClips) November 7, 2014
Gangster known as "dawg" by fellow members #pointergate @kstp pic.twitter.com/pAcJ0kXcXi— Logan Mironoff-Chin (@chinable) November 7, 2014
Snoop Dogg flashes gang signs with a convicted felon. #pointergate pic.twitter.com/wQ1BBuCrAe— Ken Paulman (@kenpaulman) November 7, 2014
I posted this #pointergate photo just yesterday with a KNOWN CRIMINAL. Where is the outrage??? pic.twitter.com/mLyoyAEfVY— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) November 7, 2014
"KSTP really messed up this story" "Could we help?" "How so?" "We could give 'em some pointers" DOHOHOHO #pointergate pic.twitter.com/pVhROMzXvr— Nick Hannula (@NickHannula) November 7, 2014
Shout out to the OG Donald Sutherland. #pointergate #CanadianGangsta pic.twitter.com/DsoRQayW1S— N'Gai Croal (@ncroal) November 7, 2014
"Flashing a known gang sign." #pointergate pic.twitter.com/5QAKVoUuK7— Saladin Ahmed (@saladinahmed) November 7, 2014
Only a good guy with a finger can stop a bad guy with a finger. #IfFingersWereGuns #pointergate— David Brauer (@dbrauer) November 7, 2014
You get a gang. And you get a gang! And YOU get a gang! EVERYONE GETS A GANG!! #pointergate pic.twitter.com/LEgTCp8N0y— Than Tibbetts (@thanland) November 7, 2014
Am I in a gang with @MayorHodges? Oh, I'm not? Because I'm white? Come on @KSTP #pointergate pic.twitter.com/Cauw9qrAOt— Ellen C. Anderson (@ellencanderson) November 7, 2014
hardened bloodthirty thugged out gang members. #pointergate pic.twitter.com/FLsvbSQuA6— Tracy Clayton (@brokeymcpoverty) November 7, 2014
Thug Life #pointergate pic.twitter.com/1l0mXhjsHL— Tony Fly (@tfly) November 8, 2014
Goodness @JayKollsKSTP why weren't you there to save us all in 1982? #pointergate pic.twitter.com/JvjK7KkaiI— Walter Katz (@walterwkatz) November 8, 2014
This is where #pointergate really got started in Minneapolis... pic.twitter.com/ERMYytkraG— Frank Conniff (@FrankConniff) November 7, 2014
Just look at these two thugs flashing gang signs at each other. This was the start of all our problems. #pointergate pic.twitter.com/EBcl6QPX34— Ruben Bolling (@RubenBolling) November 7, 2014
Other good points were raised, connections drawn and suggestions made:
The best part of #pointergate is that @KSTP blurred out "vote" on Gordon's sweatshirt. They knew it was rotten. pic.twitter.com/z8FiWWuFM4— Michael Roden (@wbbbmr) November 7, 2014
#pointergate One thing for cops to play politics with the Mayor. Quite another to play it as legitimate news. Makes a mockery of journalism.— Ron Rosenbaum (@RonSRosenbaum) November 7, 2014
#pointergate aired on KSTP,owned by right-winger Stanley Hubbard. Here's KSTP's meteorologist denying climate change https://t.co/0L9ezRKerU— Jordan Haedtler (@JordanHaedtler) November 8, 2014
Stanley Hubbard, owner of @KSTP, the station whose article started #pointergate, is a huge Koch donor: http://t.co/LDSkxBsdHg— American Bridge (@American_Bridge) November 7, 2014
Please go now to http://t.co/pdw3RvJEam and file complaints against @KSTP & @JayKollsKSTP for #pointergate story @ http://t.co/pdw3RvJEam— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) November 7, 2014
Despite nationwide mockery, neither KSTP nor Kolls appear to be backing down yet. In fact, the station doubled down with a report Friday that quotes the same elderly retired policeman source. (Scroll down to the comments section on that page to see how well that went down.)
Of course, that could be because Kolls is part of the pointing problem himself:
They see me rolling, they hatin'... gangsta reporters riding dirteeeeeeh! @JayKollsKSTP #pointergate pic.twitter.com/3xXKbAnYj4— Goldie Taylor (@goldietaylor) November 7, 2014
I found the gang headquarters, you guys #pointergate pic.twitter.com/U9pKiwp3WN— Alex Schieferdecker (@theschief) November 7, 2014