Some more thoughts on Monterey Park

 

I mentioned on Sunday (Jan 22) my familiarity with both Monterey Park and Alhambra, where the shootings took place over the weekend. Since that writing, another victim has died, which means 11 were killed, 9 were injured. I’m hearing from friends that their parents are safe, but they knew of either victims or witnesses to the tragedy. Many of my friends were at the street faire only a few blocks away from the crime scene. I’m not ethnically Chinese, but as someone who identifies with the Asian American Pacific Islander demographic, I’ve had the privilege to know many in the community. So this story hits close to home.

This blog entry is in two parts. One reviews how local radio covered the calamity. Another offers some personal thoughts. Please bear with me.

In the last edition of the blog, I wrote how local radio provided quick and needed updates with a breaking story which seemingly became more heart-rendering by the minute. Over the last two days I’ve focused on three stations and their coverage of the story.

I had KNX on my radio early Sunday morning, hearing Pete Demitriou offering a live update. Later that morning, I switched back and forth between KNX, KFI, and KPCC, as well as the rest of Sunday and on the Monday. Each station had their distinct approach to the story.

 

Alex Silverman

”The team at KNX News knows exactly what to do when something of this magnitude happens in our communities. This one was especially tough because official information was hard to come by in the early hours, but that's where reporting experience comes in,” said Alex Silverman, Audacy Vice President and KNX General Manager. “Our team was able to work sources and be among the first in local media to report accurate, trustworthy information in a fog of social media rumor.” 

 

Mike Simpson, Vicky Moore, Karen Adams

    Pete Demitriou, Jon Baird, Margaret Carrero, Nataly Tavidian

Weekday news anchors Mike Simpson, Vicky Moore, and Karen Adams came in studio on Sunday, joined by field reports Demitriou, Jon Baird, Margaret Carrero, and Nataly Tavidian. “We had reporters in position to gather news at every location critical to the story – Monterey Park, Alhambra, Torrance – so when there was a development, we not only had it first, but had it first-hand. I’m incredibly proud of the entire team - not only our reporters and anchors but also our producers, editors, writers, and digital team, who all stepped up to make sure our coverage was accurate and complete,” said Silverman.

 

Steve Gregory, Robin Bertolucci, Blake Troli

Another primary source for information was talk station KFI and their “24-hour newsroom.” "Steve Gregory jumped right in, the moment we got the word of the horrific shooting, and did an exceptional job covering the story.  As usual, due to his contacts and access he had information that no one else had,” said Robin Bertolucci, KFI program director. “The entire news team, from editors to anchors and producers jumped in to cover this local tragedy on air, online and on social media.” Bertolucci added that on Monday, “Blake Troli was live on scene in Monterey Park and Steve Gregory continues to dig into the backstory and fallout.” 

Chris Little, Gary Hoffman, Shannon Farren

KFI News Director Chris Little said “we covered the story at the top, bottom and quarters. We also provided coverage in our Now Trending segments for our cluster.” Little said they interrupted their talk programming several to provide live coverage from the news conferences. KFI later had their talk show hosts Sunday afternoon and throughout Monday talk about the story, including Gary Hoffman and Shannon Farren discussing details and possible motives for the crime with Gregory.

 

Larry Mantle, Fiona Ng, Josie Huang

KPCC also provided live coverage of the press conferences on Sunday. They didn’t have reporters out in the field on Sunday, breaking news is not what they’re about. What the NPR affiliate did on Monday was to provide perspective, background, and detail. Larry Mantle, host of the station’s “Air Talk” program, interviewed Congresswoman Judy Chu, who represents Monterey Park. Mantle then discussed the coverage in Chinese language media with Fiona Ng, former “Air Talk” senior producer, now a managing producer at the station’s LAist studios. Josie Huang, the station’s Asian American communities correspondent, reported on what she learned when she talked to people near the crime scene. She told of her visit on Sunday morning to a Chinese language Presbyterian Church, learning the Pastor and much of his congregation was unaware of the tragedy occurring the night before. Huang also talked about the significance of the dance studios to the older Chinese and other Asian populations, noting Vietnamese and other nationalities differed in language, but shared the pleasure of ballroom dancing.

 

Please allow me a few comments. I’ve alluded to my day job teaching Psychology at a local university. I’ve also studied and written about Asian American and Pacific Islander families academically, and done a little bit of writing in AAPI media.

Other outlets have described the importance of the Lunar New Year to AAPI communities, perhaps "the" most important holiday. One concern for some is the Year of the Rabbit is already cursed. Death or serious illness is considered both tragic and bad luck for the next 12 months. An illustration offered is if a close relative had a heart attack during a wedding reception, that'll always be remembered by the newlyweds and their guests. The LA Times offered this quote about one of the shooter’s motives: “(He) was looking at this as an important holiday and decided, ‘I’m going to ruin it for you.’” It may be viewed as superstition, but for many it’s very real. Plus, as pandemic restrictions lessened, it was important for many to reclaim time – lost over the past three years – to celebrate the new year with family and friends in public venues.

I offer a perhaps overly broad generalization. I once worked as an administrator of a counseling center specializing with AAPI clientele. I’ve learned many Asian cultures have more than just strong family values, family is also a primary source of emotional support. Family is always there for you. 

However, that makes some families adhere to a tradition of not sharing burdens with anyone outside of the family, let alone burdening one’s own family with personal issues. Simply put, many are not experienced at articulating personal emotion. This becomes problematic with psychosocial trauma. Few families are equipped to discuss such horrific tragedy. My prayer is for the mental health specialists and other care workers who will do their best to assist those who witnessed the shooting, knew victims, or otherwise experience fear and anxiety, will be able to provide successful interventions. It’s not going to be easy.

 

Coming from a faith tradition, I know that perfect love casts out fear. There are many in Monterey Park and elsewhere who need a lot of love right now.

P.S. If you'd like to help out, there's a GoFundMe page to help the victims. Thanks.

ayodaradio@gmail.com