Latino reporter cancels Lori Lightfoot interview following refusal to lift moratorium based on skin color
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt announced Wednesday that he had canceled his scheduled interview with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot over her office's refusal to lift a moratorium on interviews with non-Black or Brown reporters.
Pratt, a Latino reporter who was granted an interview with the mayor after the policy became publicly known, took to social media to announce the cancellation.
According to Pratt, he asked the mayor's office to lift the condition on other reporters, but it declined. "Politicians don't get to choose who covers them," he tweeted.
Fox News reported Tuesday that it was unclear exactly when Lightfoot's office began the practice. It was also unclear if it applied only to local reporters, considering Lightfoot appeared Monday on MSNBC for an interview with host Stephanie Ruhle .
Many journalists expressed outrage at the practice and voiced support for Pratt, with some calling for other reporters to take the same action.
Lightfoot tried to address concerns Wednesday over the practice.
"I ran to break up the status quo that was failing so many. That isn't just in City Hall. It's a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latino, AAPI or Native American," she tweeted. "Diversity and inclusion is imperative across all institutions including media."
"In order to progress we must change. This is exactly why I'm being intentional about prioritizing media requests from POC reporters on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as mayor of this great city," she said.
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Governor Wallace has relocated to the shores of Lake Michigan in 2021.
How racist do you have to be be to be removed as Mayor of Chicago? Lightfoot's trying to find out.
I just saw Faux 'news' as your source. Much ado about nothing . . . .
Fox was the first to cover it. But here are some other sources for you to ignore:
Here's another source, the larger question is, do you agree with Lightfoot's views?
Of course Faux 'news' was the first to take it out of context.
Provide as many sources as you want, it's moot!
it's sheer genius. she doesn't have to deal with the alt-media now.
There have been over 1200 shootings in chicago so far this year, and the year isn’t quite half over. Orkin just named chicago the most rat infested city in the US. She needs to drop this racial bullshit and get her ass in gear and work for the citizens of chicago. What an embarrassment.
Chicago didn't even make the top 30 in the deadliest cities in America, not sure why the right wing always refers to it. Oh yea, it was a talking point a few years back...carry on.
Not sure why you would use outdated data to try and make a point. Here's are numbers from 2020
CHICAGO (WLS) -- New data obtained by the ABC7 I-Team reveals a disturbing crime trend across the nation and especially in Chicago. The latest violent crime stats for the first six months of 2020 compiled by the FBI and analyzed by the I-Team show while overall violent crime is down slightly, the number of murders is up significantly.
Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and an overall reduction in violent crime, the harsh reality is that there were more murders this year than last. New FBI data shows that murders here in Chicago spiked by more than 37% compared with the same period of 2019, and far outpaces the 14.8% average increase nationwide.
Murders skyrocketing in the middle of a lockdown. That's Chicago....
Because some dumb shit racists are desperate to further any other narrative besides "we're fucking white racists who are steeped in the prejudices of our grandpappys but don't want to admit it it for fear we won't be taken seriously...".
What if a white mayor acted like that?
What an outrageous question. . . .
Really? How come?
What's outrageous about it?
Don't expect an answer.
Yeah, don't expect an answer because I have a life outside of here on NT and don't hang around to answer your dumbass questions.
I did not ask the question, Charger, Greg Jones, and GregTx did. Please do try to keep up.
No, you're the one who said 'don't expect an answer'.
Please do try to keep up.
They would have zero political future.
some might say it is outrageous behavior
Only y'all say it is outrageous behavior. [Deleted]
Only y'all say it is outrageous behavior.
Nobody expects you to find racism outrageous.
I don't find Ms. Lightfoot's behavior outrageous, BECAUSE IT'S NOT RACIST!
Why are you posting a useless link? It's not racist.
Mayor Whitefoot tried to address concerns Wednesday over the practice.
"I ran to break up the threat to the status quo that was failing so many whites. That isn't just in City Hall. It's a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly black in a city where more than half of the city identifies as white, white-Latino, WAAPI or White-Native American," he tweeted. "A lack of diversity and exclusion are imperative across all institutions including media."
"In order to progress we mustn't change. This is exactly why I'm being intentional about prioritizing media requests from white reporters on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of my inauguration as mayor of this great city," he said.
Is this somehow not racist? Why doesn’t this inspire nationwide outrage?
It's one of the more shocking stories I've seen. It's so ham handily racist that it's almost impossible to believe a politician in a major city would even consider it. I doubt the mayor of podunnkville population 20 would be that stupid, even if they are as racist as Lightfoot.
Sounds like you all just want to be continually outraged over . . . . nothing
I’m sorry but you won’t be allowed to comment here. You’re the wrong color. Since you think it’s nothing, I’m sure you won’t be outraged.
You are more right than wrong Tessy.
Lori Lightfoot said she only would grant interviews to black and brown reporters as they pertained to one specific topic - her two year anniversary as mayor. She did not say she was permanently barring white reporters from interviews with her. She made the statement as a protest over what she calls inadequate representation of non whites among the city's news media. As far as I can see some local nedia outlets are criticizing her for it, but some are also saying they understand why she is doing it.
It is a temporary thing, and as such it is not a "big deal".
Conservatives from everywhere have tried to make Lori Lighfoot a whipping boy. As far as I can see she's got a pretty thick skin.
Early in her career she worked as a federal prosecutor in northern Illinois and later served as the head of a civilian police review board in Chicago. She knows what she's doing.
You forgot all of the riots and looting that have come under her watch.
Thanks John! Of course this was all taken out of context. What a surprise!!!!!!!!!!!
It's obvious to anyone with good sense to know that Ms. Lightfoot is experienced and intelligent and strong and can deal with all the dicks and the haters and their lies that she encounters.
Proof?
She knows what she's doing.
So why do the black-on-black killings continue? With many innocent victims caught in the crossfire.
Progressive racism is just as bad as any other kind
What context are you referring to?
High murder rates in gang areas long predate Lori Lightfoot and occur in many places, not just Chicago.
Yes John, obviously! Like with any big city.
See how killings usually work Greg - whites kill whites - blacks kill blacks - the only difference is when white cops kill unarmed black folks for no reason.
Actually it's because they usually are armed and/or violently resisting arrest
No, they are not.
Demanding racial representation over merit is racism. She is a racist.
She knows what she's doing.
She is using identity politics to continue her reign over a rapidly decaying city where blacks murder one another on a daily basis.
Demanding EQUAL RACIAL REPRESENTATION - is racist?
No.
Anything based on race rather than merit is racist.
Spread the word.
to have interviews with anyone except Blacks or Browns IS racist
It's literally textbook.
I assume we'll be seeing progressives soon demanding "segregation today, segregation forever" and their lackeys claiming that's not racist either.
They are exercising their 2nd amendment rights.
Are there white people in Chicago? Do you think the topic of her first two years might affect them, too?
How many days of racist discrimination are acceptable to you?
Unlike just about everybody else here, I actually live in Chicago.
NOPE.
As you said, high murder rates in gang areas predate Lori Lightfoot, but I have yet to see anybody point out what she has done as mayor to improve things or diminish said murder rates. Defundung police certainly does not count! All I hear is talk and talk is cheap sometimes.
When one cannot come up with a reasonable rebuttal to prove a point, simply parrot another's comment.