Idea Lab

Cell Phone Video Makes the Difference in Oscar Grant case

by Dori J. Maynard
2007 Knight News Challenge Winner

In the end, it may be the cell phone that makes the difference in Oscar Grant's death. Without it, it's likely that 22-year old father would have been just another anonymous black man who ended up dead after a run in with law enforcement. Instead, as Grant lay face down on the platform of a Bay Area Rapid Transit station, a handful of passengers pulled out their cell phones and hit record, capturing the moment that a BART officer shot him in the back, killing him. The graphic footage made its way around the world, sparking outrage. Two weeks later,...

• June 5, 2009
• 11 comments

Spot.Us Has Success and Failure in the Same Week

by David Cohn
2008 Knight News Challenge Winner

Spot.Us has just had one of its most exciting weeks chalk full of successes and failures. The most interesting lesson is related to the Oscar Grant shooting in Oakland California. It is a tragic event that occurred where a Bart police officer shot and killed a young man. The entire event, caught on camera, has touched on deep seeded issues of class and racism in Oakland. Subsequent protests turned into civil unrest and the city of Oakland continues to deal with the emotional aftershocks. All this came just four days after we had successfully funded an investigation into the Oakland...

• January 28, 2009
• 3 comments