Welcome to my freemium newsletter by me, King Williams. A documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a newsletter covering the hidden connections of Atlanta to everything else.
For additional backstory on Cop City:
For additional clarity, I would suggest reading my previous newsletter issues:
'Cop City' explainer - Pt.1 - APD has wanted a new facility for years. But until the summer of 2020, the efforts were mostly mute. So what happened? And how did we get here? And most important, why are people protesting?
Buckhead Cityhood's failings — Why an effort for a small subset of members of Buckhead, the wealthiest part of Atlanta, to secede from the city ultimately failed.
Atlanta is losing the narrative — An explainer on the rise of a popular anti-BLM Instagram account that is now the 2nd most sought Atlanta news source on the platform and the problems associated with this account.
A shift from 'the left' for Democrats on policing — A look at the role police, media, and an uptick in violence played in the election of Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer who became the mayor of New York, the largest hub of Democrats in America. And what does this say about the state of the party going forward?
Is Andre Dickens Atlanta's Last Black Mayor? — An examination of the election of Andre Dickens, the 7th consecutive Black Mayor of Atlanta. Dickens entered Atlanta, where the racial and regime politics of the past were in decline.
I would also recommend my previous podcast episodes:
Emergency Episode - Keshia Lance Bottoms will not seek re-election emergency podcast (5/7/2021)
Jason Dozier, candidate for Atlanta City Council - District 4 (9/7/2021)
Emergency Episode - Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong (9/8/2021)
The Atlanta City Councilman Matt Westmoreland Interview (10/6/2021)
1. Cop City voted in favor again
Monday, after nearly 15 hours of public comment, the new Atlanta Police and Fire Safety Training Center, dubbed ‘Cop City,’ was again voted in favor by Atlanta City Council in a decisive 11-4 vote.
TL/DR: Why is it called Cop City?
It’s called ‘Cop City’ because the site will be an outdoor tactical training facility specializing in urban warfare using mock city training posts alongside militarized training exercises. Since the project's announcement, Atlanta has been engulfed in protests, conflicts, political battles, and public relations nightmares.
TL/DR: Why are people mad?
Read more in my previous newsletter, 'Cop City' explainer - Pt.1. People are mad for a host of reasons, but here are the major issues:
The terms of the deal were initially 350 acres, now 85. The cost of a 50-year lease at $10/year for 85 acres + a new 2023* commitment of a 30-year payment to APD/APF at a rate of $1.2 million/year in city funds to maintain the site.
The rushed + backdoor dealings to make it happen.
The rising and undisclosed costs of the project.
The facility is seen as a peace offering to APD for not working the second half of 2020, aka the Blue Flu, and less on-the-ground policing throughout the year.
The location is 85 acres within a larger 350-acre South River Forest.
The site potentially contributes to the environmental pollution already in the area.
The area was supposed to be a part of a long-gestating public park.
The site was seen as a way to placate business leaders and Buckhead residents from seceding from Atlanta.
The murder and coverup of an activist on the land in January.
Several protestors and activists were charged with domestic terrorism.
For more on the 2021 issues: A Guide to Understanding the Proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a.k.a. “Cop City” in Butter ATL.
How the vote went down
The entire Atlanta City Hall was solely for the ‘Cop City’ vote on Monday. The facility had over 100 officers prepared for altercations (nothing happened). The day also saw what seemed to be an arbitrary rule creation surrounding the capping of public comments at 350 people at 2-4 min each. As well as purposely capping the number of entrants into the building. The result was a marathon of anger, tiredness, and outrage.
The vote was held with all city council members present, with those supporting the project voting in favor 11 to 4. Mirroring the 2021 ‘Cop City’ vote, council members voting ‘no’ were District 12’s Antonio Lewis, District 5’s Liliana Bahktiari, District 4’s Jason Dozier, and At-large Post 3 Keshia Waites.
All four are rookie council members. Two of which Dozier and Lewis both ousted the two biggest ‘Cop City’ supporters, Joyce Shepherd, the person who pushed the project through, and Cleta Winslow, in runoffs in 2021. While District 1’s Jason Winston, considered the only swing vote, also voted in favor of the project.
2. The big picture—Mayor Andre Dickens
TL/DR: Andre Dickens is coming into his villain era for some while emerging as a hero for others. Both camps are right.
Dickens surprised many with his 2021 vote on the project, but voters looked past that to oust former mayor Kasim Reed and then-City Council President Felicia Moore.
Since his inauguration in 2022, Mayor Dickens has taken the heat for ‘Cop City’ while never wavering from posturings of ‘supporting’ police, assuaging Buckhead, business power brokers, and state lawmakers. He made the right decision. Dickens staying forth with his pro-police, pro-‘Cop City’ ethos kept Buckhead in Atlanta and kept Governor Kemp (mostly) off his back.
Since then, Mayor Dickens has been at the receiving end of a non-stop barrage of criticism. Mayor Dickens has been dissed in a rap song, memes, featured as a recurring Twitter topic, social media videos, and continued protests. Dickens has proven he has thick skin, as his taking those barbs is a sign that he will be the leader of unpopular decisions and protect the image of Atlanta and the city council to stakeholders. Dickens will have the backing of the city’s three most important pillars, business leaders, Buckhead, and the police force, and he can’t lose as long as he placates them. He can now focus again on being the mayor of Atlanta.
What’s next for Mayor Dickens
Dickens made the correct political choice in voting for ‘Cop City,’ which got him the mayor’s desk. Dickens has been the neighborhood mayor for most people in Atlanta, but he’s running against a larger set of forces that will likely make him alienated from a small but growing swath of Atlanta.
He made the correct political choice in how he’s been meeting with stakeholders on keeping ‘Cop City’ moving forward. He’s making the correct political choices even if it can be argued these could be the wrong ideological ones. The greater question is whether that opposition grows over the next few years and to what extent it looks like.
Dickens can maneuver himself beyond this moment in his tenure as mayor. He’s got a lot of things on his plate to continue working on, such as affordable housing, keeping the growth of Atlanta moving, keeping crime low, and reassuring the national reputation of Atlanta, especially Black Atlanta. Like all the previous black mayors of Atlanta, Dickens has to be both the mayor of Black America and the city proper.
What this means for Mayor Dickens:
The opposition and support have grown in both areas. Team Dickens has to be careful of the continual brand damage ‘Cop City’ is doing—they are playing it well, but this could fall apart quickly under half scrutiny.
The mayor can count on avoiding another Blue-Flu and having the police meet his public safety goals. Goals that will make him nearly untouchable come re-election time, as well as maintain his goodwill with a large swath of Atlanta.
The Dickens administration can now be rewarded for all efforts to assuage Buckhead from seceding from the union. ‘Cop City’ was the crown jewel.
Dickens’s administration has given A-level customer service to Buckhead, including 1) holding several community meetings, 2) a brand-new police precinct, 3) an increase in visible officers in the area, 4) working directly with the Buckhead business community, and 5) never wavering in his support of ‘Cop City.’
Dickens has done everything right and could still be wrong, forcing him to re-calibrate his entire tenure. ‘Cop City’ hasn’t gone away because of Monday’s vote.
Dickens’s near-weekly pitch of ‘Cop City’ support could potentially be looked at in the history books as another ‘the Atlanta way of doing things’…
…Combined with a broader emerging narrative that Atlanta is not the Black Mecca. The perceived efforts by the city to alleviate poverty, racial inequality, lack of affordable housing, the lack of meaningful Black business growth, and the relative stasis of poor Black Atlantans are continually denting the brand. Dickens has to start addressing these issues publicly and continually if he wants his legacy to be not just the mayor of ‘Cop City.’
Dickens was supposed to be the affordable housing and neighborhood mayor; he’s actively working on those goals, but Cop City has dwarfed the wider public perception and media attention. His team would be wise to start running in third gear in highlighting his current efforts and successes.
Dickens could also start addressing or finding funding for urbanist issues that have since fallen to the wayside. Returning to the complete streets project that Richard Bowers bullied him on last year. Or tapping into the Biden administration for MARTA, affordable housing, or funds for his big-ticket items could go a long way to push his narrative into the positive territory.
3. The big picture—APD/APF
TL/DR: The police won the election. Blue Lives Matter the most.
The only clear-cut winner is APD and APF. APD walked off the job in 2020, got two stipends, got rid of the previous mayor, a set of new state laws, and ‘Cop City,’ including the city to pay for the facility’s maintenance for 30 years. They won.
What this means for APD:
APD will get its facility. This also means APD remains the most important lobby agency within metro Atlanta. APD managed to circumvent criticisms of ‘the blue flu,’ even any questions to change the terrible suburban design, and any inquiries about how the facility will stop active street-level to major crimes.
APD also wins because public opinion is slowly moving in their favor—local news showing crime porn ad nauseam and anchored by social media accounts and private groups like Nextdoor doing the same helps the efforts to support ‘Cop City.’ Despite this bad polling, it does reflect a reality, ‘Cop City’ is working on getting its pro-support slowly, and it’s working.
Overall, crime is already flat in the first quarter of 2023. But it was also down in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Unfortunately, the narrative of Atlanta is the exact opposite of this. Showing stories of violent crime, even violence outside of the city limits of Atlanta, reinforces the need for policing.
APD can also state that crime being down year over year, over year, is the exact reason why they need ‘Cop City’—It could further lead to a drop in crime.
The broken windows era of policing is back. This time Joe Biden is the president.
Police reform is off the table.
Hitting the mayor’s goal of 2,000 officers is easier said than done. APD currently has around 1,500 members. It will take serious effort to get there, with or without ‘Cop City.’ The extra city commitment for police housing is a start, but it will likely need many additional incentives to make it happen.
What problems doesn’t Cop City solve?
Solving current crimes, closing old cases, and preventing new crimes. Street-level officers can and do deter would-be street-level crimes. It doesn’t stop them from already happening, especially in a place with lax gun laws. ‘Cop City’ is being used as a recruitment tool and a potential economic one for APD; it’s not aimed at solving or preventing crimes. Current academy training is held at Atlanta Metropolitan College on Metropolitian Avenue in SW Atlanta. De-escalation training, a continued selling point of the project, already happens and happens at AMC. Everything else outside of most of the non-combat and non-physical work is held there.
While the biggest deterrent in solving crime—reducing poverty and poverty-related issues is mostly left outside funding support. The other most successful strategy—gun control, is also being reduced by state and federal judges.
Constitutional Carry (aka guns everywhere) makes ‘Cop City’ ineffective
The state of Georgia has joined several GOP-led legislatures which have enacted anti-gun control laws. Georgia has become the 25th state to embrace the idea of permitless carry. At the same time, the biggest is the push towards ‘constitutional carry,’ a movement dating back decades but picked up in a key 2008 gun control case in DC that the Republican majority Supreme Court gave power.
From my January 5th newsletter: Kemp wants guns everywhere and the Georgia GOP's culture wars of 2022 strategy
Cities from the 1970s to the 1990s across the country all passed similar anti-gun laws in combination with massive gun control efforts that would greatly reduce crime by the 1990s. But since that 2008 D.C. vs Heller decision over 1,400 Second Amendment challenges (as of November 2021) have been decided regarding the role of gun control initiatives in the US.
The constitutional carry movement is effectively ending most, if not all, gun laws nationwide, piece by piece. And maybe all of America soon. Tennessee was the most recent to do so, and now Georgia is joining the foray. Under Governor Kemp, Georgia has expanded the number of public places guns are allowed to be while circumventing gun control measures to ensure homicides don’t rise.
Gun homicides are a (black) issue. Kemp’s base isn’t black.
The data and Kemp’s leadership in the area ensure that the people most likely victims and perpetrators of gun violence, young black men are also now a reaffirming of a long-held stereotype. And also residing in primarily black and democrat-leaning areas, two demos outside the Georgia GOP’s primary support base.
No matter how many more officers are patrolling areas, it can’t stop more shootings from happening as new state laws make it hard to a) restrict guns in public places, b) search individuals who may be holding a weapon, and c) leave the police in an only reactionary capacity after a shot has been fired.
4. The big picture— The City Council
TL/DR: Mixed results.
For a large swath of Atlanta, Monday’s meeting was a solidification of the overall opinion of the city. 2020 was a distant memory, and policing is the linchpin of where they’re moving forward. For many, the safety and security of a large police force trump any policy changes. The city council can go back to moving forward on other issues.
Depending on where the council person’s district is located, it shouldn’t be surprising for them not to ruffle any feathers when it comes to a vote. Like the mayor, the city council can’t move without the financial backing of the business community or police support. The deal was bad from the beginning, and it didn’t matter. The facility's location was never going to be in the district of their constituency.
Councilmembers who got the brunt of criticism
All of the ‘yes’ votes on the city council could be considered the losers of the vote on Monday. While have received some public criticism, Councilman Michael Julian Bond, the son of famous civil rights legend Julian Bond, came out with the worst response based on Monday night’s hearing. From heckling to turning their backs on him, Bond took the brunt of negativity.
Bond, for years, has been challenged by would-be upstarts in his district upset with his leadership. Many are concerned over a lack of perceived growth in his district, lingering problems of poverty, and his overall stewardship. Post-Joy Sheppard, Sheppard Bond has become one of the more vocal supporters of the ‘Cop City’ on the council. As a result of his ‘yes’ vote, Bond already has a new challenger for 2025, this time from NPU-M (Castleberry Hill) Assistant Secretary Jereme Sharpe, who announced on Twitter shortly after Tuesday morning's vote.
At the same time, councilman Matt Westmoreland has drawn the ire of some, including activist leader Kamau Franklin, who used some photos of Westmoreland’s time as a public school teacher out of context online to mischaracterize him. Westmoreland outside of Bond has taken the brunt of public and online criticism over the ‘Cop City’ vote, leaving the other ten council members relatively unscathed.
Councilmembers who got the brunt of praise
Antonio Lewis, who ousted Joyce Sheperd, seemed to be the most engaged with the crowd while on the panel. At the same time, rookie Councilman Liliana Bakhtiari did the unusual step of constantly engaging with protesters inside of City Hall and outside of City Hall. Bakhtiari was the first council person to publicly state her opposition to the project, putting her at odds with several city council members.
Council President Doug Shipman received positive support for his treatment of protestors, those for/against the deal, residents, and the media with the same level of respect and decorum. Shipman could’ve avoided almost all the comments, forced protestors out, and held an immediate vote, but he didn’t. Fourteen hours and many comments later, the result was the same, but many, including detractors of police and ‘Cop City,’ found a new respect for him.
What this means for the city council:
Councilman Shipman + the four ‘no’ votes are potentially the pulses of the next Atlanta and are now seen as the winners of Monday’s vote.
The city council is getting legislation pushed and making the right moves everywhere else, but it will be overshadowed by many due to this vote. It may not matter if the 11 ‘yes’ votes maintain a strong support base.
The City Council has been relatively cohesive throughout this tenure, except for ‘Cop City.’ The move also signals to the vast majority of residents that Atlanta will be a place that is as close to the center as possible. Safe, unlike other liberal cities caught in public perception issues, such as Austin, New York, or Portland.
Now that ‘Cop City’ is behind them, where is the next big push? Affordable housing is growing under their tenure. This is a great start, but there are already detractors that it’s 1) not enough and 2) too late.
4. The big picture—The activists, community members, and those who are pro-police but anti-’Cop City’
TL/DR: This is either the birth of the new activist movement or a blip on the radar.
The Atlanta protest ecosystem is re-emerging. The question is, does it have enough to sustain itself and grow? For the last two years, the Cop City protest represents an inflection point and a new era in Atlanta politics.
A ‘new left’
As Saporta Report’s John Ruch put it on Twitter, we may be seen an emergence of a ‘new left’ in Atlanta anchored by a small but resurgent press of outlets like Scalawag, Mainline, and Atlanta Community Press Collective. Other smaller groups include Defend the Forest, Atlanta Solidarity Fund, Community Movement Builders, and Working Families Party. Potential for a newer version of a cooperative of political post-liberal, leftist adjacent activism seems to be emerging. At the same time, other prominent individual players such as Micah Herskind, Kamau Franklin, Hannah Riley, DeShaun Harrison, Tea Troutman, Mariah Parker, and James Woodall all emerging.
This includes a new effort to make ‘Cop City’ a special ballot initiative. Local activists are organizing around acquiring 70,000 signatures for a forced referendum.
For the non-activists who wanted other issues addressed
A large contingent of people who were either directly against ‘Cop City’ or wanted other tangential issues related to the project addressed who was otherwise dismissed.
For those concerned about the air quality, the water quality (South Watershed Alliance), and the tree canopy, most of those issues will also fall into DeKalb County despite APD constructing and managing the site. While McNair High School, located on the other end of Key Road, will have to address any current or future issues with DeKalb County, despite its walking distance from the school.
The residents around ‘Cop City’
One of the primary criticisms about the site is that very few people living nearby it have a say. That’s because of the unique location of the site, a territory and dispute between the city of Atlanta and DeKalb County since 1995. Most communities that stand in the direct path of the cop city site are DeKalb County neighborhoods, not the city of Atlanta neighborhoods.
It’s also noted that while many of the biggest supporters have come from the business community, Buckhead, Midtown, and other parts of the city, they are not majority black. As is the case with all the communities surrounding ‘Cop City.’ It’s another case where a major development with potential environmental or secondary effects is not located within Atlanta's richer and wider communities.
Waste and pollution in South DeKalb are still ignored, while ‘Cop City’ is fast-tracked
Those residents in South DeKalb have complained about a lack of parks, transit, sidewalks, and economic growth. The only time their communities are engaged is for land acquisition. As noted in the failed land swap between Black Hall Studios, a movie soundstage Company that was sold in 2020. And now with cop city. Residence for years, a bit complaining about the number of ways, treatment facilities, legal and illegal dumps, and the lack of economic development in the area.
Additionally, a massive expansion of I-285 is cutting these communities’ chances for economic development without a vote and much less public engagement. ‘Cop City’ is just the latest example of how much value black communities have.
Who do the complaints go to now?
For those in neighboring communities just outside the city limits, Ellenwood, Cedar Grove, Panthersville, and Gresham Park, who’ve been promised both a public park and addressing the sanitation issues nearby, their issues with the project are now at the behest of DeKalb County. APD has not stated any plans to address those concerns. While those in the city limits, such as Constitution and East Atlanta, how far their community issues get addressed is a matter of whether or not APD, APF, and the city will go to placate them.
This includes noise, the smoke from the burn building, sediment erosion from the site, waste management on the rest of the park (which APD/APF does not address), and concerns over the potential increase in flooding in the area. This portion of South DeKalb/East Atlanta is one of the most polluted in the metro area, leaving questions on whether or not building anything, much less a large police facility, is the best use.
What this means for activists, community members, and those who are pro-police but anti-’Cop City’:
‘Cop City’ will continue to be seen as outside agitators; the narrative is already too far out there. It will be quickly seen as out-of-touch white liberals versus conservative, salt-of-the-earth black locals who want the police.
For Atlanta, ‘Cop City’ will be a divisive topic. One that most Atlantans still don’t know much about. For those supporting ‘Cop City,’ this is a plus. This uphill battle will get much harder for those who don't. They lost.
Public outcry means nothing, again. It didn’t mean it for The Gulch, it didn’t mean it for ‘Cop City,’ and it won’t mean it for the nearly $2 billion spent on the new Fulton County jail. Pull the bandaid off already; stakeholders—the business community, Buckhead, the AJC, and blind supporters of law enforcement have won out.
5. The big picture—DeKalb County
TL/DR: DeKalb losses again. But is there anyone at home to even care?
Once again, DeKalb County’s Leadership falls flat on the biggest stage. Considering outgoing CEO Mike Thurman does not have to deal with any political repercussions. Considering this year is an election year for new county commissioners, DeKalb County seems DOA in terms of actual interest, which makes it ripe for serious political disruption.
If the old regime politics of Black Atlanta and Democrat Atlanta were under scrutiny, DeKalb is an even worse case study. The result of ‘Cop City’ could birth a new wave of leadership. Or it could not. DeKalb’s leadership is nearing retirement age with no signs of changing up or providing long-term vision. It also is the least likely to pressure any form of police change or accountability on large-scale development projects—unless it’s MARTA expansion.
Internal and external problems are growing
This comes as the ‘Cop City’ project still languishes despite being given the go-ahead by DeKalb County, the courts, and now the city council again. The site and overall project have had some stakeholders disagree, and members of the community engagement committee left.
While DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry has been the lone vocal critic of the project, including a series of Tweets, one of which publicly outs current DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond for his role in working with then Atlanta Mayor Keshia Lance Bottoms and APD in giving the go-ahead to ‘Cop City.’
What this means for DeKalb:
Once again, DeKalb County losses. Especially South DeKalb. The park still has no funding, permits, plans, environmental studies, and stakeholders at the table.
The area is still in a legal fight over land ownership with developer Ryan Millsap. Millsap and the county are in a legal fight over a land swap that went bad next to ‘Cop City’
Not only does ‘Cop City’ not address any concerns about the environment, historic preservation, the status of the long-gestating park, concerns about the South River’s pollution, and nothing to say about who will incur the costs.
The environmental issues facing South DeKalb and the adjoining east Atlanta communities nearby it’s about to get much worse. A literal and metaphorical erosion as the area's nearby dumps, waste facilities, and recycling will now have erosion + smoke from the burn building on the ‘Cop City’ site.
Neither APD or APF nor the committee for ‘Cop City’ have done anything to address these issues. This remains a DeKalb County problem despite the efforts of the city of Atlanta, APD, and APF. Nor has APD, the city, nor the fundraisers led efforts to build the park in the South River Forest.
Michael Thurmond, the county’s CEO, is retiring after his term but has been pushing through the project. Thurmond has not publicly stated any plans to work with the city of Atlanta, Mayor Dickens, APD, or AFRD to address the concerns of the site, funding for the park, or addressing any environmental concerns.
This deal for ‘Cop City’ alongside the still-in-court land swap with Ryan Millsap is just another bad deal for the majority Black section of South DeKalb.
South DeKalb’s leadership is still stuck in 1993, it seems. The halcyon days of the county are over, and its leadership seems in a revolving door of rubber stamps and controversies. A better question on whether or not ‘Cop City’ is the start of a new era is yet to be seen. It wasn’t until months after protests began that county leaders became concerned. The county leaders sans Comissioner Ted Terry have been mum throughout.
6. The big picture—Buckhead and the business community
TL/DR: Buckhead wins, but what do they do with their newfound power?
Buckhead Cityhood seems as if it has been a distant memory despite having a vote earlier this year. Whether or not they are pro or anti-‘cop city’, those who live in the neighborhood have the mayor's and city council's undivided attention. Buckhead has more power now than it arguably had in its 71-year history as a member of Atlanta proper. What it does going forward is still TBD.
What this means for Buckhead:
Buckhead stays in the union. Atlanta avoids a huge clusterfuck.
The state of Georgia goes back to business as usual…Or not. Despite Buckhead Cityhood leader Bill White stating that he is leaving Atlanta, some people are attempting to revive the idea again.
Hopefully, city leaders, APD, AFRD, and fundraisers will keep that same energy for addressing affordable housing, homelessness, public schools, and inequality.
What this means for the business community:
TL/DR: Back to business as usual.
The business community knows they have the upper hand with the mayor and city council. If all they (the business community) want is an increased police presence, it’s smooth sailing for both parties. If it’s anything else, especially if the city finally presses on property taxes, it could be a problem.
Having both ‘Cop City’ and an increased police presence is a sign that Atlanta will remain stable. This is a sign for boosters that the recent loss of big-ticket events such as the 2024 DNC is more of a blip than a continued decline.
Atlanta is growing, and the need for more people to feel safe is the biggest concern. An active police force, especially on foot patrol and in the most prominent areas, indicates that the growth can continue undeterred.
Atlanta Committee for Progress, the 20-year-old public-private partnership between the business community and the city that aided in the fundraising efforts of ‘Cop City,’ where do they go from here?
7. The big picture—The AJC, Atlanta media versus national media
TL/DR: The brand of trust is eroding in the AJC. It’s their fault, but it can be fixed.
The AJC is Atlanta’s biggest paper. Its lack of transparency over CEO Alex Taylor’s efforts on the Atlanta Police Foundation, including leading the fundraising on ‘Cop City,’ is something they will have to reckon with going forward. Or not, as the company's subscriber base has been relatively unscathed, and advertisers continue.
What this means for the AJC:
Bill Torpy is the cultural compass and personification of the demo the AJC covets. His nearly monthly op-Eds serve as lightning rod fodder against those anti- ‘Cop City.’ Torpy could emerge as the Atlanta version of Skip Bayless.
The lack of immediate and continual mention of its CEO's fundraising role was a huge erosion point. Activists and their adjacent media outlets picked up on this fact, while the rest of mainstream Atlanta news mostly glossed over it.
The AJC’s continual running of violent crime in print, online, and via their social media sites was almost a Rupert Murdoch level of manufacturing consent.
Some brands, such as WABE and GPB30, have become the most trustworthy compared to the AJC. They are also attached to national brands NPR and PBS. Representing an actual brand challenge + the infrastructure to do so.
New Editor-In-Chief Leroy Chapman has the benefit of the doubt as most of the questionable press on the matter is behind him. Chapman, last month just took the job. Hopefully, this is not another case of a black leader taking over a failing, controversial, or challenged business. Whether or not the AJC takes a turn from running constant dissenting voices of the protests in the op-Eds to engaging in mild copaganda and soft coverage of police going forward is still TBD.
7B. Local media on ‘Cop City’ versus national media
TL/DR: Local media doesn’t cover police critically or development deals. Only crime.
For the last two years, local news has been no different in covering the topic. At the same time, the biggest news platforms in the city are talk radio, tv news, and local news sites. A scroll through any social media feed of official local news outlets, including headline browsing or image search related to the topic of ‘Cop City’ from a distance, only seems to feed into the notion of chaos, anarchy, and unruliness.
To the benefit of APD, APF, and Mayor Dickens since most local coverage has been relatively muted. The best coverage of the project and its criticisms of the project have come nationally, which Atlantans have largely eschewed. The lack of meaningful coverage regarding several key criticisms of the deal has not and will not be covered.
The other local press covering ‘Cop City’
With some exceptions, the Sapora Report, Decaturish, Capital B, Canopy Atlanta, and Rough Draft/Reporter News have been the exceptions in covering the topic with some veracity and inquiry. In comparison, most local news coverage has been, at best, a rehash of a PR statement. Or, in the case of some of the AJC stories, mild copaganda.
While on the collegiate front, work from The Signal at Georgia State, Emory University, and Georgia Tech has been crucial in spreading the concerns of the project to young Atlanta residents. This includes a recent Gen Z upstart, The Xylom, founded by GaTech student Alex Ip, who was recently in a public spat with the university over his unfavorable coverage of the topic.
‘Cop City’ is now a national story
The Daily Show covered ‘Cop City’ with comedian Roy Woods Jr on their segment. That segment aired earlier this year and was followed by another podcast, including myself. The Daily Show has been the most high-profile national show covering the topic and has continued to represent a widening gulf in how the issue is represented in media. The differences in how (if at all) local media covers the topic of ‘Cop City’ has now become a key driver in supporting and veracity in opposition to the project.
While MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes has been making regular Twitter statements and producing segments for his nightly cable show. A show on the most-watched liberal tv news network in the US.
Part of the disconnect in the story of ‘Cop City’ has been how much first-hand access to police has led to the perception of the story. For outlets more closely in conversation with police, the coverage has been neutral to non-critical at best. This form of access journalism has also rendered a bigger pool of resources for covering this story. It’s a long-held practice in the industry showing signs of needing repair.
‘Cop City’ is now a national story
The Daily Show wasn’t alone; the topic is now a weekly staple on MSNBC. ‘Cop City’ has also been a part of continual coverage in national publications, including the big three of print media: the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. While other national publications such as CNN, Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Time, Associated Press, Axios, The Hill, NPR, and even Teen Vogue have featured stories on ‘Cop City.’
In addition, the story has led to a growth in interest from national left-leaning outlets such as The Intercept, The Nation, The New Republic, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Democracy Now, and The Huffington Post.
‘Cop City’ is also an international story
As well as international outlets like The Guardian, The Independent, and the BBC in the UK. As well as Al-Jazeera in the US, Europe, and Middle East.
‘Cop City’ on YouTube
While on YouTube, the topic is rapidly spreading into commentary and secondary news broadcasts. Older personalities of varying ideological stances, such as Rashad Richey via the Young Turks network and Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire, have covered the topic. Several mini-documentaries and video editorials on the topic exist.
‘Cop City’ on social media
‘Cop City’ has broken into the national trending topics on Twitter for several days this year, garnering millions of views and impressions, driving the conversation. While on TikTok, the topic has garnered millions of views. Instagram has been the biggest driver of awareness, as the topic has been seen in daily posts from official anti-‘Cop City’ accounts, micro-influencers, and local news accounts.
Nextdoor, Instagram, and Facebook have Atlanta's general trust and pulse; almost none has been critical of ‘Cop City.’ At best, they’ve reflected the ideological audiences who frequent those accounts. Add in the continual full-court press of local (violent ) crime coverage that reinforces to the everyday Atlantan the need for ‘Cop City.’ It’s part of why the project’s supporters believe they have the upper hand.
What this means for local media:
Local television + their online outlets were outmatched in producing in-depth reporting and continual non-biased questioning compared to local upstarts and national publications. Whether it was Atlanta Press Collective or the New York Times, the local media scene didn’t know how and what to cover about ‘Cop City.’
The local media narrative could be seen as pro-‘Cop City’ via its lack of continual nor critical coverage of the project. Add in the insistence on covering only violent protests. Or, using police-centered reporting, it looked as if there were a dozen versions of a more infamous
Instagram account.John Ruch of the Saporta Report is the mainstream overall local reporting winner due to his day-1 coverage of the topic, the granular details, and his ability to lend mainstream local news credibility when other publications either stayed away or gave the topic very little depth.
Atlanta Press Collective is the upstart winner, but they must decide if they will be the activist millennial brand or pivot to just the facts news. They could be very successful in either. Add in the return of Mainline; the alt-media ecosystem in Atlanta seems to be developing after the demise of Creative Loafing.
2024 seems even more chaotic but likely with less quality coverage than before.
What this means for national media:
Fly-by journalism will continue. Especially due to the discrepancy in how local media portrays a story.
The best in-depth coverage of Atlanta and the state of Georgia will continue with national outlets and/or those with non-traditional ties.
8. Black people have always criticized APD and Cop City
TL/DR: Black people, everyday Black people in Atlanta, including those who support the police, have criticized cop city.
The criticism of APD has been ignored for years
For decades various smaller, mostly poor, and mostly Black residents had criticism of APD that was mostly ignored or dismissed. APD has been a national model of community policing and public-private partnerships. APD, for the most part, was not critiqued nor criticized in public often, especially not in established local media.
The Murder of Kathryn Johnson — 2006
Then came June 2020, the first public backlash against APD in over a decade. Not since the 2006 shooting of Kathryn Johnson and the eventual abolishment of the Red Dog Unit has there not been a public backlash against APD.
Every day black people, including traditional organizations like the NAACP and others, have been against the project from the beginning. But have local news or social media sites covered them? No. Well, only Capital B has. And the near positioning of ‘Cop City’ as an infallible need in Atlanta without any credible inquiry is unserious. You can still be pro-police, pro-Andre, pro-Atlanta, and be anti-‘Cop City’. A bad deal is bad, but the juxtaposition of Black people in this has been terrible.
This has also led to a purposeful rebrand by the city to use select Black residents in the area to be seen in support of ‘Cop City.’ Including recent videos of residents who believe a new facility will stop crime. It’s mild copaganda. Mild.
9. The big picture—The Atlanta Way of Doing Things
TL/DR: The Atlanta Way worked like it was supposed, and that’s the problem.
The Atlanta way of doing things in years prior could’ve worked to solve issues like Cop City, in 2023, is showing its limits. Atlanta once again lost the narrative and the culture war. The Atlanta Way has been able to keep a forward face and manage controversies from the privacy of being behind closed doors. Doors can now be live-streamed and tracked via Twitter in real time. The old way to control a narrative in this model hasn’t worked and is showing its age at the wrong time.
What this means for The Atlanta Way of Doing Things:
The idea of small, elite groups and think tanks are showing its limits.
The Atlanta Way isn’t working because no young people are at the table.
Atlanta PR and comms aren’t built to handle social media.
Those outside The Atlanta Way aren’t satisfied with more private meetings and community engagement events.
The money and (soft) political power still hasn’t moved.
This is far from over. We’ll all be watching what happens next.
-KJW
What do you think this means for the health of democracy in Atlanta?
A few things that don't make sense here.
You write in section 3: "APD also wins because public opinion is slowly moving in their favor". Can you cite a source demonstrating this? You only linked to an article about a poll's bunk methodology. There have been multiple polls, including more than one this year. Which demonstrate that 'public opinion' is moving towards APD?
Your analysis completely ignores the factor of direct actions against police and construction companies, which have prevented the facility from being built for over a year. Do you believe they're irrelevant? If so, why, especially when another Week of Action is scheduled for the end of the month? This is also tied to your non-mention of the flatly anti-police, radical left elements, who are critical of not just cop city but liberals within the movement.
In section 7B, you name seven (or more, depending on how you count) local media outlets that covered cop city critically, and only one, AJC, that mostly didn't. (You also got ACPC's name wrong despite mentioning it twice.) How can this be summarized as "Local media doesn’t cover police critically"?