Rodney King: Videotaped Beating

When amateur photographer George Holliday presented to KTLA his graphic videotape of the beating of motorist Rodney King by members of the Los Angeles Police Department, station executives faced three choices. They could have been timid and decided not to air the tape; this might have preserved sources and long-time relationships established with the LAPD. They could have capitalized on the sensational nature of the tape and turned it into just another piece of “tabloid television.” However, General Manager Steve Bell, News Director Warren Cereghino and their able staff, including producer Gerald J. Rubin, director William Stafford and reporters Hal Fishman, Stan Chambers, Warren Wilson, Steve Lentz and Ron Olsen, took the high ground. From the initial presentation of the tape to follow-up reports that continue to the present, KTLA has handled the Rodney King incident and related matters with the highest standards of journalistic research and ethics. For this, a Peabody Award goes to KTLA, for Rodney King: Videotaped Beating.