Kenosha Misrepresented in Media Coverage, Residents Say

Mike Bjorn’s Fine Clothing is the go-to spot in Kenosha to get men’s clothing for proms and weddings since 1982. The inside of the downtown locale is a filled with suits, ties, shirts, socks and all sorts of accessories needed to look one’s best on those special occasions.

The shop was spared of any damage from the riots that took place in August 2021. The turmoil became the center of attention nationally and internationally in the media. It is not the attention the town of 100,000 is used to getting.

“I think the chaos was a perfect storm,” said Brett Bjorn, the owner of Mike Bjorn and is a lifetime resident of Kenosha. “Between Covid and political anger, it just came to two or three days of protests and riots.”

Mike, like many Kenosha residents, says coverage of Kenosha has been unfair.

“It was just upsetting to see CNN and Fox News make the riots seem to last for weeks when it was only a couple of days,” said Bjorn. “There was a person here and there trying to disturb the peace but nothing like the media portrayed.”

He believes that the events of the last two years have not changed the city. “Kenosha is very much a desirable location to live,” said Bjorn. “Kenosha is beautiful especially because it is right next to Lake Michigan.”

Kenosha became the center of attention after  the shooting of Jacob Blake back in August of 2020. The residents of city believe that they have been badly misrepresented by the media on national and international level.

“I was talking to people not from Kenosha and they think that Kenosha burned down,” said Jacob Dorst, a resident of Kenosha. “We didn’t burn down.”

Dorst believes that Kenosha is stronger than ever despite the chaos that was portrayed on cable news. He also stated that the chaos had more to do with the political division of the nation. Despite the events, he is looking forward to what’s next in Kenosha.

“I see a booming economy in Kenosha in the next few years,” said Dorst. “Kenosha is going back to normal if it hasn’t already.”

The representation of Kenosha has not just affected its residents but also residents of nearby cities and towns like Racine. Alex and Jimmy Joling-Riley both grew up in Kenosha and currently live in Racine.

Both Joling-Riley’s feel that their hometown has been severely misrepresented in the media.

“They also never focused on the neighborhoods were targeted,” said Alex Joling-Riley, “like high poverty but they made it seem like the rioters were targeting white businesses and white communities and the media did not show that and cause a lot of outrage because of it.”