Final answer:
Local news publications portrayed the servicemen as avenging wrongs and the zoot-suit wearing Mexican Americans as gang members and unpatriotic, contributing to the racial tension that fueled the Zoot Suit Riots.
Step-by-step explanation:
The local news publications portrayed the servicemen who attacked the "zoot-suitors" in a biased manner that contributed to a sensational portrayal of the events. Most reports depicted the Mexican American youths as gang members and aggressors, while largely omitting the fact that the servicemen initiated the violence with premeditated attacks.
The servicemen were characterized as avenging previous incidents, and the Mexican American youth, wearing zoot suits that were seen as unpatriotic due to the large amounts of fabric they used, were described as un-American. This type of reporting exacerbated racial tensions during an era of already high discrimination and contributed to the social unrest that led to the Zoot Suit Riots.