Reinforcing Stereotypes? Race and Local Television News Coverage of Congress^*

Abstract

Objective. Despite the increasingly diverse legislative records of African-American members of Congress, much of the population continues to believe that AfricanAmerican legislators are interested only in minority issues. If African-American House members are becoming more like their nonblack colleagues, then why do many citizens continue to hold these stereotypes about African-American legislators? Methods. We examine local television news coverage of House members and compare the coverage received by African-American and nonblack incumbents. Results. We find that local television newscasts devote more coverage to AfricanAmerican members of Congress but this coverage is also more race oriented, especially in less diverse markets. In fact, local television stations produce more raceoriented coverage of African-American legislators regardless of their legislative records on minority issues. Conclusions. Local television news stations may be partially responsible for the prevailing stereotype of African-American House members who are narrowly focused on race-oriented issues.It should come as no surprise that race continues to be one the most fundamental factors that shapes politics. Race plays a particularly important role in how citizens evaluate politicians. In particular, despite the fact that African-American members of Congress have produced increasingly diverse legislative records, much of the population continues to believe that AfricanAmerican legislators are interested only in minority issues. If African-American House members are becoming more like their nonblack colleagues, then why do many citizens continue to hold these stereotypes about AfricanAmerican legislators? In this article, we seek an answer to this question by examining how local television news stations report on these incumbent legislators.Local news coverage is a critical tool used by legislators to present themselves and their legislative record to constituents. Legislators use local coverage to communicate information about their activities in Congress and n Direct correspondence to Brian F. Schaffner,

When Race, Gender, and the Media Intersect: Campaign News Coverage of Minority Congresswomen

“…Contrary to the bulk of prior research, the results presented here, like those of several recent studies (e.g., Jalalzai 2006;Schaffner 2002;Schaffner and Gadson 2004), signal a positive change in the ability of Anglo female and minority male representatives to garner media coverage equal to (and in some cases exceeding) that of Anglo men; however, minority women clearly lag behind their peers in this regard, receiving significantly less coverage than other representatives.…”

“…Compared with earlier studies, which often found that female and minority candidates receive less frequent, more negative coverage (e.g., Bystrom 2006;Entman 1994Entman , 1997Gibbons 1993;Kahn 1996;Reeves 1997), the evidence presented here demonstrates that gender or race alone does not significantly hinder members' abilities to capture favorable coverage, confirming the results of several recent studies (e.g., Bystrom et al 2004;Grose 2006;Jalalzai 2006;Schaffner 2002;Schaffner and Gadson 2004). In fact, the results suggest both Anglo women and minority male representatives have made significant strides in their ability to garner equal campaign coverage.…”

“…Similarly, examinations of African-American 1 candidates and elected officials have found news coverage of these members often focuses disproportionately on race and related issues (Canon 1999;Chaudhary 1980;Croteau and Hoynes 1994;Niven 2002;Schaffner 2002;Terkildsen 1996;Terkildsen and Damore 1999;Zilber and Niven 2000). In contrast to the bulk of research in these fields, several scholars have recently suggested that the ability of female and minority candidates to attract positive media attention may have improved (e.g., Bystrom et al 2004;Jalalzai 2006;Schaffner 2002;Schaffner and Gadson 2004), suggesting that gender and race may not provide the serious barriers to equal media coverage that they once did.…”

Racial Mediation in the Coverage of Candidates' Political Viability: A Comparison of Approaches

“…Others criticise media studies of minorities as ahistorical, focused only on a single point in time or with limited comparative analysis (Hier 2009). Nonetheless, when scholars have expanded their analyses longitudinally and outside of the campaign period (Barber and Gandy 1990;McIlwain and Caliendo 2011;Schaffner and Gadson 2004;Wu and Lee 2005), the conclusions have not deviated significantly from those arrived at above.…”

“…This sends the message that whiteness is 'standard' and therefore not newsworthy, a tendency that might well have underpinned the framing of stories about the 'historic' meeting between Jean and Obama. Visible minority candidates are also more likely to be presented as having an interest in issues like poverty, civil rights and welfare (Schaffner and Gadson 2004;Zilber and Niven 2000) and to be quoted in stories about local affairs rather than about issues at an international, state, county or congressional level (Barber and Gandy 1990). Minority politicians are often positioned as outsiders with a more parochial, local or inward-looking orientation (Zilber and Niven 2000), and as less moral and less effective leaders (Barber and Gandy 1990) or as 'strivers' who are driven to succeed at all costs (Wu and Lee 2005).…”