The mayor's race: Campaign coverage and the discourse of race in America's three largest cities

Insights Into U.S. Racial Hierarchy: Racial Profiling, News Sources, and September 11

“…Whether such a pattern is present across a range of issues in news coverage is something important to explore in future research. For now, we contend that the possibility that journalists at mainstream news outlets might limit the number of minority voices in news coverage is plausible for a variety of reasons: (a) The U.S. mainstream press must appeal to a broad cross-section of readers and viewers, with the largest racial grouping obviously being White; (b) minority leaders might be perceived by journalists as speaking for all members of their racial or ethnic group, as suggested by some scholarship (Entman & Rojecki, 2000;Peer & Ettema, 1998); and (c) racial minorities are less likely to hold governmental positions of power, thereby limiting their expertise in the eyes of many journalists. If indeed minority displacement is a consistent phenomenon in news, the resulting representation of the racial order is likely to be one in which Whites remain unchallenged at the top while the comparative status of minorities (Gandy, 1998) is heavily dependent upon both journalists' judgments and cultural contexts.…”

“…Sources were placed in one of these categories only if at least one of the following criteria was met: (a) Their race or ethnicity was identified; (b) they spoke as representatives of organizations that have racially specific missions (e.g., American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee); or (c) they spoke as representatives of organizations that have de facto become identified with certain racial or ethnic populations (e.g., as the Urban League is with African Americans). It is important to note, as Peer and Ettema (1998) suggested, that the norm in U.S. political discourse and news coverage is to mention someone's race only when that identity is unexpected or surprising (e.g., a Chinese-American governor elected by a predominantly White population) or if a person's racial group is thought to be linked to the topic under discussion (e.g., racial minorities talking about affirmative action). As a result, it is much more likely for the race of a minority than a White person to be noted in news coverage, for most topics and particularly for racerelated ones.…”

“…Further, we believe that most people experience race and ethnicity similarly (see Goldberg, 1992); that is, the crucial factor is difference, not whether it is racial or ethnic in origin. 1991; Morley & Robins, 1989;Peer & Ettema, 1998;Pieterse, 1992;Ross, 1996;van Dijk, 1987). Similarly, many theorize that the press's selection and framing of language, news, opinion, and perceptions convey and abet a social reality that legitimates the practices and ideas of the dominant social class, in this case the White majority (see Entman & Rojecki, 2000;Gandy, 1998;Hall, 1982;Hall, Critcher, Jefferson, Clarke, & Roberts, 1978;Shah & Thornton, 1994).…”

How the Media Compound Urban Problems

“…News stories emphasized the racial horse race, assuming that the election was primarily about candidates seeking to consolidate their respective racial voting blocs. The media treated candidates’ claims that they were seeking votes among all racial groups as mere rhetoric (Peer & Ettema, 1998; Sylvie, 1995). Such reporting undermines efforts to build cross‐racial coalitions and address urban problems in class rather than racial terms.…”

Testing the Effects of Partisan Bias on Racial Framing of Presidential Candidates: Coverage of Barack Obama and Herman Cain by Fox and MSNBC in 2011

“…Entman and Rojecki (2000) emphasize that the mainstream media rarely report on areas of racial agreement; they prefer conflict. Many scholars analyze negative stereotypes, an emphasis on racial conflict, and depictions of the electorate as divided racial blocs when Black politicians and/or racial politics are at issue (Entman & Rojecki 2000;Peer & Ettema 1998). When race is involved in the political news, Black and White Americans are described as antagonists with few overlapping interests (Entman & Rojecki 2000).…”