News media and the racialization of protest: an analysis of Black Lives Matter articles

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-01-2017-0010
• Pages: 720-735
• Published date: 20 November 2017
• Date: 20 November 2017
• Author: Joy Leopold,Myrtle P. Bell

News media and the racialization

of protest: an analysis of Black

Lives Matter articles

Joy Leopold

Department of Communication, University of Miami, Coral Gables,

Florida, USA, and

Myrtle P. Bell

Department of Management, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington,

Texas, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine coverage of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in

seven US-based newspapers to determine whether the protest paradigm, “a pattern of news coverage that

expresses disapproval toward protests and dissent,”and other marginalizing techniques are present,

and racialized.

Design/methodology/approach –Relevant articles published during a six-month period of 2014 near the

death of Michael Brown were retrieved from the selected outlets, including the New York Times, the

Los Angeles Times, and the St Louis Post-Dispatch. Textual and content analyses were performed.

Findings –The articles heavily followed the paradigm. An additional characteristic, blame attribution, was

also identified. Language of crime, lawlessness, violence, blame for nearby acts of violence, and inflammatory

quotes from bystanders and official sources were often present. There was little discussion of key issues

associated with the formation of BLM.

Research limitations/implications –Mainstream outlets rather than social media or alternative outlets

were examined. Future research should study coverage of BLM in other outlets.

Practical implications –Measures to avoid marginalizing protests and racialization of coverage, including

increased diversity in the newsroom and monitoring for racialized language are suggested.

Social implications –Racialization of news and coverage of BLM has widespread negative consequences,

such as association of Blacks with criminality that may affect their quality of life. The protest paradigm has

the ability to squelch participation in social movements, which have the possibility to bring about needed

social change.

Originality/value –This interdisciplinary paper highlights the important role of mainstream media and

news routines in affecting the BLM movement. It uses diversity research to make recommendations for media

practitioners to avoid racialization of news.

Keywords Media, African Americans, Black Lives Matter, Blame attribution, Protest paradigm

Paper type Research paper

The hashtag “#Black Lives Matter”and the social movement that followed developed as a

response to the homicide of 17-year old Trayvon Martin, who was pursued and ultimately

killed by a volunteer neighborhood watchman as he walked home in his neighborhood after

buying candy at a nearby store. Trayvon’s killer was acquitted while Trayvon’s character

was impugned and he was assigned blame for his own death. Rather than in response to

Trayvon’s death or to any one judicial failure, however, Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a call to

action and response to the virulent, seemingly intractable anti-black racism that permeates

US society (Cullors et al., 2017).

Social movements are collective challenges to the status quo –efforts to change the

existing power structure through sustained and collective actions with elites, adversaries,

and authorities (Beckwith, 2007; McCarthy and Zald, 1977). Historically, social movements

have depended, in part, on the mass media for their success, because it is through forms of

mass media that social movements can communicate their message beyond their immediate

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 36 No. 8, 2017

pp. 720-735

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-01-2017-0010

Received 17 January 2017

Revised 8 July 2017

20 August 2017

Accepted 7 September 2017

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

720

EDI

36,8

audience, gain supporters, and influence the political and social agenda (Amenta et al., 2017;

Oliver and Myers, 1999; Smith et al., 2001). Thus, organizers and members of a social

movement often develop strategies, including boycotts, rallies, or protests to attract the

attention of the news media.

While movement organizers might hope that media coverage of their protest will give

them the opportunity to share their messages on a larger scale, they cannot always count on

the resulting media coverage to represent protest events in ways that are consistent with the

intent and aims of the social movement (McLeod, 2007; Smith, et al., 2001; Weiner, 2010).

This seems especially likely when considering social movements with Black issues at the

center. In fact, in a society permeated by anti-black racism, even regular news about blacks

is likely to contain inaccurate and damaging representation (see van Dijk, 2015). Journalists

and editors, embedded in an entrenched discrimination system (Reskin, 2012), can act

as “agents of racialization,”defining social reality, rather than solely reflecting it

(Drew, 2011, p. 355). The role of the media as actors in and contributors to negative

perceptions about BLM bears investigation.

Scholarly research on the news coverage of other protesting groups has often been

conducted using what is known as the protest paradigm as a guide. The protest paradigm

provides an explanation for the often negative portrayals of protesting groups in the media,

discusses the effects of such coverage, and offers a glimpse into practices that can be

adopted by media organizations to reduce the negative effects of the paradigm on protests

(Boyle et al., 2004, 2012; McLeod, 1995, 2007; McLeod and Detenber, 1999). Many scholars

have added to the paradigm by using framing and other theories to supplement their

analyses. Our work will do the same while providing an in-depth exploration into online

newspaper coverage of the BLM movement.

The protest paradigm

The protest paradigm is viewed “as a pattern of news coverage that expresses disapproval

toward protests and dissent”(Lee, 2014, p. 2727). The five characteristics of the paradigm,

which are outlined below, have been used as a guide for researchers to draw conclusions

about and recognize negative journalistic patterns in protest coverage.

News frames

In general, frames serve to highlight certain aspects of an issue and make them more salient

in the minds of viewers. A frame will set the tone of an entire article, and frames, while

not inherently negative, can offer only an incomplete version of an event or issue

(Entman, 1994). Many times a frame will define the protest in a way that actually has

nothing to do with the motivation for the protest. Common frames found in protest coverage

include: riot frames, which overemphasize any lawlessness, danger, destruction, and

disorder occurring because of the protests; crime story frames, which describe protest

events in terms of specific criminal acts committed by those part of the protesting group;

and carnival frames, which minimize the social issue being protested in order to highlight

the aspects of protest that are more theatrical, for example, the waving of flags, beating of

drums, or wearing of coordinated outfits (Hertog and McLeod, 1995; Veneti et al., 2016).

The public nuisance frame tends to emphasize downsides that a city or community faces at

the hands of a protest that are not dangerous or criminal, like long lines of traffic or the

imposition of a curfew (Di Cicco, 2010).

Reliance on official sources and official definitions

While journalists are often trained to contact governmental agencies or those with advanced

training to lend credibility to stories, the use of quotes and statements from those in

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Matter articles