Representations of Racial-Minority Mass Publics in the News

Stephanie Greco Larson opens this chapter with a quote that agrees with everything we have learned in this class:

"All news that includes minorities (or gender) conveys messages to readers and viewers that help them develop, reinforce or challenge assumptions about race"(82).

So media is highly responsible for the views we have of certain races and the ways we respond to them. Larson talks about the inclusion of whites within American newspapers, and the exclusion of minorities. "This exclusion reinforced their low status and "signified exlusion from the American society, because the function of news is to reflect social reality"(82). The exclusion of minorities caused problems, but the inclusion of them also causes problems. Typically, if a minority is mentioned on the news, it is for negative reasons. 'Hard news that treats racial minroeis as the main subject focuses on their threat to the social structure and their opposition to whites" (82). She goes on to mention that even when minorities are acting within the law, the media portrays them as threatning, such as the "prescence of Native Americans was seen as thwarting Western expanison. Chinese laborers in the late 1800's were percieved as threatning whites' employment oppurtunities, as have Mexican immigrants been more recently" (82). Another interesting quote she has is that "when news includes racial issues, coverage emphasizes confrontation and uses an us-versus-them frame, with the assumed us being white" (82).

Larson goes on to explain the power of stereotypes saying that they create a general image that is applied to every member of the group. She also says that stereotypes are so powerful, it can cause people within the group to conform to that expected image.

Examining strategies of new coverage, Larson mentions that news shows want to cater to the dominant group, which is often assumed to be white. So as such, the stations, news, advertisments and all, they talk to the whites. She also says that when talking to a source who are seen as "credible, important and accessible, most of them are white" (85).

Obviously, if we continously hear news stories of murder, theft, and other crimes as committed by black men, we will start to associate crime with African American men. "Coverage of crime that prominently displays black men makes them convenient and convincing scapegoats for other people's crimes" (91). She even cites an example where a white woman killed her children and blamed it on a "fictitious black man" (93).

So what do these minority groups think of the images and messages that get said that target the whole group, each night on the evening news? "Black viewers, for example, have become very skeptical of crime news; studies show that seeing black suspects on TV actually leads them to 'lower their support for punitive criminal justice policies and reduce their willingness to accept negative characterizations of their group" (92). So why don't more groups fight back? Why don't minority groups as a whole join together and overcome this? Because they are just as susceptible of believing stereotypes they hear about other racial group and are less likely to join with them. Larson also mentions that if the group begins to believe what is said about them, they might begin to blame themselves for being discriminated against.

Since they are not being depicted correctly or are even being left out of mainstream news, many minorities have made their own publications to "construct their own communication infastructures, rituals and media in an attempt to build community and to influence mainstream social discourse" (93).

Its so sad that this is the condition our world is in. That we have to have an us-versus-them mentality. That groups of people are discriminated against because of one bad move by a member of their racial group. Its so easy to think that we have overcome all our racist attitudes, but then you read chapters like this and see just how far we have to go.

I know this was mentioned the other day, but I think the Office episode "Diversity Day" shows clearly the effect media has on our minds about race. The show each week portrays this ignorance and capitalizes on stereotypes present in America, I think mainly to make those of us who have these attitudes feel uncomfortable. In this clip, Micheal, in an effort to celebrate the ethnicities in the office, tapes a piece of paper to each person's head listing an ethnicity or race. Then the co-workers are instructed to treat each other according to the race listed on their head. And as usual, the activity doesn't work and everyone is offended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrjxlDfAFzI

But if they weren't offended, would it be Micheal Scott?