Racial Minorities in the Media
Racial Minorities in the Media
In this current time within the United States, we are all part of a society, which is essentially a melting pot of a variety of ethnicities, religious devotions, social class, and of many other different backgrounds, and as a nation we embrace this as a vital part of our nation’s identity. Even though there is an abundant presence of race/ethnicity within the media outlets of today, these portrayals within the media tend to be over exaggerated, stereotypical, or just false in general, and these inaccurate representations tend to cause a negative affect upon the perceptions of the many ethnic and racial groups within our nation. For this essay I will go into detail about the specifics of the representations, what factors have an influence on these portrayals, their effects upon all viewers exposed to them, and the theoretical implications that these representations and its content are associated with. One of the most common areas where one can gain exposure to these depictions is within national and local television news channels, as they tend to use many stereotypic characteristics to describe the perpetrators/victims of any news story, and this hold true especially for crime stories. The theories of framing and second-level agenda-setting hold relevance within this study of local television news coverage of race and ethnicity, as it links the framing of news content with the effects of that content, that is, how people of color are covered in local television news may influence how they are perceived in communities across America, and this framing of the stories can have a strong influence upon how Caucasians and other non-Blacks ethnic groups perceptions and beliefs about the principles of equality, fair play, or affirmative action (Poindexter, Smith & Heider 2003). Second-level agenda setting is distinguished from the first-level because the focus is on the transfer of attribute salience from the media
In this current time within the United States, we are all part of a society, which is essentially a melting pot of a variety of ethnicities, religious devotions, social class, and of many other different backgrounds, and as a nation we embrace this as a vital part of our nation’s identity. Even though there is an abundant presence of race/ethnicity within the media outlets of today, these portrayals within the media tend to be over exaggerated, stereotypical, or just false in general, and these inaccurate representations tend to cause a negative affect upon the perceptions of the many ethnic and racial groups within our nation. For this essay I will go into detail about the specifics of the representations, what factors have an influence on these portrayals, their effects upon all viewers exposed to them, and the theoretical implications that these representations and its content are associated with. One of the most common areas where one can gain exposure to these depictions is within national and local television news channels, as they tend to use many stereotypic characteristics to describe the perpetrators/victims of any news story, and this hold true especially for crime stories. The theories of framing and second-level agenda-setting hold relevance within this study of local television news coverage of race and ethnicity, as it links the framing of news content with the effects of that content, that is, how people of color are covered in local television news may influence how they are perceived in communities across America, and this framing of the stories can have a strong influence upon how Caucasians and other non-Blacks ethnic groups perceptions and beliefs about the principles of equality, fair play, or affirmative action (Poindexter, Smith & Heider 2003). Second-level agenda setting is distinguished from the first-level because the focus is on the transfer of attribute salience from the media
References: Mastro, D., Behm-Morawitz, E., Kopacz, M. (2008). Exposure to television portrayals of Latinos: the implications of aversive racism and social identity theory. Human Communication Research – vol. 34, 1-37 Mastro, D Dixon, L. & Linz, D. (2000). Race and the misrepresentation of victimization on local television news. Communication Research, 27, 547-573 Mastro, D Hoddie, M., & Diqing, L. (2009). From vice to virtue: changing portrayals of minorities in China 's official media. Asian Ethnicity, vol. 10, 51-69. Taylor, C