TY - JOUR
T1 - News, race, and the status quo
T2 - The case of emmett louis till
AU - Spratt, Margaret
AU - Bullock, Cathy Ferrand
AU - Baldasty, Gerald
AU - Clark, Fiona
AU - Halavais, Alex
AU - McCluskey, Michael
AU - Schrenk, Susan
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2007/4
Y1 - 2007/4
N2 - Using inductive and deductive framing analysis, the authors examine how 4 newspapers covered a key event sparking the civil rights movement - the 1955 murder of Emmett Till - in an effort to gauge how the press covers events that are part of larger social ferment. The Daily Sentinel-Star (Grenada, Mississippi), Greenwood Commonwealth (Mississippi), Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Defender varied in intensity of coverage, use of sources, and attention to crime news and, as a result, framed the story differently. The African American Defender defended Emmett Till's reputation, focused on larger issues of civil rights, and provided a clear argument for social reform. The 3 mainstream dailies defined the case primarily as one in which the victim invited his own death; they provided little or no support for reform. In this case, an advocate press seemed better able to give voice to those who challenged an entrenched status quo. By examining initial coverage of the Till case, we can better understand the news reporting traditions and devices that shaped (and continue to shape) narratives about the struggle for racial equality and justice.
AB - Using inductive and deductive framing analysis, the authors examine how 4 newspapers covered a key event sparking the civil rights movement - the 1955 murder of Emmett Till - in an effort to gauge how the press covers events that are part of larger social ferment. The Daily Sentinel-Star (Grenada, Mississippi), Greenwood Commonwealth (Mississippi), Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Defender varied in intensity of coverage, use of sources, and attention to crime news and, as a result, framed the story differently. The African American Defender defended Emmett Till's reputation, focused on larger issues of civil rights, and provided a clear argument for social reform. The 3 mainstream dailies defined the case primarily as one in which the victim invited his own death; they provided little or no support for reform. In this case, an advocate press seemed better able to give voice to those who challenged an entrenched status quo. By examining initial coverage of the Till case, we can better understand the news reporting traditions and devices that shaped (and continue to shape) narratives about the struggle for racial equality and justice.
KW - Civil rights
KW - Emmett Till
KW - Lynching
KW - Mississippi
KW - News frames
KW - Social reform
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U2 - 10.1080/10646170701309924
DO - 10.1080/10646170701309924
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34247556431
SN - 1064-6175
VL - 18
SP - 169
EP - 192
JO - Howard Journal of Communications
JF - Howard Journal of Communications
IS - 2
ER -