Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Vesperi, Maria

Area of Concentration

Publication Studies

Abstract

I explore the relationship between the media and Blackness in the United States by examining how Black activism and advocacy have historically been portrayed in the news. I examine literature on Black Americans and the press in this country in the form of statistical data, primary sources and research studies on the topics. I also investigate this relationship with respect to Black activism in Sarasota and Manatee counties by conducting interviews with surrounding experts, including leaders of the Black Lives Matter! (BLM) chapter in Sarasota and Manatee counties, and Black Sarasota-based reporters. Through analysis, I argue that the relationship between racism and the media is cyclical; racial bias influences how narratives are constructed while these narratives then validate this bias. I conclude that lack of newsroom diversity, the politicization of what is printed, nuances in reporting and White sensationalization of Black trauma are byproducts of this problematic cycle.

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