Stereotypes of Minorities in the Media
The Impact of the News on Urban Areas
America’s cities are constantly in the news. For those that do not live in cities, urban areas, especially those that are constantly highlighted in the news, may represent negativity and danger. Are these urban areas actually as dangerous as they are presented in the media, or are the issues exaggerated to the point that the area has a negative stereotype? What result does this have on urban areas themselves?
Crime in the News
According to Peter Dreier’s 2005 Journal of Urban Affairs article entitled “How the Media Compound Urban Problems,” a study of news programming was conducted in 56 cities which found that violent crime accounted for two-thirds of all news. While most people are aware that crime is prevalent in the media, this statistic indicates that Americas are being presented with stories that are dangerous in nature—usually about urban areas—almost any time they turn on the television, read the newspaper, or look at news online. One of the reasons this may be the case is that news “sells” when there are sensational stories of this nature. News sources claim to show stories based on the facts, but they also compete with other sources for viewership. Knowing that violent crime stories attract viewers, most news sources report on that as much as they can to draw viewers to watch their particular programs.
Crimes are not shown equally when it comes to race or social demographics. According to R. Elias’ 1994 Humanist article entitled “Official Stories: Media Coverage of American Crime Policy,” most criminals shown are minorities, which is an exaggeration when compared to the number of crimes that minorities actually commit. Additionally, when portrayed in the media, minority suspects are typically shown in handcuffs and escorted by police officers and white suspects are usually shown with their attorneys, according to Dreier. Similarly, the use of crack in the 1980s was widespread in both urban areas and in suburbs, but the media usually reported on the issue only in urban areas. In this example, the media cultivates fear of minorities, especially blacks, and portrays them as being the majority of problem-causers. In reality, this treatment of minorities is exaggerated and further causes racial stereotypes and attitudes.
Poverty in the News
Negative stereotypes about minorities continue to be exaggerated in the news when it comes to poverty. According to Dreier, “Between 1992 and 1998, the majority of people described as poor in weekly newsmagazines and television network news were black, even though the majority of poor Americans are white. Blacks comprised 29% of the nation’s poor but accounted for 62% of the photographs accompanying news magazine stories about poverty.” Additionally, during the same time frame, when whites were photographed related to poverty, it was usually in the context of a public policy failing rather than anything they personally did.
When predominantly black neighborhoods are featured in the media, the low-income neighborhoods are usually the ones shown and the focus is on the problems as opposed to strengths. For example, J. Ettema and L. Peer’s 1996 Journal & Mass Communication Quarterly article entitled “Good News From a Bad Neighborhood: Toward and Alternative to the Discourse of Urban Pathology,” looked at news stories about two neighborhoods in Chicago—one a poor, black neighborhood, and the other a white, middle-class neighborhood. Two-thirds of the stories about the poor, black neighborhood were about social problems of crime and drugs, where as the white neighborhood had only one-quarter of the stories discussing negative issues such as crime and drugs.
The Bias of the Media
Since the media decides what is worthy of being news, what gets reported is usually biased from the start. Reporters are assigned to locations where news happens such as the courthouses or city hall. This leads to a large proportion of news stories being about crime or other illegal activities in urban areas. There are usually no reporters assigned to the daily occurrences of the poorer neighborhoods, according to Dreier, so when news comes from these areas it’s usually reported by someone that does not know anything about the area except for the story. On the other hand, more affluent neighborhoods usually have someone, or a team of people, assigned to get their concerns and stories into the media, both positive and negative, so these areas have much more influence about what gets published about their communities.
Based on the research that exists, it is fair to say that the media plays an important role regarding how urban areas are viewed. The media also contributes to this by inflating the amount of time they spend on crime in the broadcasts compared to the amount of crime that actually occurs. This contributes to the perception that nothing can be done—both individually and on a government level—to cure urban issues. Showing minorities in handcuffs and whites with their attorneys further increases the perception that urban areas are only for minorities who commit crimes.
By considering the results of this research, it is important to think about ways to ensure individuals in the public the facts about the safety of their area, or urban areas in general. By making sure people have the correct data is communicated and diffused, assumptions about urban areas, minorities and poverty may be able to be overcome negative stereotypes, especially when using social networks to communicate this information. It is only then that we can truly realize the potential for America’s cities.
America's Cities are Constantly in the News
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