After analyzing a week's publication of the Florida Times Union I was astonished with what I found. I couldn't believe that even in today's culture African Americans are still underrepresented in our news. Not only are they underrepresented, but there is usually a negative connotation associated with the pictures that are present. I also found that not only were the pictures of women scarce, but pictures of African American women were almost nonexistent.
Cultivation theory, schema theory, and agenda-setting theory can be identified in the underrepresentation of all races in our daily news. In cultivation theory, the audience starts to believe that what is happening in the media is the reality. Since the news is suppose to be a valid source, people will believe what they hear from it. The news gives the idea that Caucasians are the most newsworthy race and African Americans commit more crimes than any other race. This depiction is far from reality. Schema theory is identified in the negative connotations of African Americans in the news. The more people read this, the more they will associate African Americans with being criminals. The last theory that is present is the agenda-setting theory. By placing stories of Caucasians on the front page and having their pictures larger than others, people will assume that those stories are the most important to think about.
It's sad to see how some people in our society still only believe that a Caucasian male is the only important figure to place in the news. To the public, the news is their most trusted source of information. If the newspapers are only telling stories of the heroism of a Caucasian and the criminal African Americans, then people will start to believe those stereotypes. Charles Ungerleider of Media Awareness Network stated, "News reporting is essentially an exercise in story telling which means that a crucial part of news coverage consists of casting people as heroes, villains, and victims. By either ignoring minorities or casting them in the role of villain, journalists unconsciously tell us stories about who is important, who is trustworthy, and who is a trouble maker. As these stories are repeated in the news, they become the 'accepted understanding among those to whom alternative interpretations are not evident'"(Media Awareness Network). Ungerleider's statement is true, especially in children who haven't experienced other cultures besides their own in our society. They will grow up learning the stereotypes that are presented in the news, and since it came from a "reliable" news source, they will perceive the information as true.
Content Analysis of the "A" Section of the Florida Times Union
White Men | White Women | African-American Men | African-American Women | |
5/30/10 | Total:10 Veteran 1 Politicians 2 Chairman 1 Pianist 1 Famous Figures 2 Artist 1 Scholar 1 Student 1 | Total: 3 Famous Figure 1 Students 2 | Total: 3 Student 1 Artist 1 Veteran 1 | Total: 1 Famous Figure 1 |
5/29/10 | Total: 8 Piano Restorer 1 Sports 2 Politicians 3 Soldiers 2 | Total:2 Job Assistant 1 Ballerina 1 | Total: 5 Foster Father 1 Famous Figures 2 President 1 Construction Worker1 | Total: 3 Foster Mother 1 Foster Child 1 Famous Figure 1 |
5/28/10 | Total: 4 Teacher 1 Pianist 1 Bailiffs 2 | Total: 3 Entertainment 2 Famous Figure 1 | Total: 3 Criminal 1 Famous Figure 1 Jamaican Soldier 1 | Total: 1 Criminal’s Mother 1 |
5/27/10 | Total: 18 Convicted Policeman 1 Famous Figures 3 Students 14 | Total: 13 Contest Finalists 1 Famous Figures 1 Students 11 | Total: 15 Criminal 1 Disc Jockey 1 Jamaican Police 4 President (negative) 1 Students 8 | Total: 9 Students: 9 |
5/26/10 | Total: 15 Politicians 6 Sports 3 Student 1 Famous Figures 3 Fishermen 2 | Total: 4 Teacher 1 Famous Figures 3 | Total: 1 Criminal 1 | Total: 0 |
5/25/10 | Total: 8 Football Coach 1 Volunteer 1 Famous Figure 1 Sports 1 Developers 4 | Total: 4 Activists 3 Developer 1 | Total: 0 | Total: 1 Worshiper 1 |
5/24/10 | Total: 7 College Student 1 Politician 1 Athletes 3 Artist 1 Convicted Policeman 1 | Total: 5 Veterinarian 1 Athletes 2 Famous Figure 1 Medical Student 1 | Total: 1 Victim 1 | Total: 0 |
White Men | White Women | African-American Men | African-American Women | |
5/30/10 | Total:8 Veteran 1 Family Specialist 1 Prosecutor 1 Policeman 1 Researchers 2 Artist 1 | Total:2 Singer 1 Air Force Sgt. 1 | Total: 2 Artist 1 Fisherman 1 | Total: 1 Fisherman |
5/29/10 | Total: 12 Navy Sailors 8 Students 2 Victim 1 Festival 1 | Total: 4 Festival attendees: 4 | Total: 3 Musician 2 Convicted Policeman 1 | Total: 0 |
5/28/10 | Total:8 Entrepreneur 1 Soldier 3 Workers 2 Musician 1 Criminal 1 | Total: 1 Veteran’s Mother 1 | Total:5 Criminals 4 Policeman 1 | Total: 1 Criminal’s Sister 1 |
5/27/10 | Total: 4 Policeman 1 Students 2 Principal 1 | Total: 4 Festival Attendees 4 | Total: 2 Criminal 1 Policeman 1 | Total: 1 Criminal’s Sister 1 |
5/26/10 | Total: 5 State Attorney1 Army General 1 Gardener 1 Politicians 2 | Total: 3 Assistant State Attorney: 1 Volunteers: 2 | Total: 5 Pastor 1 Barber 1 Client 1 Criminals 2 | Total:0 |
5/25/10 | Total:1 Professor: 1 | Total:1 Justice of Peace 1 | Total: 0 | Total:2 School Board Chairman 1 Criminal 1 |
5/24/10 | Total: 11 Reverend 1 Entrepreneur 1 Criminal 1 Politicians 8 | Total:5 Worshipers 4 Nurse 1 | Total: 0 | Total: 7 Patients 2 Patient’s Mother 1 Politician 1 Worshipers 3 |
Negative and Positive Pictures of Whites and African-Americans in the Florida Times Union Over a One Week Period
Number of Photo Representations of Males and Females in the Florida Times Union Over a One Week Period
After analyzing a week's period of news in the Florida Times Union, it is apparent that more positive attention is given to Caucasians while African Americans are usually shown in a negative light. There also was a very small number of women included in the newspaper as opposed to men. I believe this is happening because of stereotypes that have been engrained into our society. The abundance of negative African American stories in the news is because a large portion of news is about crime, and a stereotype of African Americans is that they are criminals. It's easy for a reporter to take a fact and twist it to reflect the stereotypes that have been created. An example of this is in 2009, African American's were the largest population living in poverty("The Cincinnati Herald"). Journalists will then precede to indicate that since African American's are the largest number of Americans living in poverty, they must be the largest group of Americans committing crimes. In actuality Caucasians were arrested more times than African Americans in 2009. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2009 report, 3,027,153 African American's were arrested while 7,389,208 Caucasians were arrested. Of all races arrested 69.1% were white and 28.3% were African-American. News reporters can offer more diversity in their reporting by reporting an equal amount of positive and negative stories of all races. Their reports will also be more diversified if they have more stories of women, instead of their large focus on men. There is no reason why women should be underrepresented in the news. The old stereotypes that women should be seen but not heard are long gone. If reporters avoid stereotypes, their reports will result in diversification.
The responsibilities of the news media is suppose to be to present the public with the stories happening in our world with an unbiased view. By using stereotypes, the media isn't following their unbiased position. An example of the news media ignoring their unbiased obligations is when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Two photographs were presented in two different news stories, one with an African-American wading through the water with a bag and one with two Caucasians wading through the water with bags. The first story chose to explain the African American as having just looted a grocery store. The second story explained the two Caucasians as having just found supplies. The stories made the situation seem as if the African American was a criminal and the Caucasians were lucky and smart to live off of the resources they found. It's sad to see Cultivation Theory's affect on Americans. The only way to stop these stereotypes is to stop reporting them.
