Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2016
Publication Source
Impact of Communication and the Media on Ethnic Conflict
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to examine newspaper coverage of the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin shooting and the frames of race and crime used in the context of newsworthiness. The researchers analyzed 1,177 articles in one local, six statewide, and three national newspapers. The local paper focused on the shooting and the ensuing police investigation instead of social and political issues, and local-interest stories instead of national events. There was virtually no mention of race. Coverage in the six Florida papers was mixed between details of the case and social issues such as Florida's Stand Your Ground law. There were few uses of racial descriptors. The three national papers focused on social and political issues such as Stand Your Ground, guns, and race, and referenced the shooting for context when discussing similar local incidents. Racial identifiers were used frequently, and Martin's clothing was referenced as a covert racial identifier or as shorthand for the shooting and its aftermath. The researchers then discuss the ethical implications of such coverage.
Inclusive pages
90-106
ISBN/ISSN
9781466697287
Document Version
Published Version
Copyright
Copyright © 2016, IGI Global
Publisher
IGI Global
Place of Publication
Hershey, PA
eCommons Citation
Painter, Chad and Willis, Erin, "Flipping the Script: Newspaper Reporting of the Trayvon Martin Shooting" (2016). Communication Faculty Publications. 43.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cmm_fac_pub/43
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons
Comments
The chapter provided for download is made available with written permission of the author and the publisher. Permission documentation is on file. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.