Racial Issues in the News Media Coverage of the George Zimmeran Trial.

Keywords
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Issue Date
2015-08-30
Language
en
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Trayvon Martin’s death and the arrest and trial of the shooter, George Zimmerman, sparked a national debate about race, given that Martin was an unarmed Black teenager. Media outlets, which have become increasingly politicized over the past decade, eagerly participated in the discussion surrounding racial implications. Images of Black men as violent perpetrators in the news media combined with the politicization of news media have contributed to the ways in which this discussion unfolded across the ideological spectrum. Where CNN and MSNBC tended to take Martin’s side. The Colbert Report and The Daily Show took a different approach by providing meta-commentary on the coverage of the case. By examining the case study of Martin’s death and Zimmerman’s trial it becomes clear that discussions on race are rarely fruitful: due to the ideological stances the respective networks have taken, there is hardly room for a va! riety of opinions within the networks.
Description
Citation
Faculty
Faculteit der Letteren