Excerpts from Robert M. Entman and Andrew Rojecki's The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America. xx, 320 p., ... 27 tables. University of Chicago Press 2000, 2001. Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion series (SCMPO). According to the Race and Media website, Entman is Professor of Communication at North Carolina State University. Rojecki is Assistant Prof of Communication at University of Illinois at Chicago. FYI regarding the book's research method - here's the link to the methodological appendix.
"... 4. Network news tends to "ghettoize" Blacks. Increasingly, African Americans appear mostly in crime, sports and entertainment stories. Rarely are Blacks shown making an important contribution to the serious business of the nation. Sampling network news shows: Number of soundbites on foreign affairs uttered by Whites: 99; by Blacks: 1. Number of soundbites on economics uttered by Whites: 86; by Blacks: 1. Number of soundbites on electoral politics uttered by Whites: 79; by Blacks: 0. Number of soundbites on sports and entertainment uttered by Whites: 35; by Blacks: 11. Number of soundbites on crime uttered by Whites: 149; by Blacks: 24.
"... 7. The media sowed discord during the affirmative action debate of the 1990s despite the considerable common ground between Blacks and Whites. Reporters often predicted affirmative action would be one of the key issues in the 1996 election because of the "rage" among Whites. Percentage of survey respondents naming affirmative action as their top priority in voting against a presidential candidate, 1996: 1%. Percentage of White men ("angry" or not) surveyed who favored affirmative action programs as is or with reforms: 61%. Percentage of White women surveyed who favored affirmative action programs as is or with reforms: 76%. Percentage of White "persons on the street" supporting affirmative action in a sample of network news: 12.5%. Percentage opposing: 87.5%.
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