Representation of Black People in The Media
In my presentation I will be focusing on representations of black people (particularly
young black men) in the news and on the internet.
Graph from Government’s Reach Program, 2011
What the graph shows…
• This graph shows that 66% of all news stories that feature young black men are about crime, 5% about discrimination and 4% about gang culture.
• 11% of stories are about achievement and • Only 3% are about positive achievements and
2% featuring them as positive role models.
Graph from Government’s Reach Program, 2011
What this graph shows…
• This graph shows that in general, young men as a whole are also negatively represented by the media, with just over 50% of the stories being about crime.
• 11% of stories are about achievement / charity work / having a positive impact.
• However, if you compare the two graphs…
Quote from the study;• ‘In another example, ‘TRAGIC TOLL OF DEAD KIDS’ (Daily Star, 11th July 2008), the
article was accompanied by a headshot image of a young black victim of knife crime, Shakilus Townsend, who was killed in Thornton Heath in July 2008. Beginning with the assertion that ‘Knife crime and street violence has claimed 19 teenage victims in London alone this year’, the article was positioned immediately below (as if a postscript to) a larger feature: ‘LILY: “WE GOTTA HAVE KNIFE AID” POP BABE’S BIG EVENT FOR BORIS’, which called for a concert to raise funds for schemes to reduce knife crime. This article was accompanied by several large images of figures campaigning against knife crime: Lily Allen, actress Brook Kinsella (whose brother Ben Kinsella was murdered), Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and the band, Razorlight. It is perhaps merely coincidental that the effort to combat knife crime was represented in this article entirely by white faces, whilst the face of a young black man was selected to represent the victims and symbolise the problem of knife crime. However, when viewed in contrast to coverage in which forums were afforded to black sources to comment on wider social issues, such as news narratives in the black and minority ethnic press for example (as we explore in Chapter Five), the exclusion of black voices from shaping news narratives here would appear significant, whether intended or otherwise. ‘
I have noticed that a lot of news stories involving young black men as perpetrators of crime clearly describe them as ‘a black man’. This may not seem problematic, but…
…you notice the lack of racial description when the perpetrator is not black. In most of these stories, the attacker has been caught, and mentioning their race is unnecessary. It only furthers negative associations.
But representations aren’t all negative…
Representations of young black men in the news are not always negative, however the positive ones are usually about celebrities. Being that celebrities are often considered ‘on another level’ than regular people, these positive representations do not do much to fight against the negative, crime/gang associated stereotypes.
• Chris Brown was charged with
• Lots of media attention surrounded the case, and it’s usually mentioned alongside his name.
• Public associate him with domestic abuse, and many feel that he no longer deserves his success.
• Charlie Sheen was also
• Barely talked about in the media
• Public opinion of him still quite good, he’s considered to be ‘eccentric’, funny and is still popular.
This video features young black men struggling to get a job in Bath, and their thoughts about whether it is because of the colour of their skin. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-18091133
