This is a mini-documentary that I completed for my History of American Journalism course during the Fall 2015 semester. I focused my project on the deaths of Emmett Till and Michael Brown and compared the media coverage of their deaths to see if media coverage of black men has improved since the 1950s.
Transcript:
NEARLY 60 YEARS APART THE DEATHS OF EMMETT TILL AND MICHAEL BROWN HIGHLIGHT THE PLIGHT OF NOT ONLY BEING A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA BUT BEING A BLACK MAN IN THE MEDIA.
TILL’S DEATH CAME AT A TIME WHERE SOME WOULD CONSIDER THE GREATEST CRIME FOR A BLACK MAN TO DO IS LOOK, MORE LESS, WHISTLE AT A WHITE WOMAN. (Video source: Biography.com editors)
BROWN’S DEATH CAME AT A TIME WHERE SOME BELIEVE THE WORST THING A BLACK MAN COULD DO IS TALK BACK, MORE LESS, BECOME PHYSICAL WITH A POLICE OFFICER. (Video source: NBC News)
COVERAGE OF BOTH YOUNG MEN FEATURED DETAILS THAT MANY THINK TRIED TO MAKE THE CRIME JUSTIFIABLE OR DISCREDIT THE AMOUNT OF ANGER AND SYMPATHY FELT BY OTHERS. (Video source: News, YouTube)
THIS IS SEEN IN DATA FROM THE ARTICLE NEWS, RACE, AND THE STATUS QUO: THE CASE OF EMMETT LOUIS TILL ON COVERAGE IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE FOLLOWING HIS DEATH:
“Of the 33 stories in the Tribune on this issue, 18 (54.5%) described him as a ‘‘wolf-whistler’’ and 14 (42.4%) depicted him as making ‘‘ugly’’ or ‘‘suggestive’’ remarks to Mrs. Bryant.”
AND AN ARTICLE IN NEW YORK TIMES FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF MICHAEL BROWN READS:
“Michael Brown, 18, due to be buried on Monday, was no angel, with public records and interviews with friends and family revealing both problems and promise in his young life.”
THESE ARE JUST TWO OF THE MANY EXAMPLES DETAILING HOW NEARLY 60 YEARS LATER, MEDIA STILL HAS A WAYS TO GO IN ITS REPRESENTATION OF BLACK MEN-AS NOTED IN THE ARTICLE BLACK CRIMINAL STEREOTYPES AND RACIAL PROFILING: (Video source: Complex)
“Following the civil rights movement, the linkage between Blacks and crime was galvanized. The stereotyping of Blacks as criminals is so pervasive throughout society that “criminal predator” is used as a euphemism for “young Black male.”
AND ALTHOUGH MEDIA COVERAGE ENFORCES STEREOTYPES…IT’S WHAT KEEPS VARIOUS OUTLETS RELEVANT: (Video source: News, YouTube)
“The way that journalism is on the open market means that stories are for sale, and what sells is stereotypes,” Cyril says… “Market-produced coverage will tend to misrepresent youth.”
HOWEVER, MEDIA HAS TRIED TO MAKE SOME STRIDES IN COVERING THE STORIES OF BLACK MEN…. (Video source: New York Times)
IN A STUDY OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND ITS COVERAGE, IT WAS FOUND THAT TILL’S FAMILY WAS RARELY MENTIONED IN THE STORY, AND IF SO, WAS ALWAYS NEAR THE END:
“Mamie Bradley and other Till relatives were placed almost exclusively at the end of every story in which they were identified as sources, and their quotations were brief in comparison to White officials or lawyers involved in the case.”
HOWEVER, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE NOTICED IN THE COVERAGE OF BROWN IN THE ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH. THE ROLES ARE FLIPPED: HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE FEATURED FIRST IN THE ARTICLE AND THEN OFFFICIALS.
ANOTHER SMALL IMPROVEMENT IS THE NUMBER OF ARTICLES AND ANGLES FOCUSING ON THE DEATHS OF THESE TWO MEN.
RESEARCH SHOWS THE TRIBUNE’S FOCUS ON TILL WAS QUITE MINIMAL…
“…The Chicago Tribune generally ran no more than one front-page article per issue on the case. Such articles were usually allotted no more than one column of front-page space and often included small mug-shot photographs or maps.”
THE ST. LOUIS POST WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND IN IT’S COVERAGE AND GAVE ITS READERS MULTIPLE ANGLES AND ARTICLES FOLLOWING BROWN’S DEATH…
THIS IS JUST A SMALL STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION...BUT THERE IS SO MUCH FURTHER TO GO.
AS NOTED BY ELENI D. JANIS—PUBLIC OPINION AND MEDIA RESEARCH COORDINATOR FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AGENDA IN NEW YORK—SOLUTIONS INCLUDE:
“…reporters intentionally incorporating black youths into everyday or evergreen stories like those about Christmas shopping.” (Video Source: CBS)
AND BAKARI KITWANA, AN AUTHOR AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF RAP SESSIONS IN OHIO SAYS JOURNALISTS ALSO NEED TO REMEMBER THEIR RESPONSIBILITY.
“…it’s also important for journalists to remember that their profession carries the weight of social responsibility since democracy can’t function properly if journalism doesn’t function properly.” (Video Source: CNN)
BY USING THESE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AND CREATING SOLUTIONS OF OUR OWN, HOPEFULLY WE AS JOURNALISTS CAN IMPROVE THE WAY WE COVER THE LIVES OF BLACK MALES IN ALL FORMS OF MEDIA. (Picture Source: DRJSAPIO)
