Television News Media and Public Opinion Toward Black Female Political Elites (Pre-Recorded)

• In Event: Elite Communication: Congress, Candidates, and Experts

Abstract

This study analyzes the ways in which television news media in the U.S. shapes American public attitudes surrounding prominent Black female political figures. A key premise of this study is that preconceived societal notions about Black womens’ dual race-gender identity lead them to face higher levels of negative stereotyping and criticism both within television political news and among the broader American public. This study displays the significant implications that news media rhetoric has for broad public attitudes toward Black female political elites. Furthermore, this project presents a mixed-methodology approach to better understand the unique experiences faced by Black women in the political limelight. First, using an original sentiment scale, a manual content-analysis is employed to examine nearly 800 news segment transcripts centered upon Black women political elites on the “big three” television networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC, in addition to FOX and MSNBC. Specifically, these news segments center on Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and Maxine Waters. The content analysis primarily focuses upon the aforementioned individuals given that they are arguably the most prominent Black women in modern day American political society. A key expectation of the content analysis is that when compared to their non-Black female counterparts, Black women in the political arena face higher levels of negative sentiment on major U.S. television news outlets. Further, the content-analysis additionally examines non-Black female political figures such as Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren. In addition to the sentiment analysis, this project employs two original surveys. The surveys assess the extent to which news consumption among the American public has implications for views and attitudes toward Black women political figures. Further, this study presents a twofold analysis: 1) an examination of media rhetoric surrounding Black women political elites on television news, and 2) an analysis of the potential impacts of this news sentiment on American public opinion. Preliminary findings reveal that Black women political figures face heightened levels of negative sentiment on major U.S. news networks. Additionally, preliminary results suggest that both perceived accuracy of political news and attention to partisan-leaning networks impact public characterizations of Black women political elites.Moreover, this study illuminates the very substantial implications that television news political discourse has for American public opinion toward Black women in the political limelight.

Author

• Sydney Carr, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor