Media Consumers' Responses to Police Shootings of African Americans: #SayTheirNames

• In Event: Examining Representations of Police Shootings in the Media

Abstract

Institutionalized racism and police violence towards African Americans are pervasive, systemic problems within the United States which have only recently been distinctly addressed by the media and brought to the forefront of social and political debate, and specifically, criminal justice reform. In order to explore the narratives prevalent within the contemporary social and political climates, we conducted a qualitative analysis of consumer responses to conservative and liberal online media coverage of recent cases of racialized police brutality. Our findings reflect media consumers’ reactions to and beliefs about racism in the United States, and particularly among the police.

Authors

• Abigail Kolb, Clayton State University

• Sarah Yercich, Simon Fraser University