Dialogue about Fear: A case study examining the interaction of governmental distrust, race and scientific mistrust as seen through two cities’ newspaper comments.

• In Event: Representing Race and Moral Panics: From Ebola to Heroin

Abstract

In fall 2014, the case of American Ebola sparked a media barrage that at times due to vagueness and ambiguity fueled fear as seen in numerous news reports at both the local and national level. Using media articles from the Dallas Morning News (n=95) and New York City Daily News (n=51), a grounded theory approach analyzed the narrative to find common themes, to determine differences among regional news reports and to ascertain elements for governmental distrust and political divisiveness through readers’ comments (n= 3752). The impact of Ebola magnified governmental distrust and scientific mistrust adversely impacted by racism and political divisiveness. Lastly, the framing of this Ebola outbreak and its impact examines the epicenter of blame and how it was a catalyst to expose further divisiveness along political party lines. The results indicate that racism impacted the dialogue greatly to deviate the blame in the media barrage from focus on an upward trajectory towards government and CDC but also to show a downward trajectory to blame Duncan and his fiancée. Additionally, the perception that government did not respond exasperated fear response and resulted in calls for authoritarian response. Contextual implications for crime will be discussed.

Authors

• Kristine Artello, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Michele Greep, Virginia Commonwealth University