Taking the Hate Out of Hate Crimes

• In Event: Rethinking Media and Perceptions of Crime

Abstract

This qualitative content analysis presents the ways in which local media sources frame hate crimes. The sample of crimes come from the column called “This Week in Hate” published by The New York Times. The data set of analyzed articles consists of crime reports of incidences identified from the New York Times list by local news outlets. When reporting on violent acts, failure to report motivations of racial prejudice and hate can be viewed as a mechanism for normalizing and legitimating hate-based violence. The primary purpose of this inquiry is to illustrate ways in which hate is obscured in hate crimes at the municipal level. Theories of social legitimation will be utilized to underscore this process.

Authors

• Ruthie Wienk, South Dakota State University

• Julie Yingling, South Dakota State University