Media Coverage and the Ferguson Unrest

The media aids in bringing to light many social issues across the nation each and every day. Historically, police force on African Americans can be seen amongst many media outlets. However, with technological advances the media has flourished which makes it possible for the media to supply coverage of police force on African Americans more now than ever before. This exploratory analysis aimed to uncover ways in which the media has framed the individuals involved in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. Articles from four media outlets were used in this analysis. Data was collected from the articles that specifically focused on terms and phrases used to describe the deceased and the officer involved as well as the altercation between the two individuals involved. Results of the analysis show that specific words to identify and describe the deceased and officer involved were used at a much higher rate in national news outlets as opposed to a local news out-let from Missouri. These results are specifically discussed as well as limitations and ideas for further research on the data that was collected and use.

Author dc:creator

• Wyatt, Brittanni

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gay, David

• Crime
• sociology
• social problems
• race
• discrimination
• police brutality
• content analysis
• Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

CFE0006019

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-2414