Broadcast News Directors’ Perceptions of Race: A Survey of Psychological and Sociological Measures

In theory, socially responsible newsrooms should accurately cover and portray all of America’s distinct communities. However, mechanisms to achieve coverage of all communities have often fallen short. Often times, racial minority groups are depicted utilizing stereotypes, controversy, crime, drama, conflict, and deviancy as the greatest selling and focal points. This study attempted to “empirically examine that which is deliberately concealed and distorted,” and to document whether discrimination: 1) exists 2) adversely affects ethnic and racial minorities; and 3) is founded on a set of social relations and practices that sustain it” (Marvasti& McKinney, 2007, p. 68). Thus, the central thrust of this thesis is a psychological and sociological perception study of news directors’ implicit and explicit perceptions of race when creating news content. The aim is to discover whether an implicit or explicit racial bias can be found amongst some news directors when covering racial minority groups. A better understanding of bias provides valuable insights on what media practices to utilize when covering diverse groups