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From protest to agenda building: Description bias in media coverage of protest events in Washington, D.C

Smith, J and Mccarthy, JD and Mcphail, C and Augustyn, B (2001) From protest to agenda building: Description bias in media coverage of protest events in Washington, D.C. Social Forces, 79 (4). 1397 - 1423. ISSN 0037-7732

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Abstract

Social movements often seek to draw attention to issues they deem important by organizing public demonstrations with the aim of attracting mass media coverage. But only a small proportion of all public demonstrations receives any media attention. This article asks whether even the minimal coverage that demonstrations receive reveal any influence of social movements in shaping how issues are framed by the mass media. Analyzing newspaper and television news stories on Washington, D.C. protests held during 1982 and 1991, we ask whether news reports on protests are framed in ways consistent with the aims of protesters. Do demonstrators receive media coverage that highlights the issues about which they are concerned, or does coverage focus on the protest event itself, to the exclusion of the social issues that movements target? Our results support much of the surmising among media scholars, that even when movements succeed at obtaining the attention of mass media outlets, media reports portray protests in ways that may undermine social movement agendas. Despite this obstacle to communicating protest messages through demonstrations, movements engage in other forms of communication that can affect public interpretations of mass media frames.

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Details

Item Type: Article
Status: Published
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Smith, Jjgsmith@pitt.eduJGSMITH0000-0002-4808-0391
Mccarthy, JD
Mcphail, C
Augustyn, B
Date: 1 January 2001
Date Type: Publication
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Journal or Publication Title: Social Forces
Volume: 79
Number: 4
Page Range: 1397 - 1423
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.1353/sof.2001.0053
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Sociology
Refereed: Yes
ISSN: 0037-7732
Related URLs:
Date Deposited: 21 Feb 2014 22:16
Last Modified: 15 Feb 2019 16:55
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20592

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