![Sample our Economics, Finance,Business & Industry journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5931/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Economics-Finance-Business-Industry.jpg"})
Abstract
News coverage of multicultural celebrations has been categorized as stereotypical and apolitical—portraying racial minorities in festive, non-threatening ways that appeal to Anglo audiences without challenging the political system that oppresses people of color. Analyzing 10 years of Martin Luther King Day and Day of the Dead celebration coverage in the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, this paper concludes that a significant number of celebration stories discuss serious political issues affecting people of color in ways that contradict the assumptions of racial equality and peaceful coexistence generally associated with multicultural projects. Because of the “sphere of consensus” status of these “soft” news stories, non-elite sources and oppositional perspectives are prominent in ways that are not typical of “hard” political news.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Dan Hallin for his helpful feedback on an early draft of this paper. She is also grateful for comments provided by the anonymous reviewers for Journalism Studies, as well as for comments received from reviewers in the Minorities and Communication Division of the AEJMC 2007 Annual Meeting, where an early version of this paper was presented.
Notes
1. Numerous ethnic celebrations began to emerge in the public realm in the 1970s and 1980s as expressions of cultural pride that accompanied the civil rights movements of historically oppressed minorities.
2. The Kerner Commission's Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders condemned historical trends whereby the US press excluded and negatively portrayed people of color in the news.
3. MLK Day is more widely celebrated by both the African American and mainstream US population than is Kwanza. Day of the Dead is more widely celebrated across the United States by diverse Latino populations and non-Latinos, than is Cinco de Mayo.
4. These dailies are the papers of record, respectively, for northern and southern California and are read not only in their cities of publication but also throughout each geographical region.
5. Open coding of the articles was done to mark sections of text that suggested possible political categories, followed by axial coding to create definitive categories. For MLK Day, the largest categories were Persistence of Racism; Dream Unfulfilled (including discussions of “backsliding” of Civil Rights gains, insufficient progress, unfinished work); Structural reasons for poverty (including discussions of lack of adequate funding for quality education, housing, healthcare, youth programs, job training, and unequal treatment in the justice system); Opposition to the War (articles since 2003); Affirmative Action. For Day of the Dead, the largest categories were Migrant Deaths (including critiques of Operation Gatekeeper); Violence (including handgun violence/lack of gun control legislation, domestic violence, gang violence (including discussions of lack of funding for youth programs, education, and job training); Labor Issues (discussions of unsafe, exploitative work conditions, pesticide poisoning, Bracero Program, critiques of NAFTA); Women of Juarez (Because of the geographic specificity of these work-related, gender-specific murders and the relatively high number of Day of the Dead exhibits and vigils dedicated to this issue, it was classified separately, rather than as a subcategory of “Violence” or “Labor”); Anti-war, and “Other” (details in ).
6. Day of the Dead coverage was analyzed for the years 1994–2004. The sample consisted of 71 articles in the Chronicle and 74 in the Times. MLK Day coverage was analyzed for the years 1996–2006. The sample consisted of 20 articles in the Chronicle and 60 in the Times.
7. Articles that mentioned Martin Luther King only tangentially and were not about MLK Day celebrations were eliminated from the sample. MLK Day captions that contained mere lists of bank, school, and business closings or event listings (time and place only) were also excluded, so that only articles published in the month of January and specifically about MLK Day festivities (marches, parades, speeches, performances, etc.) were used. The same criterion was used for Day of the Dead celebrations.
8. Campbell (Citation1995) and Entman and Rojecki (Citation2000) provided only brief discussions of MLK Day news as part of larger studies dealing with the representation of race in the media.
9. Rubenstein, Steve (1998) “S.F.'s King Holiday Parade Draws Thousands”, SF Chronicle, 20 January, News, p. A9.
10. Anderson, Nick (1998) “A Call for Action on King Day; Remembrance; Lone black elected official in O.C. says there is need for broader representation”, LA Times, 20 January, p. B4.
11. Braun, Stephan (2000) “Bradley's Hit-and-miss Crusade on Race Issues”, LA Times, 17 January, p. A1.
12. LA Times (2000) “With King in Mind, 46,000 Protest Confederate Flag in S. Carolina”, 18 January, News, p. A11.
13. Fulwood III, Sam (1996) “Clinton Leads Martin Luther King Salute”, LA Times, 16 January, p. A14.
14. Muñoz, Lorenza and Endo, Emi (1996) “The Message Goes Out on King Day”, LA Times, 21 January, Metro, p. B1.
15. Wilson, Tracy (2003) “Marchers Recall King Amid Specter of War”, LA Times, 21 January, p. B3.
16. Rubenstein, Steve (1998) “S.F.'s King Holiday Parade Draws Thousands”, SF Chronicle, 20 January, News, p. A9.
17. LA Times (1996) “Rekindling King's Vision of a Beloved Community”, 13 January, Religion, p. B4.
18. Johnson, Jason (2005) “King Fete Draws People of Many Colors…”, 18 January, SF Chronicle, p. B1.
19. Merl, Jean and Texeira, Erin (1996) “Riordan Is Castigated at Ceremony; State senator Diane Watson gets standing ovation during tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. as she criticizes mayor's record on issues affecting blacks”, Chronicle, 15 January, p. B1.
20. Lesher, Dave (1997) “Reverend King's Son to Lead Civil Rights Group”, LA Times, 18 January, p. A3.
21. Moore, Solomon (1997) “A Dream Unrealized on King Boulevard”, LA Times, 20 January, p. A1.
22. Peterson, Jonathan (1998) “Stricter Enforcement of Civil Rights Laws Sought”, LA Times, 18 January, p. A1.
23. Hendrix, Anastasia (2003) “Who Will Keep the Dream Alive?” SF Chronicle, 20 January, Bay Area, p. B1.
24. Weinstein, Henry (2000) “Calls Made to Carry on King's work”, LA Times, January 18, p. B1.
25. Buchanan, Joy (2004) “Group King Started Would Rather Recruit Voters Than March; Southern Christian Leadership Conference will hold voter registration drive at today's parade”, LA Times, 19 January, p. B8.
26. Schultz, Tom and Krikorian, Michael (1998) “King Holiday Marked with Parades, Prayers”, LA Times, 20 January, p. B1.
27. Gerstenzang, James (2001) “King Dream Starts with Quality Schools, Bush Says”, LA Times, 16 January, p. A10.
28. Herron Zamora, Jim (2005) “1,500 Honor King in Oakland, Schwarzenegger, Mayor Brown Among Speakers”, SF Chronicle, 18 January, p. B3.
29. Decker, Twila (2001) “Political Undercurrent at Parade”, LA Times, 16 January, p. B1.
30. Wagner, Venice and Sarkar, Pia (2001) “Not Yet Overcome: events of recent election add urgency to calls for social justice at King Day rallies”, SF Chronicle, 16 January, News, p. A13.
31. Chavez, Stephanie (2003) “Saluting, Celebrating King and His Message”, LA Times, 19 January, p. B3.
32. Epstein, Edward (2003) “Big Turnout Expected in DC”, SF Chronicle, 16 January, News, p. A3.
33. Chen, Edwin (2004) “Bush on Southern Whirl; He raised $2.3 million for reelection but was booed at the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s grave”, LA Times, 16 January, p. A14.
34. Estrella, Cicero (2004) “King's Birthday Is Honored in Oakland/1967 anti-Vietnam speech still relevant, say event leaders”, SF Chronicle, 17 January, p. A13.
35. The term “Chicano” began to be widely used in the 1970s to describe Americans of Mexican descent who were politically engaged in the struggle for liberation from Anglo racism and exploitation. In addition to political work, Chicano Movement activists engaged in a variety of cultural activities such as popular theater, poetry, mural painting, and ritual celebrations intended to celebrate Mexican culture and build a unified Mexican-American community across ethnic, class, and generational lines.
36. Day of the Dead is officially celebrated in Latin America on November 1 and 2, yet, the celebration period in the United States lasts two to three months, with ongoing exhibits and workshops in museums, galleries, shops and schools from early fall through November.
37. Initiated in 1994, this program has greatly intensified Border Patrol surveillance along the heavily trafficked, urban areas of the US–Mexico border via the construction of additional border walls, hiring of thousands of new border patrol agents, and installation of infrared cameras and other nocturnal surveillance equipment.
38. Causes of migrant death include dehydration and hypothermia (as desert temperatures can exceed 120 degrees by day and fall below freezing at night) as well as gun violence by bandits, human smugglers, vigilante groups, and national security forces.
39. Ellingwood, Ken (1998) “Activists in Tijuana Mourn Dead Migrants: protest, white crosses, makeshift altars remember those who died looking for a better life in the US”, LA Times , 3 November, Metro, p. A3.
40. Texeira, Erin (2000) “The Hidden Toll: activists erect 591 crosses in remembrance of people who lost their lives crossing the border from Mexico”, LA Times, 2 November, Metro, p. B1.
41. Associated Press (2000) “Nearly 600 Crosses Remember Those Who Died Coming to US”, 12 November.
42. Cox, John (1995) “Ancient Mexican Ceremony for Dead Takes Modern, Mournful Turn”, LA Times, 2 November, Metro, p. 4.
43. Sanders, Joshunda (2002) “Art Pays Tribute to Oakland's Dead”, SF Chronicle, 18 November, Datebook, p. 1.
44. According to the October 2006 Amnesty International report, “Mexico: human rights concerns”, www.amnestyusa.org/countries/mexico/index.do, accessed 26 October 2006.
45. O'Connor, Anne-Marie (2003) “Vanished”, LA Times, 31 October Style and Culture, p. 1.
46. Hua, Vanessa (2004) “Annual Festival with Mexican Roots Honors Lives of the Deceased”, SF Chronicle, 29 October, p. B1
47. Observed on January 6, the Catholic commemoration of the arrival of the Three Kings to the Christ child. In many Latin American countries, children receive gifts on this day instead of or in addition to Christmas gifts.
48. Sacchetti, Maria (2008) “Through Bible Story, Many Others Told”, Boston Globe, 7 January, pp. B1, B4. Also, de Luzuriaga, Tania (2008) “Celebration Fit for ‘Three Kings’”, Boston Globe, 6 January, p. B3.
49. LA Times (1998) Letter to the Editor, 9 November, Metro, p. 9.
50. LA Times (1999) Letter to the Editor, 20 February, Metro, p. 7.
51. LA Times (2004) Letter to the Editor, 21 January, p. B12.
52. LA Times (2004) Letter to the Editor, 21 January, p. B12.
53. Personal communication with SF Chronical journalist Meredith May, June 20, 2005.
54. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles are racially diverse cities with large politically liberal constituencies and it is possible that analysis of newspaper coverage in less diverse or politically conservative areas would yield different results.