News media and public perceptions of police misconduct: Does racial empathy matter?

ABSTRACT

High-profile instances of police violence, including the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have received immense attention in the news media and brought public attention to police use of force and racial bias. This study examines the connection between news media consumption and public perceptions of police misconduct. It also explores the role of racial empathy, a positive out-group attitude, in mediating this relationship. Analyses of nationally representative survey data indicate that those who view online news sites and those who use Twitter are more likely to believe that police treat White people better than they treat Black people. The political bias of the news site also matters, as those who view right-leaning sites are less likely to believe that police use more force than necessary and act in a biased manner. Racial empathy plays a mediating role in the relationship between viewing news sites and perceptions of police misconduct. Implications for research and policy are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Police misconduct
• news media
• racial empathy
• public opinion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The minimum response rate (AAPOR) for newly recruited respondents was 36.7%. Post-election interviews were completed with 90.0% of all pre-election participants.

2. An examination of variance inflation factors (VIFs) indicated that there was no reason to be concerned about multicollinearity. The average VIF for all models was 1.45 with a maximum of 3.27.

3. As a check on the robustness of all models, separate models were run with using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. The OLS models told identical substantive stories to the SEM models.

4. The current study makes an effort to establish time order by using predictor variables that were measured in the pre-election study and dependent/mediating variable measured post-election. The exception is the social media variables, which were measured post-election.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrew J. Baranauskas

Andrew J. Baranauskas is an assistant professor of criminal justice at SUNY Brockport. His research interests include the social construction of crime by the media, public opinion on crime and justice, and crime in urban communities. His work has been published in journals such as Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Criminology and Public Policy, and Criminal Justice Review.