Date of Award
12-1-1993
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Journalism
Department
Journalism
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines Ebony magazine’s coverage of civil rights activists who supported nonviolence unconditionally and activists who believed in violence as a means of retaliation or self-defense during the Civil Rights Movement. Articles written about the leaders and the groups of those who organized between 1960 and 1968 to protest civil rights injustices or to defend themselves against such violations were content analyzed to determine how the two groups were reported. The goal of this study was to provide data that would be helpful in assessing the images presented by Ebony of those who supported the philosophy of nonviolent social change and those who did not.
The 30 articles published on activists during this period were coded for bias in five categories: headline, attribution, adjective, adverbial, and outright opinion. Each instance of bias was classified as being either favorable or unfavorable to the subjects of the articles. The number of articles written about each group was also noted.
It was found that a very high percentage of the articles published were on activists who supported nonviolence. A majority of all of the articles contained some type of bias, most of which was favorable. There was significantly more bias and more favorable bias in those articles on supporters of nonviolence. Although there were fewer articles written on those who did not support nonviolence, the ratio of unfavorable bias was higher in articles published about them.
The results of the content analysis indicated that there was a difference in the reporting of the two groups. The greater number of articles and the higher amount of favorable bias for those who supported nonviolence created a favorable image of that group. No distinct image of those who did not support nonviolence emerged.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, Evangeline, "Ebony's coverage of civil rights activists, 1960-1968" (1993). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3471.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3471