Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T23:57:10.782Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Is More Better? Effects of Newsroom and Audience Diversity on Trait Coverage of Minority Candidates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2022

Mingxiao Sui*
Affiliation:
Department of Communication Studies, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Newly Paul
Affiliation:
Mayborn School of Journalism, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
*
Corresponding author: Mingxiao Sui, email: [email protected]

Abstract

This article examines how the racial composition of newsrooms and that of the news audiences influence campaign coverage of candidates. Using observational data compiled from multiple sources for analyses, our findings suggest that candidate trait coverage is influenced by what we term racial congruence at two levels. First, when the number of non-white journalists increases in newsroom, white candidates are more likely to receive positive trait coverage than non-white candidates, which is likely compounded by multiple constraints racial minority journalists face in the newsroom. This racial congruence phenomenon is also present in areas with large non-white adult populations. The larger this population, the higher is favorable news coverage for non-white candidates compared to white candidates. The race of candidates, journalists, and audiences does not have a combined effect on news coverage, indicating that the effects of more diverse newsroom members are not necessarily driven by market incentives.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrajano, Marisa, and Singh, Simran. 2009. “Examining the Link Between Issue Attitudes and News Source: The Case of Latinos and Immigration Reform.” Political Behavior 31 (1): 130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE). 2018. “2018 Survey.” ANSE.org, November 15. https://members.newsleaders.org/diversity-survey-2018.Google Scholar
Banks, Antoine J., and Hicks, Heather M.. 2016. “Fear and Implicit Racism: Whites’ Support for Voter ID Laws.” Political Psychology 37 (5): 641–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Tiffany D., and O’Brien, Diana Z.. 2018. “Defending the Realm: The Appointment of Female Defense Ministers Worldwide.” American Journal of Political Science 62 (2): 355–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, Larry M. 2002. “The Impact of Candidate Traits in American Presidential Elections.” In Leaders’ Personalities and the Outcomes of Democratic Elections, ed. King, Anthony, 4470. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besco, Randy, Gerrits, Bailey, and Matthews, J. Scott. 2016. “White Millionaires and Hockey Skates: Racialized and Gendered Mediation in News Coverage of a Canadian Mayoral Election.” International Journal of Communication 10: 4641–60.Google Scholar
Blanton, Hart, and Jaccard, James. 2008. “Unconscious Racism: A Concept in Pursuit of a Measure.” Annual Review of Sociology 34: 277–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branton, Regina, and Dunaway, Johanna. 2008. “English-and Spanish-Language Media Coverage of Immigration: A Comparative Analysis.” Social Science Quarterly 89: 1006–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branton, Regina P., and Dunaway, Johanna. 2009a. “Spatial Proximity to the US—Mexico Border and Newspaper Coverage of Immigration Issues.” Political Research Quarterly 62 (2): 289302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Branton, Regina P., and Dunaway, Johanna. 2009b. “Slanted Newspaper Coverage of Immigration: The Importance of Economics and Geography.” Policy Studies Journal 37 (2): 257–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bravo, Vanessa, and Clark, Naeemah. 2019. “Diversity in news organizations.” In The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies, eds. Vos, Tim P., Hanusch, Folker, Dimitrakopoulou, Dimitra, Geertsema-Sligh, Margaretha, and Sehl, Annika, 19. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. doi: 10.1002/9781118841570.iejs0225.Google Scholar
Calhoun, Craig. 1994. Social Theory and the Politics of Identity. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Caliendo, Stephen M. 2018. “Grabbing the Reins: Media and the Politics of Groups and Identity.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 6 (4): 852–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherubini, Federica, Newman, Nic, and Nielsen, Kleis. 2020. Changing Newsrooms 2020: Addressing Diversity and Nurturing Talent at a Time of Unprecedented Change. New York, NY: Reuters.Google Scholar
Chong, Dennis, and Rogers, Reuel. 2005. “Reviving Group Consciousness.” In The Politics of Democratic Inclusion, eds. Wolbrecht, Christina and Hero, Rodney E., 4574. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Clark, Brad. 2014. “‘Walking Up a Down-Escalator’: The Interplay Between Newsroom Norms and Media Coverage of Minority Groups.” InMedia. The French Journal of Media Studies 5: 124.Google Scholar
Clark, Brad. 2017. “Applied Diversity: A Normative Approach to Improving News Representations of Ethno-Cultural Minorities based on the Canadian Experience.” Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies 6 (2): 245–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, Renita. 2011. “Color Blind: Race and the Ethical Reasoning of Blacks on Journalism Dilemmas.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 88 (2): 337–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Commission on Freedom of the Press. 1947. A Free and Responsible Press: A General Report on Mass Communication: Newspapers, Radio, Motion Pictures, Magazines, and Books. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Congressional Research Service Report. 2020. “Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile.” https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R45583.pdf.Google Scholar
Coveney, Joseph. 2015. “FIRTHLOGIT: Stata Module to Calculate Bias Reduction in Logistic Regression.” ideas.repec.org, July 25. https://ideas.repec.org/c/boc/bocode/s456948.html.Google Scholar
Darr, Joshua P. 2016. “Presence to Press: How Campaigns Earn Local Media.” Political Communication 33 (3): 503–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devine, Patricia G. 1995. “Prejudice and Out-Group Perception.” In Advanced Social Psychology, ed. Tesser, Abraham, 467524. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Dunaway, Johanna. 2011. “Institutional Effects on the Information Quality of Campaign News.” Journalism Studies 12 (1): 2744.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunaway, Johanna, Lawrence, Regina G., Rose, Melody, and Weber, Christopher R.. 2013. “Traits Versus Issues: How Female Candidates Shape Coverage of Senate and Gubernatorial Races.” Political Research Quarterly 66 (3): 715–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunaway, Johanna, Shah, Paru, and Paul, Newly. 2016. “Sentiment, Symbolism, and Stereotypes: Trait Coverage of Women Candidates in the States.” Paper presented at the Southern Political Science Association Conference, January 6–10, 2016, San Juan, Puerto Rico.Google Scholar
Escobar-Lemmon, Maria, and Taylor-Robinson, Michelle M.. 2009. “Getting to the Top: Career Paths of Women in Latin American Cabinets.” Political Research Quarterly 62 (4): 685–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Escobar‐Lemmon, Maria, and Taylor‐Robinson, Michelle M.. 2005. “Women Ministers in Latin American Government: When, Where, and Why?American Journal of Political Science 49 (4): 829–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiske, Susan T. 1980. “Attention and Weight in Person Perception: The Impact of Negative and Extreme Behavior.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 38 (6): 889906.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiske, Susan T. 1995. “Social Cognition.” In Advanced Social Psychology, ed. Tesser, Abraham, 149–93. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Fowler, Linda L., and Lawless, Jennifer L.. 2009. “Looking for Sex in All the Wrong Places: Press Coverage and the Electoral Fortunes of Gubernatorial Candidates.” Perspectives on Politics 7 (3): 519–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fridkin, Kim L., and Kenney, Patrick J.. 2011. “The Role of Candidate Traits in Campaigns.” The Journal of Politics 73 (1): 6173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fulton, Sarah A., and Gershon, Sarah Allen. 2018. “Too Liberal to Win? Race and Voter Perceptions of Candidate Ideology.” American Politics Research 46 (5): 909–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gawronski, Bertram, and Bodenhausen, Galen V.. 2006. “Associative and Propositional Processes in Evaluation: An Integrative Review of Implicit and Explicit Attitude Change.” Psychological Bulletin 132 (5): 692731.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gershon, Sarah. 2012. “When Race, Gender, and the Media Intersect: Campaign News Coverage of Minority Congresswomen.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 33 (2): 105–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilens, Martin. 1999. Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grose, Christian R. 2006. “Bridging the Divide: Interethnic Cooperation; Minority Media Outlets; and the Coverage of Latino, African-American, and Asian-American Members of Congress.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 11 (4): 115–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, James. 2004. All the News that’s Fit to Sell: How the Market Transforms Information into News. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hayes, Danny. 2005. “Candidate Qualities Through a Partisan Lens: A Theory of Trait Ownership.” American Journal of Political Science 49 (4): 908–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, Danny. 2011. “When Gender and Party Collide: Stereotyping in Candidate Trait Attribution.” Politics & Gender 7 (2): 133–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, Danny, and Lawless, Jennifer L.. 2015. “A Non-Gendered Lens? Media, Voters, and Female Candidates in Contemporary Congressional Elections.” Perspectives on Politics 13 (1): 95118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hetherington, Marc J., Long, Meri T., and Rudolph, Thomas J.. 2016. “Revisiting the Myth: New Evidence of a Polarized Electorate.” Public Opinion Quarterly 80 (1): 321–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, Leonie, and Terkildsen, Nayda. 1993a. “Gender Stereotypes and the Perception of Male and Female Candidates.” American Journal of Political Science 37 (1): 119–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, Leonie, and Terkildsen, Nayda. 1993b. “The Consequences of Gender Stereotypes for Women Candidates at Different Levels and Types of Office.” Political Research Quarterly 46 (3): 503–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Husband, Charles. 2005. “Minority Ethnic Media as Communities of Practice: Professionalism and Identity Politics in Interaction.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 31 (3): 461–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Issenberg, Sasha. 2012. The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns. New York, NY: Broadway Books.Google Scholar
Iyengar, Shanto, and Kinder, Donald R.. 1987. News that Matters: Television and American Opinion. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jenkins, Cheryl. 2012. “Newsroom Diversity and Representations of Race.” In Race and News: Critical Perspectives, eds. Campbell, Christopher, LeDuff, Kim, Jenkins, Cheryl and Brown, Rockell, 2242. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Johnson, Melissa A. 2010. “Incorporating Self-Categorization Concepts into Ethnic Media Research.” Communication Theory 20 (1): 106–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, Anne, and Flamiano, Dolores. 2007. “Diversity in Mainstream Newspapers from the Standpoint of Journalists of Color.” The Howard Journal of Communications 18 (2): 111–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jost, John T., and Hamilton, David L.. 2005. “Stereotypes in Our Culture.” In On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport, eds. Dovidio, John F., Glick, Peter and Rudman, Laurie A., 208–24. Oxford: Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Juenke, Eric, and Shah, Paru. 2015. “Not the Usual Story: The Effect of Candidate Supply on Models of Latino Descriptive Representation.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 3 (3): 438–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, Kim Fridkin. 1995. “Characteristics of Press Coverage in Senate and Gubernatorial Elections: Information Available to Voters.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 20: 2335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary, and Zeng, Langche. 2001. “Logistic Regression in Rare Events Data.” Political Analysis 9 (2): 137–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klarner, Carl, Berry, William D., Carsey, Thomas M., Jewell, Malcolm, Niemi, Richard, Powell, Lynda, and Snyder, James. 2013. State Legislative Election Returns (1967–2010) (ICPSR 34297). Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research [Distributor]. doi: 10.3886/ICPSR34297.v1.Google Scholar
Knowles, Eric D., Lowery, Brian S., and Schaumberg, Rebecca L.. 2010. “Racial Prejudice Predicts Opposition to Obama and his Health Care Reform Plan.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46 (2): 420–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krook, Mona Lena, and O’Brien, Diana Z.. 2012. “All the President’s Men? The Appointment of Female Cabinet Ministers Worldwide.” The Journal of Politics 74 (3): 840–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kunda, Ziva. 1990. “The Case for Motivated Reasoning.” Psychological Bulletin 108 (3): 480–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leopold, Joy and Bell, Myrtle. 2017. “News Media and the Racialization of Protest: An Analysis of Black Lives Matter Articles.” Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 36 (8): 720–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lerman, Amy E., and Sadin, Meredith L.. 2016. “Stereotyping or Projection? How White and Black Voters Estimate Black Candidates’ Ideology.” Political Psychology 37 (2): 147–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Wan-Ying, and Song, Hayeon. 2006. “Geo-ethnic Storytelling: An Examination of Ethnic Media Content in Contemporary Immigrant Communities.” Journalism 7 (3): 362–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucas, Jennifer C. 2017. “Gender and Race in Congressional National News Media Appearances in 2008.” Politics & Gender 13 (4): 569–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Major, Lesa Hatley, and Coleman, Renita. 2008. “The Intersection of Race and Gender in Election Coverage: What Happens When the Candidates Don’t Fit the Stereotypes?The Howard Journal of Communications 19 (4): 315–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, Hazel Rose. 2008. “Pride, Prejudice, and Ambivalence: Toward a Unified Theory of Race and Ethnicity.” American Psychologist 63 (8): 651–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marschall, Melissa, Ruhil, Anirudh, and Shah, Paru. 2010. “The New Racial Calculus: Electoral Institutions and Black Representation in Local Legislatures.” American Journal of Political Science 54 (1): 107–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsaganis, Matthew D., and Katz, Vikki S.. 2014. “How Ethnic Media Producers Constitute their Communities of Practice: An Ecological Approach.” Journalism 15 (7): 926–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIlwain, Charlton D. 2011. “Racialized Media Coverage of Minority Candidates in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary.” American Behavioral Scientist 55 (4): 371–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meeks, Lindsey. 2012. “Is She “Man Enough”? Women Candidates, Executive Political Offices, and News Coverage.” Journal of Communication 62 (1): 175–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nishikawa, Katsuo A., Towner, Terri L., Clawson, Rosalee A., and Waltenburg, Eric N.. 2009. “Interviewing the Interviewers: Journalistic Norms and Racial Diversity in the Newsroom.” The Howard Journal of Communications 20 (3): 242–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omi, Michael, and Winant, Howard. 1994. Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Payne, B. Keith, Krosnick, Jon A., Pasek, Josh, Lelkes, Yphtach, Akhtar, Omair, and Tompson, Trevor. 2010. “Implicit and Explicit Prejudice in the 2008 American Presidential Election.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46 (2): 367–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2019. “6 Demographic Trends Shaping the U.S. and the World.” pewresearch.org, April 11. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/11/6-demographic-trends-shaping-the-u-s-and-the-world-in-2019/.Google Scholar
Plant, E. Ashby, Devine, Patricia G., Cox, William T., Columb, Corey, Miller, Saul L., Goplen, Joanna, and Peruche, B. Michelle. 2009. “The Obama Effect: Decreasing Implicit Prejudice and Stereotyping.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45 (4): 961–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pritchard, David, and Stonbely, Sarah. 2007. “Racial Profiling in the Newsroom.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 84 (2): 231–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saldaña, Magdalena, Sylvie, George, and McGregor, Shannon C. 2016. “Journalism–Business Tension in Swedish Newsroom Decision Making.” Journal of Media Ethics 31 (2): 100–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanchez, Gabriel R., and Masuoka, Natalie. 2010. “Brown-Utility Heuristic? The Presence and Contributing Factors of Latino Linked Fate.” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 32 (4): 519–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaffner, Brian F., and Gadson, Mark. 2004. “Reinforcing Stereotypes? Race and Local Television News Coverage of Congress.” Social Science Quarterly 85 (3): 604–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shafer, Richard. (1993). What Minority Journalists Identify as Constraints to Full Newsroom Equality. Howard Journal of Communications 4 (3): 195208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigelman, Carol K., Sigelman, Lee, Walkosz, Barbara J., and Nitz, Michael. 1995. “Black Candidates, White Voters: Understanding Racial Bias in Political Perceptions.” American Journal of Political Science 39 (1): 243–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simien, Evelyn M. 2005. “Race, Gender, and Linked Fate.” Journal of Black Studies 35 (5): 529–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sui, Mingxiao, and Paul, Newly. 2017. “Latino portrayals in local news media: Underrepresentation, negative stereotypes, and institutional predictors of coverage.” Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 46(3): 273294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sui, Mingxiao, Paul, Newly, Shah, Paru, Spurlock, Brook, Chastant, Brooksie, and Dunaway, Johanna. 2018. “The role of minority journalists, candidates, and audiences in shaping race-related campaign news coverage.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 95(4): 10791102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sui, M. 2021. “Replication Data for: Is More Better? Effects of Newsroom and Audience Diversity on Trait Coverage of Minority Candidates.” UNC Dataverse, V1. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15139/S3/8BLDFQCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, Henri. 1981. Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tajfel, Henri, and Turner, John C.. 1979. “An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict.” Annual Review of Psychology 33 (47): 139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terkildsen, Nayda, and Damore, David F.. 1999. “The Dynamics of Racialized Media Coverage in Congressional Elections.” The Journal of Politics 61 (3): 680–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tolley, Erin. 2015. “Racial Mediation in the Coverage of Candidates’ Political Viability: A Comparison of Approaches.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 41 (6): 963–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Towner, Terri L., and Clawson, Rosalee A.. 2016. “A Wise Latina or a Baffled Rookie? Media Coverage of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s Ascent to the Bench.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy 37 (3): 316–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, John C., Hogg, Michael A., Oakes, Penelope J., Reicher, Stephen D., and Wetherell, Margaret S.. 1987. Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-categorization Theory. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Ward, Orlanda. 2016a. “Seeing Double: Race, Gender, and Coverage of Minority Women’s Campaigns for the US House of Representatives.” Politics & Gender 12 (2): 317–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, Orlanda. 2016b. “Media Framing of Black Women’s Campaigns for the US House of Representatives.” In Distinct Identities: Minority Women in US Politics, 153–70. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Weaver, David Hugh, and Wilhoit, G. Cleveland. 1996. The American Journalist in the 1990s: US News People at the End of an Era. Hove: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Ward, Orlanda. 2017. “Intersectionality and press coverage of political campaigns: Representations of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic female candidates at the UK 2010 general election.” The International Journal of Press/Politics 22(1): 4366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, Clint C. 2000. “The Paradox of African American Journalists.” In Ethnic Minorities and the Media: Changing Cultural Boundaries, ed. Cottle, Simon, 8599. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Wintersieck, Amanda, and Carle, Jill. 2020. “Gender, Race, and Stereotypes in the 2008 Presidential Primary.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 8 (4): 714–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wu, Denis, and Lee, Tien-Tsung. 2005. “The Submissive, the Calculated, and the American Dream: Coverage of Asian American Political Candidates in the 1990s.” The Howard Journal of Communications 16 (3): 225–41.Google Scholar
Zeldes, Geri Alumit, and Fico, Frederick. 2005. “Race and Gender: An Analysis of Sources and Reporters in the Networks’ Coverage of the 2000 Presidential Campaign.” Mass Communication & Society 8 (4): 373–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ziegler, Dhyana, and White, Alisa. 1990. “Women and Minorities on Network Television News: An Examination of Correspondents and Newsmakers.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 34 (2): 215–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zilber, Jeremy, and Niven, David. 2000. “Stereotypes in the News: Media Coverage of African-Americans in Congress.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 5 (1): 3249.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Sui and Paul supplementary material

Sui and Paul supplementary material

Download Sui and Paul supplementary material(File)
File 75.4 KB
Supplementary material: Link

Sui and Paul Dataset

Link