The Riot Report and the news : how the Kerner Commission changed media coverage of Black America / Thomas J. Hrach.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hrach, Thomas J., 1963- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. Report--Influence.

United States.

United States. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders.

Report (United States. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders).

Racism in the press--United States.

Racism in the press.

Race relations and the press--United States.

Race relations and the press.

African Americans--Press coverage.

African Americans.

Journalism--Political aspects--United States--History--20th century.

Journalism.

Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.).

Journalism--Political aspects.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

ix, 164 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2016]

Summary:

On July 28, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders to investigate the causes of unrest in urban black communities during the 1960s. Chaired by Illinois governor Otto Kerner Jr., the commission ominously warned, "Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white-separate and unequal." And it aimed its sharpest criticism at the mainstream media, concluding: "The press has too long basked in a white world, looking out of it, if at all, with white men's eyes and a white perspective." Major news media responded by expanding and diversifying their coverage of black communities and increasing the number of African Americans in their newsrooms. Although much has been written about the Kerner Commission, the analysis has focused primarily on its affect on the American press. In The Riot Report and the News, Thomas J. Hrach instead explores how the commission came to its conclusions, in order to understand why and how its report served as a catalyst for change. Hrach finds that such government criticism of the media can have a long-term and positive influence on the nation, an insight that remains important as the news continues to struggle with how to cover issues of race. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: Black is news in the white press

News media is blamed for causing riots

Kerner and commission members offer differing views

Johnson gives the commission its orders

Key decisions set direction

News media conference gets to the heart of the matter

Simulmatics produces a contradictory analysis

The research intensifies

Doing the lord's work

A positive reaction from the news media

"You deserve the gratitude of the nation"

Conclusion: remembering Kerner and his report.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781625342119

162534211X

9781625342102

1625342101

OCLC:

930997446