An Examination of Portrayals of Race in Hurricane Katrina Coverage

Student researchers:

Shannon Kahle, Nan Yu, & Erin Whiteside (graduate students)

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. S. Shyam Sundar

Introduction

Race is an issue in Hurricane Katrina. Portrayals of race in newspaper photographs may reflect the issue.

research question

How do newspaper portray race in Hurricane Katrina?

Method

This study uses a content analysis to explore portrayals of race in newspaper photographs from four national newspapers covering Hurricane Katrina. Using stereotyping as a theoretical background, the study analyzes the relationship between a person's race and the valence of the photo. Both the photo itself and the individual persons in the photographs are used as the unit of analysis.

Results

Several trends were found, including the very different ways in which African-Americans and Caucasians were depicted in terms of both their activity in the photo and their social identity.

Conclusions

The study found that the photographs analyzed reinforced negative stereotypes about African-Americans, while conversely depicting Caucasians in a powerful and active role or activity.

For more details regarding the study contact,

Dr. S. Shyam Sundar by e-mail at sss12@psu.edu or by telephone at (814) 865 2173

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Media Effects Research Lab at College of Communications, Penn State University