1. Representation of Black People
in The Media
In my presentation I will be focusing on
representations of black people (particularly
young black men) in the news and on the
internet.

2. Graph from Government’s Reach Program, 2011

3. What the graph shows…
• This graph shows that 66% of all news stories
that feature young black men are about crime,
5% about discrimination and 4% about gang
culture.
• 11% of stories are about achievement and
• Only 3% are about positive achievements
and 2% featuring them as positive role
models.

4. Graph from Government’s Reach Program, 2011

5. What this graph shows…
• This graph shows that in general, young men
as a whole are also negatively represented by
the media, with just over 50% of the stories
being about crime.
• 11% of stories are about achievement /
charity work / having a positive impact.
• However, if you compare the two graphs…

7. Quote from the study;
• ‘In another example, ‘TRAGIC TOLL OF DEAD KIDS’ (Daily Star, 11th July 2008), the
article was accompanied by a headshot image of a young black victim of knife
crime, Shakilus Townsend, who was killed in Thornton Heath in July 2008.
Beginning with the assertion that ‘Knife crime and street violence has claimed 19
teenage victims in London alone this year’, the article was positioned immediately
below (as if a postscript to) a larger feature: ‘LILY: “WE GOTTA HAVE KNIFE AID”
POP BABE’S BIG EVENT FOR BORIS’, which called for a concert to raise funds for
schemes to reduce knife crime. This article was accompanied by several large
images of figures campaigning against knife crime: Lily Allen, actress Brook Kinsella
(whose brother Ben Kinsella was murdered), Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and
the band, Razorlight. It is perhaps merely coincidental that the effort to combat
knife crime was represented in this article entirely by white faces, whilst the face
of a young black man was selected to represent the victims and symbolise the
problem of knife crime. However, when viewed in contrast to coverage in which
forums were afforded to black sources to comment on wider social issues, such as
news narratives in the black and minority ethnic press for example (as we explore
in Chapter Five), the exclusion of black voices from shaping news narratives here
would appear significant, whether intended or otherwise. ‘

8. I have noticed that a
lot of news stories
involving young
black men as
perpetrators of
crime clearly
describe them as ‘a
black man’. This may
not seem
problematic, but…

9. …you notice the
lack of racial
description when
the perpetrator is
not black. In most
of these
stories, the
attacker has been
caught, and
mentioning their
race is
unnecessary. It
only furthers
negative
associations.

10. But representations aren’t all
negative…
Representations of young black men in the news
are not always negative, however the positive
ones are usually about celebrities. Being that
celebrities are often considered ‘on another
level’ than regular people, these positive
representations do not do much to fight against
the negative, crime/gang associated
stereotypes.

11. • Chris Brown was
charged with
domestic abuse
• Lots of media
attention surrounded
the case, and it’s
usually mentioned
alongside his name.
• Public associate him
with domestic
abuse, and many feel
that he no longer
deserves his success.

12. • Charlie Sheen was
also charged with
domestic abuse
• Barely talked about in
the media
• Public opinion of him
still quite good, he’s
considered to be
‘eccentric’, funny and
is still popular.

13. This video features young black men struggling to get a job in Bath, and their thoughts about whether it
is because of the colour of their skin. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-18091133