Newspaper Accounts of Racial Profiling

Abstract

There is both speculation and debate surrounding the prevalence of racial profiling in the United States. Since most people do not directly experience this problem themselves, many rely on information provided to them by various media sources (including newspapers). This study investigates trends in the presentation of racial profiling by three major American newspapers. A content analysis of newspaper articles from 1986 to 2010 reveals the frequency and context of the reporting of racial profiling, the extent to which it is presented as a problem for all racial minority groups as opposed to a select few, and the identification of the “primary definers” of the problem of racial profiling.