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36 University of Maryland • Inaugural Edition
University of Maryland • Inaugural Edition 37
Constructing Race in Campaign 2008:
A Textual Analysis of the PBS All American
Presidential Forum featuring the Democratic
candidates at Howard University
Shavonne Shorter
Mentor: Dr. Stacey L. Connaughton, Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
Purdue University
Abstract
History was made on June 28, 2007 when candidates for United States presidency
for the first time debated exclusively about race. This article provides a close textual
analysis of the first PBS All America Presidential Forum featuring the Democratic
candidates for United States President, to discover how these individuals construct
race. We find that candidates constructed race in this debate as a direct synonym
for African Americans. Additionally, African Americans are being constructed by
the candidates as poor, lacking education, and destined for failure. Implication of
these constructions for discourse about race and politics in the american political
campaign context, as well as for how African Americans may view themselves visa-vis
the U.S. political system, are discussed.
How Does Media Coverage in
the Washington Post Depict Young People
Engaged in Violent Crimes?
Tahera Sparks
Mentor: Dr. Alice Bonner, Lecturer, Journalism Department
University of Maryland, College Park
Abstract
The goal of my research is to find out if the media has a direct effect in the
stereotyping of minority teens and the shaping of public policy that affects teen
minorities. The media is a social construction that influences the behaviors of teens
and exaggerates the magnitude of violence that actually occurs. The newspaper
elevates the level of crimes because of the number of times the stories are presented
and the descriptions used to illustrate the crimes. This creates stereotypes and
promotes that it is normal for young people to commit crimes and that young
people commit the most crimes. The Washington Post newspaper, from June 13 th -
July 15 th was used to determine if there is a correlation between teen violence and
racial segregation on public opinion discrepancies in the presentation of the race,
proximity, age and sex of the accused and victims that could affect racial stereotypes
and public policy. Each story was analyzed to find out the date of publication, the
number of times an article was written for the given story, the length of the article,
location of the story in the newspaper, and the language used in the description
of the victims and the accused (i.e. thug or gang). My research has found that the
frequency of the stories in the post depict young people as violent and show that
they are committing more crimes than they really are. This research is important
because the depiction of youth in a widely read newspaper could alter the general
perception of other readers and create false stereotypes that teens are committing
more crimes than they really are.