The DOI matches its Crossref record; 41 of the 42 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
News media and the racialization of protest: an analysis of Black Lives Matter articles
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine coverage of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in seven US-based newspapers to determine whether the protest paradigm, “a pattern of news coverage that expresses disapproval toward protests and dissent,” and other marginalizing techniques are present, and racialized. Design/methodology/approach: Relevant articles published during a six-month period of 2014 near the death of Michael Brown were retrieved from the selected outlets, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the St Louis Post-Dispatch. Textual and content analyses were performed. Findings: The articles heavily followed the paradigm. An additional characteristic, blame attribution, was also identified. Language of crime, lawlessness, violence, blame for nearby acts of violence, and inflammatory quotes from bystanders and official sources were often present. There was little discussion of key issues associated with the formation of BLM. Research limitations/implications: Mainstream outlets rather than social media or alternative outlets were examined. Future research should study coverage of BLM in other outlets. Practical implications: Measures to avoid marginalizing protests and racialization of coverage, including increased diversity in the newsroom and monitoring for racialized language are suggested. Social implications: Racialization of news and coverage of BLM has widespread negative consequences, such as association of Blacks with criminality that may affect their quality of life. The protest paradigm has the ability to squelch participation in social movements, which have the possibility to bring about needed social change. Originality/value: This interdisciplinary paper highlights the important role of mainstream media and news routines in affecting the BLM movement. It uses diversity research to make recommendations for media practitioners to avoid racialization of news.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Leopold and Bell (2017) found that seven mainstream newspapers resorted to the riot frame, used official sources, published quotes from bystanders who disapproved of the protests, demonized the protesters, and blamed them for acts of violence.”
From Reporting on Black Lives Matter in 2020: How Digital Black Press Outlets Covered the Racial Uprisings (2025) · cites this paper as Leopold and Bell (2017)
In the citing paper
“Research has shown that early news coverage of the protests was racially and politically biased.”
From Reporting on Black Lives Matter in 2020: How Digital Black Press Outlets Covered the Racial Uprisings (2025) · cites this paper as Leopold and Bell 2017
Citations
Cites
Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory
McCarthy, J. D., & Zald, M. N. (1977) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/226464 · Cited by 7,381
Movements and Media as Interacting Systems
GAMSON, W. A., & WOLFSFELD, G. (1993) · The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · doi:10.1177/0002716293528001009 · Cited by 1,033
Konrad, A. M., Kramer, V. W., & Erkut, S. (2008) · Organizational Dynamics · doi:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2008.02.005 · Cited by 838
McCarthy, J. D., McPhail, C., & Smith, J. (1996) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2096360 · Cited by 677
Dixon, T. L., & Linz, D. G. (2000) · Journal of Communication · doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02845.x · Cited by 638
The Race Discrimination System
Reskin, B. (2012) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145508 · Cited by 558
Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct
Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2004) · Social Problems · doi:10.1525/sp.2004.51.3.305 · Cited by 549
The sociology of news production
Schudson, M. S. (1989) · Media Culture & Society · doi:10.1177/016344389011003002 · Cited by 526
Oliver, P. E., & Meyer, D. J. (1999) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/210267 · Cited by 475
Framing Effects of Television News Coverage of Social Protest
McLeod, D. M., & Detenber, B. H. (1999) · Journal of Communication · doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1999.tb02802.x · Cited by 461
Research works printed but not linked: 8
- 1994, Are the media really white, Media Studies Journal, 8, 81
- 1995, Anarchists wreak havoc in downtown Minneapolis: a multi-level study of media coverage of radical protest, Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs, 1
- 2016, The Riot Report and the News
- 2007, News coverage and social protest: how the media’s protest paradigm exacerbates social conflict, Journal of Dispute Resolution, 2007, 185
- McLeod, D.M. and Hertog, J.K. (1999), “Social control, social change and the mass media’s role in the regulation of protest groups”, in Demers, D.P. and Viswanath, K. (Eds), Mass Media, Social Control, and Social Change: A Macrosocial Perspective, Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA, pp. 305-330.
- 2016, Black Lives Matter and respectability politics in local news accounts of officer-involved civilian deaths: an early empirical assessment, Wisconsin Law Review, 541
- 2015, Racism and the Press
- 2010, Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, 297
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Bell, M. P., Berry, D. P., Leopold, J., & Nkomo, S. M. (2020) · Gender Work and Organization · doi:10.1111/gwao.12555 · Cited by 209
Self-citationPathways to Civic Engagement Among Urban Youth of Color
Wray‐Lake, L., & Abrams, L. S. (2020) · Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development · doi:10.1111/mono.12415 · Cited by 134
Brown, D. K., & Mourão, R. R. (2021) · Mass Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/15205436.2021.1884724 · Cited by 122
Abaied, J. L., Perry, S., Cheaito, A., & Ramirez, V. (2022) · Journal of Research on Adolescence · doi:10.1111/jora.12767 · Cited by 65
Brown, D. K., Harlow, S., García‐Perdomo, V., & Salaverría, R. (2018) · Mass Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/15205436.2018.1469773 · Cited by 65
Krutrök, M. E., & Åkerlund, M. (2022) · Information Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2022.2065211 · Cited by 62
Peay, P. C., & Camarillo, T. (2020) · Social Science Quarterly · doi:10.1111/ssqu.12902 · Cited by 49
Is it a rally or a riot? Racialized media framing of 2020 protests in the United States
Reid, J. C., & Craig, M. O. (2021) · Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice · doi:10.1080/15377938.2021.1973639 · Cited by 55
Mourão, R. R., & Brown, D. K. (2021) · Digital Journalism · doi:10.1080/21670811.2021.1931900 · Cited by 56
Umamaheswar, J. (2020) · Civic Sociology · doi:10.1525/001c.12143 · Cited by 41
An analysis of emotions and the prominence of positivity in #BlackLivesMatter tweets
Field, A., Park, C. Y., Theóphilo, A., Watson-Daniels, J., & Tsvetkov, Y. (2022) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2205767119 · Cited by 46
Williams Fayne, M., & Richardson, A. V. (2025) · The International Journal of Press/Politics · doi:10.1177/19401612231187562 · Cited by 31
Azevedo, F., Marques, T., & Micheli, L. R. (2022) · Perspectives on Politics · doi:10.1017/s1537592722001098 · Cited by 37
Anti-blackness, surface-level diversity continues to matter: what must we do?
Bell, M. P. (2020) · Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal · doi:10.1108/edi-06-2020-0160 · Cited by 33
Self-citationTaking the star-spangled knee: the media framing of Colin Kaepernick
Doehler, S. (2021) · Sport in Society · doi:10.1080/17430437.2021.1970138 · Cited by 27
Li, F., Lo, C. K., Tang, C. S., & Zhou, P. (2024) · Production and Operations Management · doi:10.1177/10591478241265479 · Cited by 25
Why someone did not stop them? Aversive racism and the responsibility of bystanders
Murrell, A. J. (2020) · Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal · doi:10.1108/edi-07-2020-0191 · Cited by 25
Craig, M. O., & Reid, J. C. (2022) · Policing An International Journal · doi:10.1108/pijpsm-09-2021-0124 · Cited by 25
Framing the Black Lives Matter Movement: An Analysis of Shifting News Coverage in 2014 and 2020
Carney, N., & Kelekay, J. (2022) · Social Currents · doi:10.1177/23294965221092731 · Cited by 20
Anger, Fear, and the Racialization of News Media Coverage of Protest Activity
Gause, L., Moore, S. T., & Ostfeld, M. C. (2023) · The Journal of Race Ethnicity and Politics · doi:10.1017/rep.2023.27 · Cited by 18
Broadening the conversation: why Black Lives Matter
Ashburn‐Nardo, L., Thomas, K. M., & Robinson, A. J. (2017) · Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal · doi:10.1108/edi-09-2017-0198 · Cited by 15
Depictions of Black Americans in U.S. Television News, 1990-2020
Carr, S. L., & Soroka, S. (2025) · Journalism · doi:10.1177/14648849251386724 · Cited by 16
Discourses of ‘service delivery protests’ in South Africa: an analysis of talk radio
Day, S., Cornell, J., & Malherbe, N. (2019) · Critical Discourse Studies · doi:10.1080/17405904.2019.1676279 · Cited by 15
Peay, P. C., & McNair, C. R. (2024) · Politics, Groups, and Identities · doi:10.1080/21565503.2022.2098148 · Cited by 14
Covering the Dawsons: Racial Variation in Newspaper Framing of Urban Crime
Fields, C. D., & Newman, S. (2020) · Sociological Forum · doi:10.1111/socf.12607 · Cited by 13
“It’s Just Not the Whole Story”: Black Perspectives of Protest Portrayals
Brown, D. K., Wilner, T., & Chen, G. M. (2021) · Howard Journal of Communications · doi:10.1080/10646175.2021.2012852 · Cited by 12
Wright, C. L., Gatlin, K., Acosta, D., & Taylor, C. C. W. (2022) · Howard Journal of Communications · doi:10.1080/10646175.2022.2065458 · Cited by 10
Smith, M. A. L., & Haenschen, K. (2024) · Mass Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/15205436.2024.2347317 · Cited by 9
Public Opinion in the News: Examining Portrayals and Viewpoint Heterogeneity
Beckers, K., & Moy, P. (2021) · Journalism Practice · doi:10.1080/17512786.2021.1984282 · Cited by 9
Culver, K. B., & McLeod, D. M. (2023) · Journalism and Media · doi:10.3390/journalmedia4010015 · Cited by 9
Black lives matter messaging across multiple congressional communication mediums
Cormack, L., & Gulati, J. (2023) · Politics Groups and Identities · doi:10.1080/21565503.2023.2265896 · Cited by 8
Eyes on the Streets: Media Use and Public Opinion About Facial Recognition Technology
Brewer, P. R., Bingaman, J., Dawson, W., Paintsil, A., & Wilson, D. C. (2022) · Bulletin of Science Technology & Society · doi:10.1177/02704676221148103 · Cited by 8
Teresa, G. C. (2022) · Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies · doi:10.30935/ojcmt/11538 · Cited by 14
Chuang, A., & Tyler, A. (2023) · Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly · doi:10.1177/10776990221146519 · Cited by 7
Butler, M., & Larson, A. (2025) · Western Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/10570314.2025.2456469 · Cited by 6
Battocchio, A. F., Thorson, K., Hiaeshutter-Rice, D., Smith, M., Chen, Y., Edgerly, S., Cotter, K., Choung, H., Dong, C., Moldagaliyeva, M., et al. (2023) · The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · doi:10.1177/00027162231214398 · Cited by 6
Li, Y., Cassard, M., & Holmes, B. (2023) · International Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1080/00207659.2023.2202992 · Cited by 6
Hammond, C., Ncube, M., & Fido, D. (2024) · Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice · doi:10.1080/24732850.2024.2317745 · Cited by 10
Cruz, C. Y., & Holman, L. (2021) · Howard Journal of Communications · doi:10.1080/10646175.2021.2012853 · Cited by 7
Depression and Anxiety in the Context of Digital Media
Moreno, M. A., & Jolliff, A. F. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108976237.013 · Cited by 8
The scholarly impact of diversity research
Ng, T. W. H. (2023) · Human Resource Management · doi:10.1002/hrm.22188 · Cited by 5
Race and Disability in Media Coverage of the Police Homicide of Eric Garner
Ogden, L. P., Fulambarker, A. J., & Haggerty, C. (2019) · Journal of Social Work Education · doi:10.1080/10437797.2019.1661918 · Cited by 5
Geise, S., Heck, A., & Panke, D. (2023) · Visual Communication Quarterly · doi:10.1080/15551393.2023.2196631 · Cited by 4
Govenden, P. (2022) · African Journalism Studies · doi:10.1080/23743670.2022.2096090 · Cited by 4
Black and Blue: how democratic attitudes shape affect toward Blue or Black Lives Matter
Vitriol, J. A., Sandor, J., & Farhart, C. E. (2024) · Frontiers in Social Psychology · doi:10.3389/frsps.2024.1417995 · Cited by 4
From institutionalized othering to disruptive collaboration
Holck, L., & Muhr, S. L. (2019) · Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal · doi:10.1108/edi-01-2018-0018 · Cited by 4
Tello, E., Considine, B., Rotaru, K., & Fehrenbacher, D. D. (2024) · Accounting Education · doi:10.1080/09639284.2024.2419578 · Cited by 3
Boyle, M. (2021) · Atlantic Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/15456870.2021.1951267 · Cited by 3
“As High as I Could:” Media Discourse Shaping Patricia Okoumou’s Statue of Liberty Protest
Grant, R. L., & Brown, V. (2021) · Howard Journal of Communications · doi:10.1080/10646175.2021.1988769 · Cited by 3
Is More Better? Effects of Newsroom and Audience Diversity on Trait Coverage of Minority Candidates
Sui, M., & Paul, N. (2022) · State Politics & Policy Quarterly · doi:10.1017/spq.2021.31 · Cited by 3
Govenden, P. (2022) · Journal of African Media Studies · doi:10.1386/jams_00082_1 · Cited by 3
Gill, H., Dávalos, C., & Rojas, H. (2024) · Communication Studies · doi:10.1080/10510974.2024.2355688 · Cited by 3
Bordonaro, F., & Willits, D. W. (2018) · doi:10.21428/b6e95092.a155a6b5 · Cited by 3
Martinez, J. A. (2020) · Journal of School Violence · doi:10.1080/15388220.2020.1729780 · Cited by 5
Orr, C. E., Mastrorillo, A., & Hrynyk, N. A. (2025) · Feminist Theory · doi:10.1177/14647001241301952 · Cited by 2
The Role of Framing, Race, and Symbolic Racism in Policy Support
Shulman, H. C., Holt, L. F., Riggs, E. E., & Wade, R. B. (2025) · Political Communication · doi:10.1080/10584609.2025.2463923 · Cited by 2
Vilanova, J. (2025) · Critical Studies in Media Communication · doi:10.1080/15295036.2025.2533469 · Cited by 2
Looking in the Mirror: US and French Coverage of Black Lives Matter in France
Bleich, E., Pollard, A., & van der Veen, A. M. (2022) · The International Journal of Press/Politics · doi:10.1177/19401612221132729 · Cited by 2
Making the invisible visible: examining Black women in Black Lives Matter
Estes, M. L., Straub, A. M., & León-Corwin, M. (2023) · Sociological Spectrum · doi:10.1080/02732173.2023.2245936 · Cited by 2
Smith, O. K. H., & Nunez, N. L. (2024) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.4219 · Cited by 2
Spectacular whiteness: The tactics and mediation of white protests for Black Lives
Vilanova, J. (2024) · International Journal of Cultural Studies · doi:10.1177/13678779241279325 · Cited by 2
Zhang, N. Z. (2022) · Journalism Studies · doi:10.1080/1461670x.2022.2123844 · Cited by 2
Trends in Mobile Journalism: Bearing Witness, Building Movements, and Crafting Counternarratives
Richardson, A. V. (2021) · doi:10.35650/jt.3010.d.2021 · Cited by 2
Oliver, P. E., Gaede, E., Milewski, A. O., & Lim, C. (2024) · SocArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31235/osf.io/uz54e · Cited by 2
The Suppression and Othering of Black Lives Matter Protests Through Tear Gas
Cachelin, S. (2023) · Journal of Black Studies · doi:10.1177/00219347231184234 · Cited by 2
Koehler, J. C. (2024) · Sociological Focus · doi:10.1080/00380237.2024.2386257 · Cited by 1
Kirkosová, K. (2024) · Social Semiotics · doi:10.1080/10350330.2024.2430975 · Cited by 2
Varma, A., Masullo, G., Limov, B., Graham, E., Kim, M. S., & Malik, K. K. (2025) · News Research Journal · doi:10.1177/30497841251317293 · Cited by 1
Koslicki, W. M., Morczek, A. L., Posey, B. M., & Kennedy, L. P. (2025) · Policing & Society · doi:10.1080/10439463.2025.2532549 · Cited by 1
Badouard, R., Lyubareva, I., Maillé, P., & Tuffin, B. (2025) · Information and Software Technology · doi:10.1016/j.infsof.2025.107925 · Cited by 1
Framing Analysis of Media Coverage of Protest Movements : A Systematic Review of Literature
Garg, G., & Rai, S. (2021) · International Journal of Communication Development · doi:10.65301/ijcd.2021.12.1.2.2 · Cited by 2
« Un miroir tendu par les États-Unis »
Bleich, E. (2022) · Questions de communication · doi:10.4000/questionsdecommunication.28699 · Cited by 1
Variations in media framing of movements in China, France, and the U.S.: An intersectional approach
Li, Y., Cassard, M., Holmes, B., & Wu, H. (2024) · British Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1111/1468-4446.13153 · Cited by 1
Zaina, H., Baba, J. E., Abdallah, A. A., Abdelaal, N., & Hussain, H. (2020) · Kampala International University Interdisciplinary Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences · doi:10.59568/kijhus-2020-1-3-02 · Cited by 1
Zhang, N. J. (2021) · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · Cited by 1
Mainstream and Black-centric News Accounts of Black Protests about Policing in the U.S. 1994-2010Preprint
Oliver, P. E., Gaede, E., Milewski, A. O., & Lim, C. (2025) · doi:10.31235/osf.io/uz54e_v2 · Cited by 1
Kittleman, M. M. (2020) · IRL - University of Missouri, St. Louis (University of Missouri–St. Louis)
Comparing Coverage of Black Protests in Mainstream Newswires and Black NewspapersPreprint
Oliver, P. E., & Lim, C. (2022) · doi:10.31235/osf.io/z4562
Perceptions of decolonising the curriculum: A preliminary Reddit forum study
Brewer, G., & Hendrikse, C. (2022) · Psychology of Education Review · doi:10.53841/bpsper.2022.46.2.40
Framing Cuba: U.S. Media and Cuba’s Black Lives Matter Protests
Greene, G., & Candelaria, R. T. (2024) · Journal of Black Studies · doi:10.1177/00219347241226933
Comparing Coverage of Black Protests in Mainstream Newswires and Black NewspapersPreprint
Oliver, P. E., Lim, C., Milewski, A. O., & Gaede, E. (2024) · doi:10.31235/osf.io/tceyu
Li, F., Lo, C. K. Y., Zhou, Y. X., & Tang, C. S. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4872168
Li, F., Lo, C. K. Y., Tang, C. S., & Zhou, Y. X. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4885933
Smith, A., & Cox, J. M. (2024) · Journal of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies · doi:10.24073/jcres/02/01/04.1
Lu, L., Tao, R., Kwon, H., Kang, J.-W., Zhou, Y., Xin, H., Duncan, J., & McLeod, D. M. (2025) · Visual Communication Quarterly · doi:10.1080/15551393.2025.2452959
Lauve‐Moon, T. A. (2025) · Race and Social Problems · doi:10.1007/s12552-025-09478-6
Black Czech Arts in the Making? Disrupting Racial Profiling
Nwagbo, A., & Rudwick, S. I. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-03223-2_3
Bettache, K. (2026) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-026-00541-6 · Cited by 1
Visualizing Citizenry-in-the-Making: Representations of Youth Protest in Reuters News Photography
Epping, S., & Bent, E. O. (2026) · Visual Communication Quarterly · doi:10.1080/15551393.2025.2604038
Hofmann, R., & Matern, S. (2026) · Politische Vierteljahresschrift · doi:10.1007/s11615-026-00659-5
Kerrouche, D., & Elmasry, M. H. (2026) · Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research · doi:10.1386/jammr_00124_1
Systemic racism and ideology in media representations of #BlackLivesMatter
Adedayo, V., & Link, S. (2026) · Journal of Language and Politics · doi:10.1075/jlp.25138.ade
Kaczynski, S. (2026) · Race and Justice · doi:10.1177/21533687261466276
Counter-protesters against hate speech in Japan: negative framing by police, media, and activists
Löschke, A. (2026) · International Journal of Asian Studies · doi:10.1017/s1479591426100874
Intersectional identity and framing of Black Lives Matter news coverage
Haenschen, K., & Smith, M. A. L. (2026) · Politics Groups and Identities · doi:10.1080/21565503.2026.2672962
Legitimizing Protest and Exposing Racism: U.S.–U.K. Media Frames of George Floyd’s Death and BLM
Okunloye, O., & Santillana, M. (2026) · Howard Journal of Communications · doi:10.1080/10646175.2026.2714878
Metadata
- Authors
- Leopold, J., & Bell, M. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Miami (US)
- The University of Texas at Arlington (US)
- ORCID
- Bell, Myrtle P.
- Venue
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2017-11-20
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 720-735
- ISSN
- 2040-7149 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2765338677
- Cited by
- 101
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 10.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Communication › News Media Framing and Political Communication
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Media Discourse and Social Analysis
- Social Sciences › Communication › Journalism and Media Studies
- Keywords
- Black Lives Matter, news media coverage, protest paradigm, blame attribution, racialized language, mainstream newspapers, Michael Brown, newsroom diversity, social movements
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review