Friday Assignment #4

Gitlin states that the “observer changed the position of the observed.” (Pg 333) Gitlin is talking about the way media frames social movements, or for that matter, any story that is on the news. Depending on the viewpoints of political elites and the owners of newspapers, stations, and magazines, a social movement will be framed in a certain way. Most news outlets have a specific political side, either left or right, which causes them to frame events in order to please the left or right audience. Look at the two main cable news outlets as an example. Fox News is known to be more geared towards the right wing, whereas CNN is geared more towards the left wing. A look at the recent Tea Party protests, which blasted stimulus spending, shows how the media can control the way a movement is viewed. If doing a simple search of Fox News’ web site for "tea parties," you will get just over 14,000 results, whereas on CNN’s web site you will get under 400 results. If watching the news commentary shows on either channel for even an hour, one can see how the gay rights movement, environmental movement, equal rights movement, immigration movement, and anti-war movement are framed by both channels.

One movement that I think was most affected by the presence of media coverage was the Civil Rights Movement. Taking place in the later 1950’s and into the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement saw the beginning of mass media coverage, much like the anti-war movement. According to a study about the media coverage written by Friedman and Richardson in 2008, the media’s attention to the Birmingham protests was central to gaining public support for the movement, and the eventual action by the federal government. It was the images of police brutality against peaceful demonstrators that finally made President Kennedy take action. Before this, most of the demonstrations and protesters were seen as criminals or violent in the news media. King knew he had to change that perspective, and gain media attention for a waning movement. King used the media by recruiting schoolchildren to be beaten, arrested, and jailed for the national public to see. The study also looked at coverage in several newspapers from around the United States. They found that newspapers in the South were more likely to frame the African American protesters as the enemy, and the police as the only entity maintaining control. Other newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times looked at the police as the aggressors, and the protesters as the victims. There were also differences in how African Americans were labeled and how Martin Luther King Jr. was labeled. (Friedman, Richardson) Gitlin states that if a movement becomes revolutionary for a non-revolutionary cause, then it can kill the movement in the media. I think that although the Civil Rights Movement did have a revolutionary aspect in the Black Panther Movement, the non-violent methods used by King prevailed and were more popular, thus keeping the movement alive within the media. According to a journal article by Jack Nelson in 2001, King knew how to use the media to his advantage, and thus create or evolve his tactics. Oftentimes, King would show up for his speeches so late that the media was unable to put his quotes on the evening news. The media is also why King chose the deepest southern states with the most white pride, and the most public figures he could make examples of. Although newspapers had a large effect on the way the Civil Rights Movement was viewed, it was television news that created the most uproar. (Nelson) Looking at another journal article by Festle in 2005, she examines why the Civil Rights Movement was successful, and how to apply it to the gay rights movement. She states that non-violent direct action by Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the keys to the success, because it kept the media interested. At first, it was the creativity of the sit-in protests that interested the media, and later it was the violence used against the many peaceful protesters that glued the media to the movement. Protesters would often wear nice clothes and keep quiet even when faced with hostility. If the protesters were arrested, they accepted the penalty with no resistance. This tactic tried to dispel the stereotype through the media that blacks were poor, ignorant, and criminals. (Festle)

It is easy to see why the media played such a big role in the Civil Rights Movement. It is also interesting to see the tactics Martin Luther King Jr. used in order to keep the movement in a positive light in the media. On a parting note, an interesting element that the Civil Rights Movement, along with other movements, used is creating their own news sources. Today, most large cities, including Phoenix, have African American-run newspapers, and the internet has also helped, allowing people to get the news where they want to get it, rather than having large corporate news agencies tell them what is and is not news. Many organizations in social movements also maintain web pages, newsletters, or magazines in order to inform members or potential members of important news items. Look at the NRA web page, for example. They have entire sections devoted to news that might affect the right to bear arms movement.

References
-Friedman B, Richardson J. "A National Disgrace.". Journalism History [serial online]. Winter2008 2008;33(4):224-232. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed June 25, 2009.

-Nelson J. The Civil Rights Movement: A Press Perspective. Human Rights: Journal of the Section of Individual Rights & Responsibilities [serial online]. Fall2001 2001;28(4):3. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed June 25, 2009.

-Festle M. Listening to the Civil Rights Movement. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed June 26, 2009.