Search

This study explored the effectiveness of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications' diversity standard from 1989 to 2002. Although this standard, known as Standard 12, had the most non-compliances, the findings credit the standard for increasing non-white and female faculty and students in accredited journalism units. The findings also credit the standard for the development of courses that focus on issues pertaining to women and non-whites in journalism. But the study also concluded that stronger enforcement and additional strategies were needed to fully achieve diversity in journalism and mass communication education.

Chapter 1 focuses on representations of African Americans in film, print, and broadcast media. It introduces the concepts of media framing, stereotypes, and hegemony as they relate to race and mass media studies. The chapter also introduces antebellum portrayals of African Americans, which are explored in greater depth in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 4 focuses on images of African Americans in advertising, PR, and social media. Because many of the stereotypes, cultural narratives, and frames that exist today originated in historical advertisements of products and services, we begin with an in-depth analysis of antebellum racial and ethnic advertisements in mass media. Starting with the 1800s, we trace the evolution of longstanding racial stereotypes, which provides context for the subsequent chapters of our text. Topics include how and why African Americans have been depicted as they have in advertisements, PR, and social media. The chapter presents implications for self-presentation in new media platforms. A case study on President Barack Obama’s early social media presence concludes this chapter.