On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Dr. Carol A. Archbold, Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Political Science at North Dakota State University and author of a study entitled “ Newspaper Accounts of Racial Profiling: Accurate Portrayal or Perpetuation of Myth?”
There is both speculation and debate surrounding the prevalence of racial profiling in this country.Since most Americans do not directly experience this problem themselves, many rely on information provided to them by various media sources. Archbold’s study investigates trends in the presentation of racial profiling by three major 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.
