Mass Media and Governmental Framing of Riots

The Case of Tulsa, 1921

Bibliographic Data

ID19005295
AuthorsChris M Messer (0000-0003-4490-9956, Colorado State University Pueblo, corresponding author), Patricia Bell (Oklahoma State University), Patricia A Bell (Oklahoma State University, Stillwater)
Year2008
Volume40
Issue5
Pages851-870
Publication date2008-07-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Black Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9347 • E-ISSN: 1552-4566
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0021934708318607
OpenAlexW2158625168
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited14

This research extends the theoretical concept of framing to the phenomenon of race riots using the Tulsa riot of 1921 as a case study. Media accounts of this riot published during 1921 illustrate both prognostic and diagnostic framing strategies and techniques and demonstrate how these processes affected official responses. Results of this research suggest that framing is a critical process associated with media and organizational representation of riots. Analyses indicate that the riot was officially attributed to an armed group of Black citizens whose goal was to protect one of its community members from a potential lynching. However, Black residents framed the riot differently in statements of their account of the events. A recurrent theme for both races and a number of media reports was that of inept and incompetent law enforcement officials. The authors suggest that prognostic solutions to riots (e.g., police strategies and tactics and reconciliatory attempts) are rooted in diagnostic assessments

Criminology · Framing (construction) · Law enforcement · Mass media · Political science · Sociology · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · History · Law · Race, History, and American Society

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