Virtual+Legacy-+Kirk+Johnson


 * Navigation: __|__ __Home | | History | | Significant People | | Examples of Stereotypes |
 * Virtual Legacy - Charlene Teters | | Virtual Legacy - Kirk Johnson |__** **|** **Virtual Legacy - Norman Lear** **|**


 * Note to parents and community members:** If there is any information on which you would like to comment or provide feedback/insight, please click on the discussion tab above. You must be a registered user. Please click here for those directions.

=__**Kirk Johnson**__= Kirk Johnson is famous for leading a classic study of 30 days of coverage of Boston's two mainly black neighborhoods. The study, titled "Black and White in Boston," was published in the May/June 1987 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review, a magazine analyzing media coverage. The study showed that media coverage of these two largely black neighborhoods overwhelmingly focused on crime stories. Many stories involved violent crimes or drugs, and 85% of the articles reinforced negative stereotypes about blacks. On the other hand, Johnson found that coverage of the same two neighborhoods by black-owned news outlets was more diverse, therefore being much more accurate. These reporters definitely covered crime, but they also covered stories about the community, such as local businesses, school achievements, and community cleanup campaigns. It showed that 57% of the stories showed a community hungry for education and businesses success, and was eager to clean up poor living conditions made worse by neglect.

Johnson is important to this topic because he exposed the negative portrayal of African-Americans in the media. This proves that it is really out there.

Cover from an issue of the //Columbia Journalism Review//.

Resources- http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2527 http://www.symphonyofacity.org/01_investigate/resources.html

Jack W.