Mass Medias Effects on Sterotyping

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Recommended: Racial stereotypes of blacks

Since racial stereotyping in the media serves to justify, emphasize, and perpetuate antagonistic and munificent racism, there is need for focused study efforts on practical strategies to challenge and ultimately eradicate stereotypes. Stereotypes are generated and altered on the basis of first-hand encounters with stigmatized groups, as well as recycled information from mass media, acquaintances, as well as family. While both express and circumlocutory sources of stereotype lessening are acknowledged, the mass of the research on inter-group relationships has concentrated on direct examination of stereotyping conduct in an interpersonal background (Tator & Frances, 2006). On the other hand, taking into consideration that people generate stereotypes even with nominal or no express contact, the function of vicarious contact via mass media in triggering and altering existing stereotypes is a significant concern.
Evidently, the economic structure of the contemporary news media makes it subject to pressure from influential interest groups. For instance, one of the key reasons for the insufficient coverage of the fundamental causes of racial stereotyping in the U.S media is that the condition of African Americans per se is not a subject of high significance to the white majority. Their concern in African Americans is focused on circumstances where their imagined fears develop into real problems such as civil rights demonstrations, boycotts, picketing, and mainly racial violence. These are instances where African American activities impinge on white concerns, and consequently, the white-inclined media seeks to gratify the needs of the white audience and as a result mirrors this pattern of interest to selected occurrences (Govorun & Payn...

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...of the Amadou Diallo case, it is evident that race stereotyping can prejudice spontaneous judgments, and that prejudice can coexist with impartial intentions. While overt resentment toward African Americans is possibly enough to generate prejudice, it is not obligatory since the bias takes place not only as a result of racial animus, but as a result of stereotypical links that trigger reactions when people are incapable to effectively control them. Negative stereotypes may remain increasingly accessible as a result of contextual factors, for instance racist occurrences in the media, as well as interacting with racially prejudiced persons. Implicit stereotypes can be equally detrimental, if not more problematical, as conventional stereotypes since they can manipulate judgments in subconscious and subtle ways, even in persons who assume that they are not narrow-minded.

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