#PoliticalCommunicationSoWhite
After reviewing journal keywords, Deen Freelon and team find that political communication scholars just aren’t talking about race.
“It seems fair to say our field does not consider race to be an especially relevant factor in the study of political communication, and racism even less so.”
So conclude Deen Freelon, Meredith Pruden, and Daniel Malmer in their new piece “#politicalcommunicationsowhite: Race and Politics in Nine Communication Journals, 1991-2021,” released today in Political Communication.
Race is a potent political force in U.S. (and global) politics and political communication. To study polarization, mis and disinformation, and negative campaigning without accounting for race, the authors argue, leaves vital questions unanswered. Instead, much of our understanding of the role of race in political communication comes from outside the field, with important contributions from legal scholarship and political science.
This marked lack of interest stands in sharp contrast to political developments since Barack Obama became president. On questions from “post-racial” America to anti-Black police violence to the increasing social acceptability of overt racism since Trump’s election (Jardina, 2019), political communication has had little to say. With few exceptions, the field continued to remain silent when Donald Trump brought unvarnished racism into the White House. It is of course possible that race is simply not a consequential variable when others are considered. But we must confront the possibility that it is simply being ignored, and that we therefore have little idea of how race affects the production, content, distribution, reception, and effects of political communication. van Dijk (1992) and others have developed the concept of denial of racism in various contexts since the early 1990s, and more recently scholars have observed a “disavowal of race” (Chakravartty & Jackson, 2020) specifically afflicting the discipline of communication. But denial and disavowal require acknowledgment, of which we see little evidence here.
The authors call for political communication scholars to take up race in their work, echoing an earlier call from Daniel Kreiss that “that if we want to understand communication, we must account for social and cultural difference, and especially race and ethnicity.”
Publications and appearances
“When I look at the main amplifiers of disinformation, it's often politicians and political elites whose platforms are basically independent of the internet. People are going to cover leading politicians regardless...” Alice Marwick spoke with EFF’s “How to Fix the Internet” podcast about disinformation and content moderation online.
“We're seeing this sort of normal moral panic cycle play out.” Shannon McGregor spoke with NPR’s Marketplace about what a TikTok ban would mean.
“AI research needs to shift focus. Currently researchers and policymakers in the Global South tend to prioritize immediate and visible developments while unduly neglecting the slower and relatively less visible processes that are also reshaping politics, societies, and markets. Equally, considering these slower forces can help AI policy researchers broaden their point of view while prompting them to address long-term transformations.” Affiliate Scott Timcke coauthored a piece on “Dissent and Resistance to Silicon Valley AI Narratives” for Tech Policy Press.
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Coming soon
March 29, 2pm: The UNC Center for Media Law & Policy presents a conversation on “Public Records & Public Universities” featuring Ryan Thornburg and Erin Siegel McIntyre, moderated by Amanda Reid. Register for the virtual event.
March 29, 6pm: Tressie McMillan Cottom will give a talk at the UMass-Amherst College of Education (in person only). Optional RSVP.
March 30, 4pm: Tressie McMillan Cottom will give the Kim and Judy Davis Lecture at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Register for in person or online attendance.
March 31, 11am: The CITAP spring speaker series presents Hakeem Jefferson, “From Margin to Center”: Reorienting our Approach to the Study of Race and Inequality in the Social Sciences. Details and registration.
April 10, 9am: CITAP affiliate Bridget Barrett will give a public dissertation defense of her work on political merchandizing by campaigns and unofficial sellers. Details and registration (both in-person and virtual) to follow.
April 20, 3pm: CITAP presents a talk from affiliate Melanie Feinberg about her book Everyday Adventures with Unruly Data. In person in the Freedom Forum, with livestream link to follow.
April 21: The School of Information and Library Science will host its annual Symposium on Information for Social Good, with keynote from Tonia Sutherland. Full agenda and registration.
April 23: Tressie McMillan Cottom will give a keynote at the Faculty Women of Color conference. Program and registration.
May 2-3: Join us at “Social Justice and Technological Futures,” hosted by the University of Tübingen. Registration is free.
May 30: Release date for Alice Marwick’s The Private Is Political: Networked Privacy and Social Media.