Gerald J. Baldasty

Race, Advertising, and Prime-Time Television

Critics have frequently noted the lack of diversity in TV programs, but few have analyzed diversity in TV commercials. This article focuses on prime-time TV commercials, noting the amount and type of representation of people of color. Although people of color appear regularly in ads, they usually appear as secondary (not primary) characters. A distinct racial segregation exists in prime-time ads, with Whites appearing in ads for upscale products, beauty products, and for home products (cleaners, non-fast food). People of color, in contrast, appear in ads for low-cost, low-nutrition products (such as fast food and soft drinks) and in athletic and sports equipment ads. These product trends raise questions about the continuance of racial stereotypes, particularly a somewhat one-dimensional view of people of color as key consumers of low-cost products in America today.

News, Race, and the Status Quo: The Case of Emmett Louis Till

Using inductive and deductive framing analysis, the authors examine how 4 newspapers covered a key event sparking the civil rights movement—the 1955 murder of Emmett Till—in an effort to gauge how the press covers events that are part of larger social ferment. The Daily Sentinel-Star (Grenada, Mississippi), Greenwood Commonwealth (Mississippi), Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Defender varied in intensity of coverage, use of sources, and attention to crime news and, as a result, framed the story differently. The African American Defender defended Emmett Tills reputation, focused on larger issues of civil rights, and provided a clear argument for social reform. The 3 mainstream dailies defined the case primarily as one in which the victim invited his own death; they provided little or no support for reform. In this case, an advocate press seemed better able to give voice to those who challenged an entrenched status quo. By examining initial coverage of the Till case, we can better understand the news reporting traditions and devices that shaped (and continue to shape) narratives about the struggle for racial equality and justice.

Syndicated Service Dependence and a Lack of Commitment to Localism: Scripps Newspapers and Market Subordination

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Scripps chain was profitable and the largest newspaper operation in terms of number of newspapers owned. However, these two accomplishments belie the fact that most of the chains papers were in a subordinated market position, and often the last position in the market. A content analysis and historical assessment suggest the chains heavy dependence on syndicated material and lack of commitment to local issues contributed to the subordinated market position.

The Charleston, South Carolina, Press and National News, 1808-47.

,The first half of the 19th century was a period of great and rapid institutional and geographic growth in the United States. The rise of political parties, the evolution of national institutions of government and a vast expansion of population and territory marked these 50 years. Communication was an important part of the growing nation.1 The historiography of the early 19th century American press has generally emphasized great men and great newspapers, especially in Washington, D.C., and New York City.2 Few journalism historians have studied how Americans outside of the major Eastern cities obtained news regarding national, political news. Early 19th century Americans had no television or radio networks, or national wire services to send news to the hinterlands. Yet a glance at newspapers in this period reveals many articles and discussions on national news and politics. The historian William E. Ames has hypothesized that newspapers throughout the nation in the early 1800s relied on the Washington, D.C., political press,

Review Essay: Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman, Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery, Volumes 1 and 2. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1974

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The author thanks Professor Carolyn Stewart Dyer for her many suggestions and Professor Jack M. McLeod for invaluable criticism and suggestions. The publication of Time on the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery, Volumes 1 and 2, by Robert Fogel and Stanley Engerman has provoked no small amount of fear and loathing among many historians in the United States and abroad (David and Temin, 1974; Woodward, 1974; Lichtman, 1974). The book is a revisionist interpretation of the economics of American slavery, relying heavily on statistical method. Economic history is not new, but the relative newness of quantification in history has caused some scholars to shudder at Time on the Cross and similar works. Ten years ago, one researcher admonished historians to &dquo;beware the bitch goddess of quantification.&dquo; And Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (1970) has proclaimed that history by its nature defies the use of cold statistics in the place of real people. Despite these maledictions, some historians-cliometricians-continued to quantify. The fear and loathing have subsided some in the past few years, only to return with Time on the Cross.