The Role of the Media in Shaping Civil Rights Media Essay

The Role of the Media in Shaping Civil Rights
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The Role of the Media in Shaping Civil Rights
The Civil Rights Movement of 1959s and 1960s was a struggle for blacks against discrimination and racism; they were fighting for social justice and equal rights under the law in the United States. Although the civil rights had officially abolished slavery, discrimination was rampant, and blacks were subjected to the severe effects of racism particularly in the South. The blacks had endured enough, and in the mid-20th century, they began mobilizing a fight for equality that dominated the 1950s and 1960s. The media played its part in affecting and propelling the Civil Rights Movements (CRM). Both television and radio played a central role, but the influence of newspapers was minimal in comparison.
Television and Civil Rights Movements had a striking similarity; they began gathering audience in the 1950s but exploded in the 1960s. The rise in television viewing saw the progress of the civil rights movements. Although more African Americans watched TV more than non-blacks, there was a great disparity in the in that they lacked representation, there was biased reporting, and rampant racism. The black’s culture was not accurately portrayed or was distorted, insulted, demeaned or omitted from narratives altogether. Television was said to “uncritically reflect the structure of society in its selection and presentation of characters associated with class divisions” (Taylor & Dozier, 1983).
The blacks continued to fight for equal and accurate representation on TV. At one point they succeeded in petitioning against the licenses of WJTV and WLBT stations using the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), and this resulted in more TV coverage which continued the progress of the Civil Rights Movements (Torres, 2018). The introduction of civil rights campaigns on TV, protests, attacks and increased general awareness is what propelled the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) in the 1960s, “Images of struggle distributed by television helped them gather a sympathetic audience for their cause” (Kiuchi, 2014).
The first major event that caught the attention of national broadcast was the case of Elizabeth Eckford in 1957 at Little Rock. Elizabeth was confronted by a mob of white students who were protesting the move to permit the blacks to attend a local school. The incident was filmed and broadcasted. The event reached a bigger audience that sympathized with her and caused an uproar that led to President Eisenhower ordering national troops to protect the students from any other threat. The “Freedom Rides” of early 1960 received much national television. Although TV did not broadcast mobs and direct attacks, they showed the consequences and injuries. The TV was so much important such that Martin Luther King would sometimes cancel marches and protests when he found out that news reporters were absent (Kiuchi, 2014).
President Kennedy in his speech called for more federal action and pressure following the event in Connor City. “We preach freedom around the world, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly to each other, that this is the l...