Social protest and the media

Social protest in a democracy

• Protest is considered crucial to a vital, working democracy

• The 1st Amendment protects “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

• Protest generates an ongoing public critique and debate that is vital for the working of the “self-righting process”

• Those without ready access to--or power over--government must turn to other means than direct communication.– Only a few, powerful groups can command face

time

• In years past, the most common means was to work through the political party– Decline and professionalization of political

parties

Taking the critique public

• Though public protest has been around longer than the Republic, modern public protest was pioneered during the civil rights movement, as African Americans whose interests had been ignored took to the streets– Sit-ins– Mass marches– Protests

• Televised coverage forced acknowledgement of the “American Dilemma”– Sometimes brutal police reaction caught on tape

Expansion of the protest strategy

• The success of the civil rights movement led others to adopt similar strategies and tactics by other groups– “Left”

• Anti-war protesters• Feminists• Animal rights activists• Globalization protesters

– “Right”• Anti-abortion groups• School prayer activists• Pro-war demonstrators

Role of the press/media

• Most protests cannot be successful if they are ignored by the media and therefore isolated– Only likely to have a significant impact on

those immediately present– Oppositional messages carried widely in the

press/on television, etc. will “widen the field of conflict”

Agenda setting

• If the press covers social protest it may force the topic of protest onto the larger public agenda– Race relations– Concerns about the environment– (To some extent) feminism– Vietnam war (and other military excursions)– HIV/AIDS

Most protest is ignored by the media

• Public protest is a very common occurrence• Limited media space/time/interest• Some protest is not deemed worthy of coverage• Some is offensive to journalists, who will be less

likely to cover it• Some does not fit a definition of “news”

– Recurrent actions of groups who regularly engage in public protest on a given topic

How do protesters generate news coverage?

• To get in the papers, protesters must act in a ‘newsworthy’ fashion

• Interaction between protest groups and the press is a form of exchange

• (Gamson & Wolfsfeld, 1993)

– Protesters get access to wider public– Press gets raw materials for stories

Ways to be newsworthy

• Sensationalism

• Social impact

Sensationalism: Violent actions

• Hurting or killing someone else

Hurting or killing yourself

• Much more common

Confronting authority and having them hurt or kill you

Strident rhetoric

How protesters generate news coverage

• Dress funny, look funny (Mohawk, etc.)• Do interesting things like smashing tvs or burning

flags– Puppets, “street theater”

• Challenge government leaders on important issues of the day – Show up where the press will be anyway

– More likely to bring coverage in the event of disagreement among Senators, etc.

How protesters get coverage

• Get a really large group to show up– “Million Man March”

• Have something truly important and powerful to say that has not been said by a member of government or powerful business group, etc.– Though this is less of a guarantee than many other

options like those above

• Use good soundbites to make a point when you are interviewed– Organize to accommodate the press

The “Devil’s Bargain”

• Most of the spectacular or odd behavior draws attention, but simultaneously generates criticism -- “bad press”

• Focus will be on the protest tactics rather than on the critique of policy or government or whatever that the group is trying to advance

Larger questions of framing and ideology

• News values usually draw attention to confrontation

• Confrontation is most often with police rather than with government policymaking officials

• Police are given the opportunity to speak to balance protesters’ statements

Framing

• 5 frames in anarchist protest study– Circus– Riot– Confrontation– Legitimate protest– Debate (alternative protest only)

Normal news tendency

• Support status quo– Regardless whether protest is liberal or conservative

• Focus on violence – When violence is missing, focus on lack of violence or

note violence in another protest

• Go for the sensational– Any available conflict

• Disruption of normal life

– Weird-looking people– Weird behavior

News tendencies

• Focus on actions rather than meanings– Careful review of the route taken for the march

• Find “other side”– Often police– Bystanders who disagree– Anti-protesters– Rarely actual officials being criticized

• Do not go into depth in explaining protesters’ position

Objectivity

• 1. Factuality• a. Truth

– veracity of account (getting the facts straight)

• b. Relevance– inclusion of important facts, people,

ideas, actions and exclusion of unimportant facts, etc.

Objectivity

• 2. Impartiality– a. Balance/non-partisanship equal time,

equal coverage for balance. – non-partisanship is parallel, but relaxes

equal treatment to pursue relevance

• b. Neutrality– report does not “slant” representation of – contending parties (pejorative terms,

etc.)

Why should protesters even deal with the press?

• Many despair and do not• What news coverage can do:

– Widen the audience for their views• However, views are rarely express on-air in a way

that will generate adherents

– Make clear that policy is not riding on consensus

• Easier to do and also very important– Spiral of Silence– Emboldens opposition within government

What the press can do for protesters

• Press coverage provides legitimacy to certain groups– Usually wimp groups who haven’t got the guts to break a

window • For dispersed groups, gives a feeling that they are

not alone• Energize protesters through the feeling that their

actions are being noticed• Builds a foundation for continued action and

communication through other means– Social movements

How the press can hurt protest groups

• Define them as violent/dangerous– Focus on conflict, etc.

• Define them as crazy• Define their viewpoint as illegitimate, outside

consensus– Strategic use of bystanders, etc.

• Bring up all sorts of oppositional comment• Legitimize opposition• Declare public opinion to be in opposition to the group• Ignore them