Broadcast news portrayal of minorities - Accuracy in reporting

This article examines how local television news has been shown to misrepresent minorities. Minorities are portrayed more frequently as criminals than are Whites, and minority misrepresentation has been shown to be out of proportion to crime statistics. Several possible explanations are given for this phenomenon. Evidence exists that audiences are aware of misrepresentation and that news directors are aware that their newscasts scare the audiences they serve. Research suggests that local television news stations can improve ratings by reducing crime coverage and by changing the nature of coverage. Suggestions also are offered as to how audiences can be better prepared to react to biased reporting.