People, press, and protest : racial justice movements and the media from 1960 to present

When working in concert with people-powered social movements, the media have had a profound impact on the history of these movements and their political victories by taking the demands of the people from the streets to the policy sphere. From Jim Crow to mass incarceration, from Black Power to Black Lives Matter, social movements have been mediated through both mainstream and activist press, acting not as a filter, but as a megaphone for transformative political change. With the rise in journalistic functions of nontraditional and networked media, the megaphone has only gotten louder. This report will assess how mainstream, activist, and networked media have informed, covered, and incubated grassroots movements for racial justice from 1960 to present, drawing on historical record to make policy recommendations for a free and democratic press in today’s media and political environment.