Journalism and Human Rights How Demographics Drive Media Coverage

This book is the first collection of original research to explore links between demographics and media coverage of emerging human rights issues. It covers cross-national reporting on human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, water contamination, and child labour; and same-sex marriage, Guantanamo detainee rights, immigration reform, and post-traumatic stress disorder in the United States. The research asks questions such as: What are the principal catalysts that propel rights issues into media agendas? Why do some surface more quickly than others? And how do the demographics of cross-national reporting differ from those driving multi-city US nationwide coverage of rights claims? Using community structure theory and innovative Media Vector content analysis, the eight chapters of this book reveal three striking patterns that show how differences in female empowerment, social or economic vulnerability, and Midwestern newspaper geographic location, link powerfully with variations in coverage of rights issues. The patterns connecting demographics and rights claims confirm that coverage of human rights can mirror the concerns of stakeholders and vulnerable groups, contrary to conventional assumptions that media typically serve as "guard dogs" reinforcing the interests of political and economic elites. This book was originally published as a special issue of The Atlantic Journal of Communication.

Preface Morton Winston Overview: Illuminating Human Rights: How Demographics Drive Media Coverage John C. Pollock Part I: Cross-National Coverage of Human Rights 1. Cross-National Coverage of Human Trafficking: A Community Structure Approach Kelly Alexandre, Cynthia Sha, John C. Pollock, Kelsey Baier, and Jessica Johnson 2. Cross-national Coverage of HIV/AIDS: A Community Structure Approach James Etheridge, Kelsey Zinck, John C. Pollock, Christina Santiago, Kristen Halicki, and Alec Badalamenti 3. Cross-National Coverage of Water Handling: A Community Structure Approach Domenick Wissel, Kathleen Ward, John C. Pollock, Allura Hipper, Lauren Klein, and Stefanie Gratale 4. Cross-National Coverage of Child Labor: A Community Structure Approach Jordan Gauthier Kohn and John C. Pollock Part II: Multi-city US Nationwide Coverage of Human Rights 5. Nationwide Coverage of Same-Sex Marriage: A Community Structure Approach Victoria Vales, John C. Pollock, Victoria Scarfone, Carly Koziol, Amy Wilson, and Pat Flanagan 6. Nationwide Coverage of Detainee Rights at Guantanamo: A Community Structure Approach Kelsey Zink, Maggie Rogers, John C. Pollock, and Matthew Salvatore 7. Nationwide Coverage of Immigration Reform: A Community Structure Approach John C. Pollock, Stefanie Gratale, Kevin Teta, Kyle Bauer, and Elyse Hoekstra 8. Nationwide Coverage of Post-Traumatic Stress: A Community Structure Approach John C. Pollock, Stefanie Gratale, Angelica Anas, Emaleigh Kaithern and Kelly Johnson

John C. Pollock (Ph.D. Stanford) is Professor of communication studies at The College of New Jersey, Ewing Township, NJ. He is the author of Tilted Mirrors: Media Alignment with Political and Social Change – a Community Structure Approach (2007) and edited Media and Social Inequality: Innovations in Community Structure Research (2013, 2014). He is a media sociologist and pursues interests in health communication and media and human rights.