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Framing the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.: a Comparative Analysis of Mainstream and Alternative Newspaper Coverage, 2007-2008

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Framing the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.: a Comparative Analysis of Mainstream and Alternative Newspaper Coverage, 2007-2008 ABSTRACT Title of Document: FRAMING THE REV. JEREMIAH A. WRIGHT JR.: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MAINSTREAM AND ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER COVERAGE, 2007-2008 Robbie R. Morganfield, Ph.D., 2015 Directed By: Professor Emerita Maurine Beasley, Philip Merrill College of Journalism This case study examined through qualitative textual analysis how a group of mainstream and alternative publications framed their coverage of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. during the historic 2008 U.S. presidential primary campaign when Wright was the pastor of Barack Obama, who emerged from the campaign to become the nation’s first black president. Prior to the campaign’s conclusion, Obama parted ways with Wright as a result of heightened news coverage of statements Wright had made about the nation’s politics and treatment of black people. The study analyzes 216 news stories, commentaries and editorials produced by The New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times and The Washington Post, which are mainstream daily newspapers, as well as the Chicago Defender, Washington Afro American and The Christian Century, which are alternative news publications. The analysis of their coverage of Wright was further explored by the use of two framing theories to determine what values might have influenced the ways journalists made sense out of Wright’s religious speech and practices. Mark Silk’s “Unsecular Media” theory posits that journalists typically rely on a set of religious values to frame their reports of religious issues and figures. Herbert Gans’ “Enduring Values” theory posits that journalists typically rely on mainstream secular values to frame their reports of news subjects. The study’s findings showed that on the whole the mainstream publications included in the sample produced coverage that strongly correlated with Gans’ secular theory, which holds that subjects often become news worthy because they deviate from mainstream values associated with moderatism and ethnocentrism. The study’s comparative analysis concluded that coverage of Wright produced by journalists working for alternative publications consistently reflected values identified by Silk, whose original study was only focused on mainstream publications. The present study’s findings demonstrated that mainstream journalists rarely relied on religious sources to produce their reports while many of the writers for the alternative press were themselves religious officials or experts. The study points out ongoing challenges faced by the mainstream press in covering religion as well as the challenges religious figures face when they become the subject of coverage. FRAMING THE REV. JEREMIAH A. WRIGHT JR.: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MAINSTREAM AND ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER COVERAGE, 2007-2008 By ROBBIE R. MORGANFIELD Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Advisory Committee: Professor Emerita Maurine Beasley, Chair Assistant Professor Miles Bradbury Associate Professor Sharon Harley Associate Professor Emerita Katherine McAdams Professor of Practice Carol L. Rogers © Copyright by Robbie R. Morganfield 2015 Preface “Now, they ain't gone put me on PBS for the nation to see this. This will be around the Chicagoland area. This ain't gon' be in no national cable. But, this is the time for social transformation. And, this is going to be the hardest step we have to take.” – Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., from the sermon “The Day of Jerusalem’s Fall,” Sept. 16, 2001 For all the debate about whether the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. was wrong for saying the things he did about the United States, racial matters and a few other politically-charged issues, this statement taken from one of his sermons that stirred controversy during the 2008 U.S. presidential primary campaign shows he clearly was off the mark in regard to expectation that his words would never be heard by not many more than his Chicago congregation. Indeed, many of the words Wright uttered on that day were not heard by many others. But it turned out that a few words that were lifted from this particular sermon eventually landed Wright on PBS and on national Cable news networks, as well as on the pages of news publications all over the nation and world. It is because of those words and others that some thought were either ill-timed or ill-conceived that I now have completed a study that has consumed my life for the last several years. Now, at last, I stand ready to share the results of what I have come to learn and understand about what happens when a preacher’s speech leaves the pulpit and enters into the public sphere. Simply put, it often is subjected to very different interpretations than what the preacher intended or expected. As you read the pages that follow, you will discover just how differently some in the news media interpreted the words of Wright that landed him in the news spotlight for a season and made him the most talked about preacher, not just in the nation, but perhaps on the planet. ii Dedication To my Dad and Mom – Robert and Frankie Morganfield – the greatest influences in my life and greatest gifts I could ever ask to receive. You have always believed in me and inspired me to go beyond where I might have imagined by your own graceful example. You have stood together as husband and wife for nearly 67 years, and I’m proud to be your progeny. Thanks for birthing in me a spirit that always yearns to rise up and walk by faith. To the greatest and most supportive siblings in the world: my four sisters—Beverly Kizart, Joyce Tate, JoAnn Williams and Bridget Jones—you Morganfield women always have been superb examples, not to mention cheerleaders of my every move, even when some of them didn’t make much sense; and my baby brother and great friend—Gregory Morganfield—I love you for being such a good guy and a booster of your big brother. I owe you all more than I could ever repay. I am grateful to know you would not accept it, even if it were offered. Your love keeps lifting me higher, just like the love and faith that I have come to know in attempting to follow Christ and to serve God and those who stand in need of such love. iii Acknowledgements I shall forever be grateful to Dr. Maurine Beasley for standing by me through this process and offering her much needed wisdom and guidance. You did not give up on me when I wanted to give up. In addition, I am equally grateful for Dr. Kathy McAdams (Dr. Mc) for stepping in and rescuing this project by offering much needed insight into matters of faith and scholarship that were so much a part of this investigation. I could not have done this without the two of you. I will work hard to make you proud of me as I move on to the next chapters of my career as scholar and teacher. To the other members of my committee, I thank you for your willingness to serve, even though I was largely a stranger to you. I am forever grateful for your feedback that helped me push this project to a higher dimension. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the patience and support of members of two congregations – St. Mark’s United Methodist Church of Laurel, Md., and The Journey of Faith Church of Waldorf, Md. – who have watched me double-dip as pastor and student working to build people while working to get to the end zone of this Ph.D. process. Indeed, this has been a journey of faith, and I thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. iv Table of Contents Preface........................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... v List of Tables ............................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: The Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 Focus on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. ..................................................................... 3 Significance of Wright Coverage .............................................................................. 8 The Context of Research on News and Religion .................................................... 11 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 14 Social Location of the Researcher .......................................................................... 15 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...................................................................................... 19 Race, Religion and Research .................................................................................. 20 Pew’s Compendium of Wright Coverage ............................................................... 24 May and the Media Firestorm ................................................................................. 26 Herman and Peterson on The Demonizing of Wright ............................................ 28 Other Media Analysis ............................................................................................. 32 Political Research...................................................................................................
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