Quantifying Hate Speech on Commercial Talk Radio a Pilot Study
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CSRC WORKING PAPER NO. 1 NOVEMBER 2011 AN OCCASIONAL SERIES AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT QUANTIFYING HATE SPEECH ON COMMERCIAL TALK RADIO A PILOT STUDY CHON A. NORIEGA AND FRANCISCO JAVIER IRIBARREN FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center • 193 Haines Hall • Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544 Phone: 310-825-2642 • Fax: 310-206-1784 • E-Mail: [email protected] Editor: Chon A. Noriega • Senior Editor: Rebecca Frazier • Production: Bill Morosi This series is a project of the CSRC Latino Research Program, which receives funding from the University of California Committee on Latino Research. MISSION STATEMENT The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center supports interdisciplinary, collaborative, and policy-oriented research on issues critical to the Chicano community. The center’s press disseminates books, working papers, and the peer-reviewed Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies. For more information visit www.chicano.ucla.edu. CSRC WORKING PAPER NOVEMBER 2011 he CSRC Working Paper series federal government’s use of the radio Center 2007). Nationally, hate crimes is intended to convey the prelimi- frequency spectrum. Mindful of First against Latinos, when compared with nary results of ongoing research Amendment protections as well as hate crimes against other racial/ethnic at the UCLA Chicano Studies related federal legislation and policy, groups, have risen at the highest rate, the 1993 NTIA report established a with a 25 percent increase between Research Center. The research definition of hate speech drawn from 2004 and 2008 (Federal Bureau of Tpresented in these papers is preliminary the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (1990). Investigation 2004, 2008). This and has not gone through the usual peer Now, nearly two decades later, the increase may be linked to the media- review process for CSRC publications. NTIA report continues to provide a generated negative discourse against The authors invite your comments and viable definition for hate speech, but immigrants that has been prevalent on critique: [email protected] and jiribar- it no longer reflects significant recent the airwaves. In a 2007 national sur- [email protected]. changes in federal policy, telecommu- vey, about 64 percent of U.S. Latinos nications platforms, and programming reported that the immigration debate I. INTRODUCTION formats and content. Furthermore, the had negatively impacted their lives, original study relied on data that were, while 78 percent reported feeling that The considerable and often heated by the NTIA’s own account, “scattered discrimination remained a problem debate over hate speech has produced and largely anecdotal,” and it therefore affecting their community (Pew His- numerous reports, articles, and books. failed to provide a scientific basis for panic Center 2007).3 These studies have looked at the issue data assessment, let alone a methodol- from a number of disciplinary perspec- ogy or baseline for future study. II. METHODOLOGY tives, including those of journalism, In developing this pilot study we The 1993 report was the result of the law, linguistics, economics, history, considered areas in which we expected NTIA’s mandate to examine and report and philosophy.1 These studies offer to see significant results, so as to estab- to Congress on the media’s role in valuable theoretical, conceptual, inter- lish and test data-driven descriptive “crimes of hate and violent acts against pretive, and descriptive insights into categories. Future full-scale analysis ethnic, religious, and racial minori- hate speech, but they often rest upon would need to include a comparative ties.” The report defined hate speech unsubstantiated empirical premises dimension. as either (1) “words that threaten to about the phenomenon itself. Indeed, Commercial talk radio is the focus incite ‘imminent unlawful action,’ to date there is limited research on of the pilot study. Radio has the great- which may be criminalized without hate speech using scientific approaches est penetration of any media outlet violating the First Amendment”; or (2) 2 to medium, content, and impact. (print, broadcast, or digital), reaching “speech that creates a climate of hate The main goal of this pilot study is to 90 percent of Americans each week, or prejudice, which may in turn foster develop a sound, replicable methodol- and the news-talk format is the pre- the commission of hate crimes” (U.S. ogy for qualitative content analysis that dominant radio format in terms of Department of Commerce 1993, 6). can be used to examine hate speech in dedicated stations nationwide (over The definition of hate speech used in commercial broadcasting that targets 1,700). We examined commercial this pilot study is derived from this def- vulnerable groups—ethnic, racial, reli- radio talk programs reaching audi- inition and the definition used in the gious, and/or sexual minorities. This ences in Los Angeles County because hate crimes legislation: hate speech is pilot study establishes data-driven it is the most populous county in the speech that targets a vulnerable group descriptive categories for such speech United States and because Latinos and threatens or fosters the commis- and creates a preliminary baseline or comprised nearly half (48 percent) of sion of hate crimes against that group, reference point for future research. the county’s population in 2009 (U.S. as defined by law.4 The backdrop for this study is the Census Bureau 2010).The fastest- 1993 National Telecommunications growing, and largest, minority group in INCLUSION CRITERIA and Information Administration the United States, Latinos represented The 1993 NTIA report considered (NTIA) Report to Congress, which 15.8 percent of the U.S. population, all telecommunication at that time: addressed the role of telecommu- or about 48.5 million people, in 2009 “broadcast television and radio, cable nications in the commission of hate (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). Non-cit- television, public access television, crimes (1993). The NTIA advises the izens make up 44 percent of the adult computer bulletin boards, and other president on telecommunications and Latino population, of which 55 per- electronic media” (U.S. Depart- information policy and manages the cent is undocumented (Pew Hispanic ment of Commerce 1993, i). For the 1 UCLA CSRC QUANTIFYING HATE SPEECH ON COMMERCIAL TALK RADIO: A PILOT STUDY purposes of this pilot study, we focused Table 1. Description of Program Segments our attention on samples from one The John & Ken Show medium (radio), and one programming Medium: Talk radio format (news-talk), in one market Station: KFI AM 640 (Los Angeles County). We decided to Hosts: John Chester Kobylt, Kenneth Robertson Chiampou, Terri-Rae Elmer look specifically at conservative talk Air Date: July 30, 2008 radio, which accounts for 91 percent of Guests: Jim Gilchrist, founder and director, Minutemen Project total weekday talk radio programming Topics: The June 22, 2008, murders of Tony, Matthew, and Michael Bologna and their suspected murderer, Edwin (Halpin et al. 2007). This allowed us Ramos; San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, his administration, and San Francisco’s sanctuary policy for to consider exemplary instances with undocumented immigrants; Newsom and his administration’s response to the Bologna killings; the Minutemen respect to media penetration, a pre- rally and Answer Network’s counter-rally outside San Francisco City Hall shortly after the Bologna shootings; dominant format, and the largest and the Los Angeles City Council and specifically Councilwoman Jan Perry’s initiative to place a one-year moratorium on the construction of new fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles; the obesity epidemic in most diverse market. Furthermore, by South Los Angeles. examining the news-talk format, pro- gram content could also be measured The Lou Dobbs Show: Mr. Independent against established professional jour- Medium: Talk radio nalistic standards—specifically, the Station: Syndicated by the United Stations Radio Networks Code of Ethics developed by the Soci- Host: Lou Dobbs Air Date: July 31, 2008 ety of Professional Journalists (1969). Guests: Peter Brimelow, founder and editor, Vdare.com; Stephen A. Camarota, director, Center for Immigration Studies Segments of thirty- to forty-minutes were selected from each of three Topics: The issue of race in the 2008 presidential campaign, particularly in the campaigns of Barack Obama and programs: The Lou Dobbs Show: Mr. John McCain; congressional efforts to shape or enforce immigration policy; offshore drilling; George Gascón, the newly appointed police chief of Mesa, Arizona; hate speech allegations against Dobbs; the population Independent (syndicated by the United decrease, and the departure, of undocumented immigrants and possible causes (heightened immigration Stations Radio Networks), broadcast policy enforcement and the economic recession); targeting employers of undocumented immigrants as an on July 31, 2008; The Savage Nation immigration policy enforcement tactic. (produced at KFMB 760 AM and The Savage Nation syndicated by Talk Radio Network), Medium: Talk radio broadcast on July 24, 2008; and The Station: KFMB 760 AM and syndicated by Talk Radio Network John & Ken Show (KFI AM 640, Los Host: Michael Savage Angeles), broadcast on July 30, 2008 Air Date: July 24, 2008 (table 1).5 These programs share cer- Guests: None tain general features of the news-talk Topics: Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and his Berlin address; critique by Media Matters and format (news