Politicking While Black: News and Social Media Representations of Three Black Female Political Candidates Running for the House of Representatives in the 2018 Midterm Election Item Type text; Electronic Thesis Authors Cabrera-Peterson, Zeina Atalig Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 29/09/2021 02:38:05 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/631484 Politicking While Black: News and Social Media Representations of Three Black Female Political Candidates Running for the House of Representatives in the 2018 Midterm Election by Zeina Cabrera-Peterson Copyright © Zeina Cabrera-Peterson 2018 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2018 2 3 I. Acknowledgments I dedicate my thesis to my grandmother, Evelyn Jacobs. I hope I made you proud, my gramcracker. I love you to the moon. I want to praise my parents for their unconditional love and support, and for always pushing me to be the best I can be. Thank you for always encouraging me and for always making me feel like anything is possible, even when it is hard to see. Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made and the multiple paths you paved in order for me to receive a great education. I could not have done this without you. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have such amazing parents by my side and am extremely blessed to call you mine. I want to give the biggest, hearty appreciation to my chair, Professor Jeannine Relly, for making my graduate school experience extremely memorable. I have learned so much from you and am so lucky to have you as not only my thesis advisor, but also my mentor. You have been my biggest supporter and cheerleader throughout my entire grad school experience and for that I am extremely grateful. I also want to thank the most amazing committee, Professor Linda Lumsden, Dr. Kevin Henry, and Dr. Bryan Carter for the phenomenal support, guidance and endless encouragement beyond my thesis. To my amazing friends, I love you. You turned my tears into laughs and have never failed to make me smile. Thank you for your patience, the gazillion-and-one hugs, and the early morning/late night phone calls. Y’all are my heroes. And lastly, to my rock. Thank you so much JB for being my biggest hype man. You have no idea how much I appreciate your never-ending support and motivation. 4 Table of Contents I. Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................3 II. Abstract .........................................................................................................................5 III. Introduction ...................................................................................................................5 IV. Background: The U.S. context during the Trump era ....................................................7 V. Literature Review...........................................................................................................9 VI. Methodology ................................................................................................................15 VII. Findings........................................................................................................................22 VIII. Discussion ....................................................................................................................40 IX. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................44 Appendix A: Candidates’ District Demographics ................................................................... 45 Appendix B: News article and Twitter Codebook ............................................................. 46 References ......................................................................................................................................... 47 5 II. Abstract African American women have been the leading force in political campaigns long before they had the right to vote and hold office. Today, roughly 5% of African American woman hold political positions (CAWP, 2018). However, despite their political participation, there are few studies that examine representation of Black female political candidates in news media. This study employed a content analysis of news reports and three Black female candidates’ Twitter campaign accounts to examine how news media represented these three, first-time candidates and to analyze how these candidates represented themselves on Twitter. Based on the overall analysis of a census of newspaper articles and Twitter candidate accounts, the study found that race and gender was not a leading area of news coverage or self-representation in tweets. The research found that these candidates were mostly identified by their former occupations and were not questioned because of who they are, but because of what they do. These findings are significant because it challenges and reshapes gender and race identities. III. Introduction The 1992 election was known to be “The Year of the Woman.” Twenty-six years later in the months leading up to the 2018 midterm election, women candidates were poised to making history, setting yet again another ground-breaking year (Segers, 2018). A record of 53 women ran for Congress and 476 women ran for the House of Representatives. Within that number, 58 Black women ran for seats in the House and Senate (Black Women in Politics, 2018. Given the thin line of journalism studies and communication research on Black political candidates (Chaudhary, 1980; Caliendo & Mcllwain, 2006; Zilber & Niven, 2000), in general, and female Black political candidates more specifically, this study examines how news media represented these candidates and how they represented themselves on social media during the election. 6 The 2018 midterm election delivered a history teacher, a nurse, and a gun control activist to Congress. With no expertise in career politics, these first-time African American candidates defied the odds to join the House Representatives. Jahana Hayes, once a teen mom and 2016 National Teacher of the Year, now represents Connecticut-District 5, the state’s first Black member of Congress. Born with a pre-existing heart condition, registered nurse Lauren Underwood, who also worked as an advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Services under the Obama administration, is now the first Black woman to represent Illinois’ 14th district. After the shooting death of her son, Lucy McBath, a former Delta flight attendant turned gun-control activist, is now the first Black woman to represent Georgia’s District-6. News media play an unquestionable role in influencing the public’s expectations and perceptions about politicians (Chang and Hitchon, 1997, p. 29). As the “eyes, the ears, and the conscience” of society, journalists can inform people on issues and policies and expose injustices that could impact the public interest (Oswald, 1993, p. 389). However, journalists also have employed racial stereotypes when reporting non-white candidates (Caliendo & Mcllwain, 2006; Mendelberg, 2017; Barber & Gandy, 1990; Highton, 2004). News media overrepresentation of Blacks as violent, deviant, aggressive, and criminal bleeds over to public opinion and expectations of Black politicians, regardless of their qualifications (Caliendo & Mcllwain, 2006; Moskowitz & Stroh, 1994). Because news media tend to be the primary source of political information, it is essential to examine if and how these women were portrayed in news coverage, or if race and gender, shaped political attitudes toward them. This research is a case study that will focus on newspaper and social media representations of Hayes, Underwood, and McBath. This study will expand to the existing research that has examined the representation of Black politicians in media and adding a thin line 7 of research on the news media representation of Black women in politics (Reeves, 1997; Caliendo & Mcllwain, 2006; Mendelberg, 2017; Barber & Gandy, 1990; Highton, 2004). The following sections outline the background for this study and literature that explores historically how African Americans have been represented in media. The study then reviews studies examining news media representation of Black political candidates which can sometimes result in lack of voter support. The study also reviews literature on the representation of women in politics and how news has attached female politicians to topics such as abortion, childcare, and the environment as well as representations of African American women in politics. The literature review concludes with studies of politicians use of social media platforms during campaigns. IV. The U.S. context for this study Fifty-four years ago, before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it was legal to discriminate against individuals because of the color of their skin. Then, in 2008 came “Hope”—the catalyst slogan that carried many in the nation for eight years in an era where a Black man, Barack Hussein Obama, became the first African American to become the Commander and Chief of the United States of America. Under his leadership, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender