Black Lives Matter in the National Media Disparities in Coverage Between Legacy Newsrooms and Digital-First Outlets

Abstract

This study examines the differences in coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement throughout its existence between national legacy newsrooms and national digital-native newsrooms. A content analysis of 412 articles was conducted to examine how frames, tone, language use, support and blame of relevant actors, and frequency of coverage differ between the six newsrooms studied. The results suggest that both legacy and digital-native newsrooms use a variety of frames in their coverage, and that digital-native newsrooms are more likely to positively portray the movement than legacy newsrooms.