Racialized Coverage of Congress: The News in Black and White. By Jeremy Zilber and David Niven. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2000. 160p. $60.00.

Extract

Jeremy Zilber and David Niven bolster a brief but cogent argument with evidence that news coverage of Congress has been “racialized” to the detriment of African-American congressmen and congresswomen, that African-American members of Congress are less favorably portrayed, less likely to be associated with a diverse agenda, and portrayed as more marginal than Caucasian members, factors other than race being equal (p. 90). By implication, the argument extends to all minority political activists and public officials. It also implies that constituencies represented by African-American politicians are greatly disadvantaged in the political process.