Framing Flint : comparing mainstream and black newspaper coverage in the wake of environmental racism.

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Flint, Michigan, has been in a water crisis for four years now after the predominately black community was lead-poisoned following the decisions of government officials they should have been able to trust. The city’s insistence on using polluted river water along with a history of environmental injustices quickly drew criticism as an issue of environmental racism. Fighting environmental racism often originates from grassroots efforts and depends on voices from minority communities. By drawing on critical race and framing theories, this study considers how local black newspapers, the Chicago Defender and the Michigan Chronicle, have framed the Flint water crisis in comparison to mainstream newspapers, the Chicago Tribune, and the Detroit Free Press. The analysis found key differences in the way that the newspapers framed race, especially in the context of poverty. However, the top themes were the same across all four newspapers.

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Flint, Michigan. Environmental. Racism. Newspaper. Framing. Journalism. Media coverage.

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