ABSTRACT
The mainstream or mass media is just that: "mass" media; this designation means that it gathers and reports news of interest to the mass public—in general, middle-class whites. Traditional media is on the decline. Innovations in technology have substantially increased the number of digital platforms that provide much more critical news and analysis of issues from African American perspectives. Content analysis of the mass media has consistently shown that routine, day-to-day coverage of African Americans is predominantly negative and stereotypical; blacks are portrayed as poor or criminal, or they were shown as athletes and entertainers. In the post–civil rights era, as a result of integration, the black press has to continually transform as both an instrument of protest and of group solidarity and direction. Celebrities and athletes, during these periods, often used their "star power" as platform to raise consciousness about the struggle in the black community. Political scientists usually discount the effects of celebrity endorsements on how citizens vote.
