Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the intersection between race and media. Perhaps one of the most important institutions in a post-industrial society, the media are more than just gatekeepers or messengers, but sites for political, civic, and social upheaval. The book focuses on the dynamics by which media outlets are created, maintained, and used, based on the inherent political oversight of this domain. It identifies the myriad ways that the news media perpetuates racial ideologies of inequality through their coverage of important people, events, and issues. The book demonstrates how film reviews of top racialized films, ranging from 1990 to 2004, reinforce dominant racial ideologies. The role of the mass media in the construction and reproduction of race and racism is to be understood in the context of mass media systems and institutions.