ANDREW HERRMANN, Chicago Sun-Times
- “If it bleeds, it leads” is an axiom in the news business. Meaning: Crime stories draw attention.
But a University of Illinois professor is arguing that such approaches also lead to racial stereotyping. Those who watch more local or network news are more likely to see African Americans as intimidating, violent or poor, says communications Professor Travis Dixon.
Nationally, the Bureau of Justice Statistics say that of known offenders, blacks committed 52 percent of homicides nationally. Chicago crime statistics for 2005, the most recent available, show that African Americans made up 77 percent of those charged with murder.
But Dixon says blacks have been disproportionally represented as criminals in newscasts in Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
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