An Annual Conference on 19th Century Media and Free Expression
E-Mail: aleenrz@nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu
Coverage of Lynching in Selected Mainstream Newspapers, 1892-1894
Aleen J. Ratzlaff
University of Florida
Abstract
Coverage of lynchings became a "staple of journalism" in the
1890s. Newspapers regularly ran stories of mobs who executed
those allegedly guilty of some crime, mostly African American
men. Ida B. Wells of the Free Speech, a black newspaper in
Memphis, investigated mainstream newspaper coverage of
lynchings. Through her inquiries, she found that newspaper
accounts often had conveyed inaccurate or misleading
information.
Following her investigation, she launched an anti-lynching
campaign and determined to influence U.S. press coverage of
lynching. According to Wells, the lack of debate and
condemnation of lynching by white newspapers only supported and
encouraged the practice. She intended to undermine society's
justification of lynching by seeking to alter how the press
covered lynching. Though Wells readily reached readers of black
newspapers about the horrors of lynching, she initially was
barred from conveying this message to the audience of mainstream
newspapers. After accepting invitations to lecture in England,
she ultimately sparked coverage of the debate over lynching in
white newspapers in the United States. While much of that
coverage tended to be negative, nonetheless Wells managed to
attain a forum in general circulation newspapers.
This study examined lynching articles in selected mainstream
newspapers during the initial years of Ida B. Wells's
anti-lynching campaign from March 1892 through 1894, after she
had returned to the United States from her second lecture tour
in England. Analysis of reported lynching incidents and
antilynching efforts in mainstream newspapers revealed a subtle
shift in press coverage and public attitudes about mob violence.
Coverage expanded beyond merely reporting lynching incidents
and included articles covering the controversy fueled by Wells's
antilynching efforts.
Dr. Kittrell Rushing or Dr. David Sachsman 311 Frist Hall Communication Department The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403-2598 http://www.utc.edu/commdept/conference/
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