Out of what some call America’s first truly multiracial riot in Los Angeles in 1992 was spawned a clarion call from Black newspapers to build an interminority alliance to avert a repeat performance. This article examines whether and how the Los Angeles Sentinel changed its coverage of Black–Asian American relations in the years after 1992. Using Ethnic NewsWatch, the author analyzed 102 articles published from 1993 to 2000 that included some discussion about that connection. Several things stand out: (a) The Sentinel’s reporting for that period almost tripled output from all Black newspapers for 1980-1992; (b) the focus and breadth of coverage changed, from highlighting enmity between Korean (American) merchants and Blacks to emphasizing interminority collaboration and inclusion in a wide range of settings; and (c) rarely noted were intimate relationships and personal ties. The Sentinel provides proof that news organizations can significantly improve their coverage of race relations very quickly.
A slice of rice, frijoles and greens comes home to Los Angeles. (2000, October4). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B4.
2.
African American and Asian-owned firm named SBA-SCORE Business of the Year. (1996, October31). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B8.
3.
African American, Korean leaders coming together. (1998, July15). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A3.
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AubryL. (1998, July2). Urban perspective: Looking inward first. Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A7.
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Black filmmaker wins in court. (2000, January26). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A3.
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Black guide brings group to L.A. (1995, May3). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. C-8.
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Black-Korean Friendship amateur boxing show. (1995, January25). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B-1.
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Blacks, Asians in two confrontations. (1993, September2). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A12.
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Blacks, Koreans want journalist out of jail. (1998, January14). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A1.
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California’s sad tradition of racism, discrimination. (1995, August2). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-6.
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Chinese American banks want to help restore California’s ailing economy. (1993, July1). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B-9.
12.
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Conferees want to sack “global village.” (2000, July5). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A15.
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Disney offers $3 million to settle “Black Hoes” race bias suits. (2000, August30). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A1.
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DixonT.LinzD. (2000). Overrepresentation and underrepresentation of African Americans and Latinos as lawbreakers on television news. Journal of Communication, 50, 131-154.
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DixonT.MaddoxK. (2005). Skin tone, crimes news, and social reality judgments: Priming the stereotype of the dark and dangerous black criminal. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35, 1555-1570.
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EntemanR.RojeckiA. (2000). The Black image in the White mind: Race and media in America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
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Enyce “Lockes” it up. (2000, June7). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B6.
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Food for thought. (1995, July19). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. C9.
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GandyO. (1998). Communication and race: A structural perspective. London, UK: Arnold.
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George Takei: Star Trek’s “Mr. Sulu,” charged with racist rental practices. (1995, November5). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-1.
22.
Good, Black theater comes home to the “hood.” (2000, May10). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B4.
23.
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24.
HallS. (1997). The local and the global: Globalization and ethnicity. In McClintockA.MuftiA.ShohatE. (Eds.), Dangerous liaisons: Gender, nation and postcolonial perspectives (pp. 173-187). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
25.
HallS. (1982). The whites of their eyes: Racist ideologies in the media. In BridgesG.BrundtR. (Eds.), Silver linings: Some strategies for the eighties (pp. 28-52). London, UK: Lawrence and Wishart.
26.
In the name of Black power. (1998, July22). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B7.
27.
IyengarS. (1991). Is anyone responsible? How television frames political issues. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
28.
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29.
KearneyR. (1998). African American views of the Japanese: Solidarity or sedition?Albany: State University of New York Press.
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Korean American community shifting priorities and attitudes. (1993, March25). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-12.
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Korean liquor store owners call city safety laws discriminatory. (2000, January26). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A1.
32.
Lawsuit filed to stop Proposition 227. (1998, June17). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A3.
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Looking at the uprising from a multicultural point of view. (1993, August5). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. C-4.
34.
Many products for Blacks not from Black-owned firms. (2000, December12). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A9.
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Minority journalists may boycott Seattle. (1998, June3). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A14.
36.
MullenB.WatsonC. (2005). W. E. B. Du Bois on Asia. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
37.
Mutual perceptions of Korea and the U.S.: An analytic view. (1995, December14). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A7.
38.
O. J. Simpson: Media seems to lose interest as defense comes up to bat. (1995, July5). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-4.
39.
OmiM.WinantH. (1994). Racial formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s. London, UK: Routledge.
40.
On CBEST exam: Judge allows bias lawsuit. (1993, September2). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-16.
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OnishiY. (2007). The new Negro of the Pacific: How African Americans forged cross-racial solidarity with Japan, 1917-1922. Journal of African American History, 92(2), 191-213.
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Playmate makes impression on viewers. (1995, July26). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B-6.
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Point of view: Blacks need to support bilingual education. (1998, March4). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A7.
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Police investigate hate crimes, ethnic organizations outraged. (1993, October14). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A4.
45.
PrashadV. (2001). Everybody was kung fu fighting: Afro-Asian connections and the myth of the culture of purity. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
46.
Racist Ito drawings enrage Asian group. (1995, May17). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-1.
47.
Re-examining traditionalism. (1992, June11). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A6.
48.
Regulator decries lack of inner city banks. (1993, September16). Los Angeles Sentinel, A14.
49.
RossK. (1995, May24). Affirmative action: Lines have been drawn; It’s time to fight. Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-1.
50.
SchaffnerB.GadsonM. (2004). Reinforcing stereotypes? Race and local television news coverage of Congress. Social Science Quarterly, 85, 604-623.
51.
ShahH.NahS. (2004). Long ago and far away: How US newspapers construct racial oppression. Journalism, 5, 259-278.
52.
ShahH.ThorntonM. (2004). Newspaper coverage of interethnic conflict: Competing visions of America. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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ThorntonM. (2009). Policing the borderlands: White- and Black-American newspaper perceptions of multiracial heritage and the idea of race, 1996-2006. Journal of Social Issues, 65 (1), 105-127.
54.
Trial aftermath: Consensus; Not a repeat of last year. (1993, October7). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A3.
55.
United the world through “good taste.” (1998, September30). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. C8.
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Urban perspective: Racism is alive and well in the U.S.A. (1998, September9). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A7.
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Urban perspective: Violence embedded in the nation’s fabric. (1998, July29). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A7.
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Vigil for Latasha Harlins. (1993, March25). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A-1.
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Vigil held for actor killed by cop at Halloween party. (2000, November8). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A1.
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ViswanathK.AroraP. (2000). Ethnic media in the United States: An essay on their role in integration, assimilation, and social control. Mass Communication & Society, 3, 39-56.
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Whitney Young dinner: “Proposition 209 Chickens are Coming Home to Roast”—Mack. (1998, April23). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A3.
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Yes Rodney, we can all just get along. (1995, January4). Playmate makes impression on viewers. (1995, July26). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. B-6.
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YoshikawaT. (1998, January14). Unfair attack helps justify stance of bigots. Playmate makes impression on viewers. (1995, July26). Los Angeles Sentinel, p. A1.
