Local media coverage of post-Freddie Gray events in Baltimore: a content analysis of The Baltimore sun, City paper, and Afro newspapers

Abstract

This study used a qualitative content analysis to examine how three Baltimore news outlets, The Baltimore Sun, City Paper, and Afro, covered events after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore during April 2015. Specifically, the study examined how language describing the post-Gray events evolved over time by looking at the use of words such as uprising, gather, demonstrations, unrest, riots, violence, disorder, disturbance, rebellion, and resistance. Media framing theory was implemented to determine which frames the local news outlets used in their coverage stemming from Gray’s death. The study concluded that news outlets used violence, riot, and unrest most often. Uprising was used interchangeably with words such as unrest and violence. The Afro and City Paper primarily concentrated on using the race and issue frame, while The Baltimore Sun primarily implemented the civil unrest and rioting frame through its use of language. Local news media primarily focused on the violence from late April 2015 as opposed to the underlying issues that were apparent in Baltimore City at the time of Freddie Gray’s death.