The Other Side of the Pandemic: Effects of Racialized News Coverage on Attitudes Toward Asians and Immigrants

Authors

  • Martina Santia Syracuse University
  • Ayla Oden Louisiana State University
  • Seon-Woo Kim Louisiana State University
  • Raymond J. Pingree Louisiana State University
  • Jessica Wyers Louisiana State University
  • Kirill Bryanov Louisiana State University

Keywords:

anti-Asian racism, racialized news coverage, racialized rhetoric, media effects, and COVID-19

Abstract

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. news coverage related to race in 2 distinct ways: coverage of how foreign countries, particularly Asian countries, responded to the pandemic, and coverage of episodes of racism against Asian Americans and Asian-looking individuals. Past research has firmly established that different types of racialized news coverage can lead to very different effects among audiences. This study employs an online survey-experiment to investigate the effects of exposure to these 2 types of racialized news coverage amid the pandemic. Our findings reveal that exposure to an anti-Asian racism news story negatively affected attitudes toward the group depicted in the news. Anti-Asian racism news also increased opposition to immigration. News about an Asian country, however, did not influence attitudes toward Asians and instead decreased opposition to immigration. Trump support played a moderating role for some of these effects. As hate crimes targeting Asians continue in the United States and abroad, the implications of these findings are discussed.

Author Biographies

Martina Santia, Syracuse University

Martina Santia is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Ayla Oden, Louisiana State University

Ayla Oden is a PhD candidate in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

Seon-Woo Kim, Louisiana State University

Seonwoo Kim is a PhD candidate in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

Raymond J. Pingree, Louisiana State University

Raymond Pingree is an Associate Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

Jessica Wyers, Louisiana State University

Jessica Wyers is a PhD candidate in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

Kirill Bryanov, Louisiana State University

Kirill Bryanov is an independent researcher.

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Published

2022-11-30

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Section

Articles