Compose Yourself, Like Michelle or Oprah

Harrison, G., Denetra Walker, & Kerns, C. (Accepted) "“Compose Yourself, Like Michelle or Oprah”: a Focus Group Study of the Social Identity of Black Women Newscasters in the US" Accepted for Publication - Feminist Media Studies

Abstract: Using Social Identity Theory and focus groups -- this study explores the experiences and identities of Black women newscasters in an institution that has exhibited gendered racism. While in-group (Black women newscasters) collectively see themselves positively, the defining characteristics of their social identity are mostly bound up in the ways they must subvert negative stereotypes of Black women, and the exclusionary industry practices those stereotypes inform. Authors call on more inclusive newsroom practices as well as future studies that examine the experiences of Black women newscasters and Black women in journalism schools.