Key Questions
- What role can – and should – media play in challenging social narratives about people?
- Who gets to create media, and whose creations are shared widely?
- Who do you see in media? How are those people depicted?
Media both contribute to and challenge stereotypes, bias, and stigma. For instance, representation in everything from news to sitcoms is an important pathway towards social acceptance. But it's a double-edged sword: people learn from the images we see about others who are unlike us, even if they're not accurate. Diversity and especially equity at all levels of production, especially gatekeeping roles like editors and executive producers, makes it more likely that different people will see their stories told with care. We aim to better understand how different groups of people are currently represented in media, as well as how we can change societal stigma and bias through media. This work includes developing mechanisms for participatory and community-based journalism, like our work with PBS NewsHour and WNYC.
Future Directions
- What forms of care empower people with chronic health challenges to participate fully and equally in research and forms of media creation? Several future projects with our Wellbeing research area focus on a praxis of care as one pathway towards radical inclusion.
- What forms of sponsorship and fellowship best support minoritized media creators as they move into leadership roles in current media organizations, which remain unrepresentative of the US as a whole?
- How can Indigenous media challenge public stereotypes of not just Indigenous people but of appropriate solutions to climate change?