The Politics of Force
Media and the Construction of Police Brutality, Updated Edition
Published on 12. January 2023
Book
Hardback
322 pages
978-0-19-761654-3 (ISBN)
Description
Published over twenty years ago, Regina G. Lawrence's The Politics of Force was the first scholarly book to look at the way in which media coverage of unexpected, dramatic events shaped public consciousness about important social and political problems. At a time when police brutality was rarely discussed in the news, Lawrence examined police use of force in over 500 incidents, with an in-depth look at the Rodney King case. In doing so, she showed that when incidents of police brutality became news, they offered one of the few real opportunities for marginalized voices and activists to find a public platform and take on the powerful.
In the intervening years, the empirical and theoretical contributions of The Politics of Force have become more significant, not only because police brutality is back in the news, but because the media system itself has changed. In this updated edition, Lawrence contextualizes and extends these contributions, while including a closer look at race and racial justice in incidents of police use of force. Reflecting on the context in which the book was written--a time when race and policing received limited coverage in the news and in the field of political communication--Lawrence considers what has changed in media studies since the year 2000, what things haven't changed, and why. Moreover, Lawrence examines coverage of more recent incidents of police violence and the ways in which the voices of citizen activists are treated in the news today. In turn, she addresses the important question of how defining political problems through such events might or might not produce more lasting policy change. Expanding on her landmark publication, Lawrence provides an accessible update on news production dynamics and police use of force for a new generation of scholars, students, and activists.
In the intervening years, the empirical and theoretical contributions of The Politics of Force have become more significant, not only because police brutality is back in the news, but because the media system itself has changed. In this updated edition, Lawrence contextualizes and extends these contributions, while including a closer look at race and racial justice in incidents of police use of force. Reflecting on the context in which the book was written--a time when race and policing received limited coverage in the news and in the field of political communication--Lawrence considers what has changed in media studies since the year 2000, what things haven't changed, and why. Moreover, Lawrence examines coverage of more recent incidents of police violence and the ways in which the voices of citizen activists are treated in the news today. In turn, she addresses the important question of how defining political problems through such events might or might not produce more lasting policy change. Expanding on her landmark publication, Lawrence provides an accessible update on news production dynamics and police use of force for a new generation of scholars, students, and activists.
Reviews / Votes
Regina Lawrence's model of the constraints on use of deadly police force has enduring explanatory power. With clarity and economy of expression, Lawrence applies the model in the new hybrid information environment and finds progress as well as potential setbacks. An essential book for students of the interaction of politics, communication, and public policy on racial justice. * Andrew Rojecki, Professor of Communication and Political Science, University of Illinois at Chicago * When The Politics of Force first came out two decades ago, it made a significant theoretical and empirical mark on a topic that had long been neglected in the political communication literature. Lawrence's updated edition of this landmark publication is even more relevant today than the original was then. This book deserves the full attention of anyone who wants to understand how and why news media so often cover controversies involving police uses of force in ways that avoid shining needed light on systems that are badly in need of reform. * Scott Althaus, Merriam Professor of Political Science and Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign * The problem of police violence has never before received as much media coverage as it did in 2020. Lawrence's analysis helps answer why. Why, of the countless number of people who have been injured, harmed, and killed by police, did George Floyd's murder grasp the world's attention? Her book meticulously describes the process of select news events becoming 'iconic moments,' and provides a convincing framework for understanding how the past can help frame the present. * Danielle K. Brown, Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity and Equality, University of Minnesota * The Politics of Force grapples with fundamental problems around the construction of the public agenda that have only become more urgent over time. * Benjamin Toff, Assistant Professor, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, and Senior Research Fellow, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
585 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-761654-3 (9780197616543)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Regina G. Lawrence
The Politics of Force
Media and the Construction of Police Brutality, Updated Edition
Book
12/2022
Oxford University Press Inc
€32.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Regina G. Lawrence
The Politics of Force
Media and the Construction of Police Brutality, Updated Edition
E-Book
11/2022
OUP eBook
€17.49
Available for download
Regina G. Lawrence
The Politics of Force
Media and the Construction of Police Brutality, Updated Edition
E-Book
11/2022
OUP eBook
€17.49
Available for download
Persons
Regina G. Lawrence is Associate Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon and Research Director for the Agora Journalism Center. She is a nationally recognized authority on political communication, civic engagement, gender and politics, and the role of media in public discourse about politics and policy. Her two latest books are Hillary Clinton's Race for the White House: Gender Politics and the Media on the Campaign Trail and When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina. From 2011 to 2015, Lawrence directed the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas-Austin. She has served as chair of the political communication section of the American Political Science Association and as a research fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is currently the editor of the journal Political Communication.
Content
List of Illustrations
Foreword, by Allissa V. Richardson
Preface
Introduction
1. Mediating Realities: The Social Construction of Problems in the Media Arena
2. Making a Problem of Brutality
3. Normalizing Coercion: Competing Claims about Police Use of Force
4. Setting the Agenda: Rodney King and the Los Angeles Times
5. Making Big News: Story Cues and Critical Coverage of Policing
6. Struggling for Definition: Policing Problems in the New York Times
7. Interpreting Rodney King: Police Brutality in the National Media Arena
8. Accidents Will Happen: The News and Event-Driven Problem Definition
Epilogue
Appendix: Research Strategy
Notes
References
Index
Foreword, by Allissa V. Richardson
Preface
Introduction
1. Mediating Realities: The Social Construction of Problems in the Media Arena
2. Making a Problem of Brutality
3. Normalizing Coercion: Competing Claims about Police Use of Force
4. Setting the Agenda: Rodney King and the Los Angeles Times
5. Making Big News: Story Cues and Critical Coverage of Policing
6. Struggling for Definition: Policing Problems in the New York Times
7. Interpreting Rodney King: Police Brutality in the National Media Arena
8. Accidents Will Happen: The News and Event-Driven Problem Definition
Epilogue
Appendix: Research Strategy
Notes
References
Index