The shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer cued an intense reaction from citizens, officials, and activists. Guided by the theory of indexing during “event-driven” news and the literature on protest coverage, this paper investigates the voices in the news following Brown’s shooting. A content analysis of five newspapers during the first cycle of protests analyzed three aspects of the media coverage of Ferguson. First, we assessed the reliance on official and nonofficial sources in the content published. Second, we tested the relationship between official and nonofficial sources to episodic or thematic coverage. Third, we tested the relationship between sources and the frames of the “protest paradigm,” a pattern of coverage emphasizing violence and deviant behavior. Findings reveal that nonofficial sources dominated the coverage after the shooting. But such sources challenged neither the episodic nature of the coverage nor negative portrayal of protestors. Therefore, our unique linking of the theory of indexing and protest coverage literature reveals that the nonofficial sources’ access is not enough to deter “protest paradigm” coverage. Frames emphasizing violence and clashes with the police were overwhelmingly more present than those emphasizing protestors’ grievances and demands. Our findings also reveal that frames emphasizing deviance prevailed more in the local newspaper than in national outlets. Overall, the predominance of nonofficial sources was not accompanied by thematic stories and critical viewpoints.

1. Michael Brown as a news icon
Event-driven news and its
impact on protest paradigm
Rachel R Mourao
Danielle Kilgo
George Sylvie
The University of Texas at Austin

5. What voices were heard?

6. The degree of conflict among official sources
(such as elected and government officials,
and police personnel) determines critical
coverage of the issue
EVENT-DRIVEN NEWS
News thrives from developments of events
themselves, instead of the daily routine of
institutional organizations

7. Media routinely delegitimize and
marginalize social movement organizations
that challenge the status quo.
INDEXING + EVENT-DRIVEN + PROTEST
PARADIGM

8. RQs and hypothesis
RQ1: Which types of sources were used in the coverage of Ferguson by the
mainstream press?
RQ2: Which type of coverage – episodic or thematic – is prevalent in the
coverage of Ferguson?
RQ3: Are there any differences in the use of official/nonofficial sources between
episodic and thematic content items?
RQ4: What protest frames did the mainstream press use in covering Ferguson
protests?
H1: Episodic content items are more likely to adhere to protest paradigm
frames (riot and confrontation) than thematic content items.
RQ5: How does the use of official/nonofficial sources relate to protest paradigm
frames?

9. Methods
Content analysis of newspaper articles
during the first cycle of protests (Aug. 8-
Sep. 8)
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA
TODAY, The Washington Post and St. Louis Post-
Dispatch

10. Methods
Generic Frames:
episodic or thematic
Protest paradigm:
riot, confrontation
and debate
N= 623

11. Sources & episodic/thematic (RQ1, RQ2 and
RQ3)

12. Protest frames (RQ4)
Riot

13. Frames of protest & sources (RQ5)
Confrontation

14. Frames of protest & episodic/thematic (H2)

15. Which voices were heard?
Non-official sources, but not critical
Protest paradigm remains intact, especially for
local newspapers
Future studies:
– How does coverage expand to accommodate dissent
(e.g. DOJ report)?
– Role of gender
– Ethnography of sourcing practices

16. What does it mean?

17. Thank you!
rachelmourao@gmail.com
www.rachelmourao.com