This one-volume sourcebook draws together the scholarly literature assessing news coverage in the U.S. mainstream media of Americans of African, Native, Asian, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander origin. The work covers over 60 years, beginning in 1934, and examines the 50 states and the territories in the Pacific and the Caribbean that are currently under U.S. governance. The categories of racial and cultural groups follow the scheme of the 1990 U.S. Census, which provided the most detailed breakdown of race and ethnicity of the American population in the 200-year history of the census. This sourcebook gives parallel treatment to each of these five census groups. Every chapter begins with a history of that group as it came under U.S. jurisdiction. Then, each chapter is divided into six periods suggested by pivotal news events and discusses studies of news coverage of that group during that period. Each chapter also contains extensive endnotes and a selected bibliography on a racial or cultural group. Also included are chapters on investigative reporting and federal regulation of broadcasting as they relate to minorities.

From the Pueblo land protests of the 1920s to the sports teams' mascot controversies of the 1990s, this book chronicles the depictions of Native Americans in the press. Weston shows how some images of Indians that date from the time of Columbus have persisted into the present, and she asks whether journalistic practices have helped or hindered accurate portrayals of Native Americans. Few books of this kind have given attention to both local and national press, or have dealt so extensively with the 20th century. Weston has incorporated a wealth of well-chosen examples, presenting an accessible account of this fascinating subject.