Journalistic News Framing of White Mainstream Media during the Civil Rights Movement: A Content Analysis of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Most social movements receive some type of news media coverage during the course of the movement. How the media covers a social movement and its participants is critical in the influence it plays on media consumers. This study analyzes the news framing of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 5, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat for a white man. That act of refusal resulted in a 381-day protest of the city’s segregated bus system. This research elucidates how the boycott was framed in the local newspaper, Montgomery Advertiser. The findings of this study are crucial in understanding the complexity of past and contemporary social movements, and how social norms may influence the ensuing news coverage.