Justice For Whom?A Media Narrative Analysis Of The Shooting Of Akai Gurley By NYPD OfficerPeter Liang

On November 20,2014,a 28-year-old African American man,Akai Gurley,was fatally shot by a Chinese-American rookie officer Peter Liang.This case of police brutality over black man,unlike previous high-profile cases where white officers were put against minority communities,is unique because it involves two minority groups,while whites are largely invisible.It provides a perfect chance to examine the political stance of the mass media when two oppressed minority groups are put on opposing sides.This study analyzed the coverage of the shooting of Akai Gurley by NYPD officer Peter Liang in three U.S.newspapers,namely,a U.S.mainstream newspaper the New York Times,a Chinese-American newspaper the World Journal,and an African American newspaper New York Amsterdam News.Upon revealing the similarities and differences in their news narratives of the same event,this study explored the ways in which media narratives of violent events were shaped by social structure,cultural repertoire,racial relations,and racialization experiences.From the three newspapers,the present study selected 177 news articles that are related to this case dated between the occurrence of the shooting and the conviction of Peter Liang.Along the four phases of news coverage,which is divided according to the natural occurrence of news events,this paper examined the use of news plots,the portrayal of characters,and identified the themes that were prevalent in each newspaper during each phase.Results showed that,despite the invisibility of whites,the mainstream newspaper defended mainstream institutions that are protectors of white privilege.The Chinese-American ethnic media,influenced by the racial structure and Chinese-Americans' racialization experience in the U.S.,engaged in racialized reporting and showed a tendency for demanding white privilege,which is exemption from conviction when a police officer killed an African American man.It also fulfilled various organizing roles in a series of Chinese-American ethnic activities by organizing events,mobilizing ethnic resources,and forming narratives of ethnic solidarity.The African American media promoted equal rights for the black community and engaged in the least racialized reporting,but was nevertheless disappointed by the mainstream institution that did not allow equal justice to blacks.This study contributes to existing literature on media agenda building by showing that,in addition to institutions with political power and economic power,the social group that sits on top of the power hierarchy also influences and determines the media agenda by dominating the mainstream media to narrate a news story in its favor.The white ideology also influences the narratives of ethnic newspapers in terms of the representation power of minority members in mainstream institutions.The current study also replenishes literature on Asian American newspaper by providing a case study of a Chinese-American newspaper,filling the gap of studies on traditional Asian American press.To conclude,the United States is far from being a post-racial,colorblind society.The conviction of Liang is only a first step towards correcting the past injustices and tackling the larger problems of racialized policing,racial profiling,and institutionalized racialization in the country.Education of the current situation of racial minorities is desperately needed in the U.S.social system.With more people receiving proper education and police officer receiving proper training about racism,they can notice and correct the current situation in key social institutions,avoid such tragedies,and the United States can expect a brighter future for racial minorities.