Media coverage of protests is often framed using a script of marginalization that depicts them as disturbing elements to democracy (Entman and Rojecki 1993; Boyle et al. 2005). It also depicts the protesters as minority extremists who are insufficiently informed and rational to be regarded as “good” citizens (Entman and McLeod 1995; Hertog and McLeod 2008; McCluskey et al. 2009).
Anger and fear conveyed or evoked in news media coverage of protest events may serve as a form of political support for those participating in the protests. However, it is important to consider how the anger and fear portrayed in news media coverage of protests may influence levels of political participation, heighten biases in information-seeking, and increase racial disparities in political engagement.
In the Black Lives Matter protests that have erupted worldwide since the police killing of George Floyd, some media outlets have sought to portray the protesters as heroes in dramatic coverage that emphasizes the violence of the police actions against them. Other media outlets, including small non-profit media collectives, have sought to present a different picture of the events by livestreaming police brutality and right-wing counter-protests.
In this article, we examine whether the type of staging organization and the nature of the issues involved in the protests affect the contentiousness of the turnout coverage. We found that when protest organizers and police departments strongly disagree about the number of participants attending a demonstration, journalists are more likely to provide contentious turnout coverage.