Social Forces Colloquium Series: Edwin Amenta, University of California, Irvine

News Coverage and Other Potential Consequences of Social Movements

People study social movements in large part because they are presumed to have social and political influence beyond their organizations. I address the influence of movements, who seek among other things news coverage. This attention can help to promote their views and demands, provides legitimacy for their organizations, and can help to change public discourse and political agenda. Under which conditions do movements gain this attention and other external outcomes? Under which conditions do movements gain favorable treatment in the news and elsewhere? Using a data set on all U.S. national news coverage of movements over more than a century and comparing across movements, including movements of the left and right, and over time, I seek to shed light on some of these questions.