Speaker Series
News Media Framing of American Indians
Before a standing-room-only audience of students and faculty, John Sanchez discussed his continuing research on News Media Framing of American Indians: A Study of 10 Years of American Indian News Reports from ABC, CBS and NBC Evening Network News. The presentation was sponsored by the Communication Department as part of the Innovations in Creative Expression speaker series of the School of Arts and Humanities.
Sanchez reported that less than one percent of network news stories during the 1990s involved American Indians. Media depictions of Indians in 18th century images was the most common category. Sanchez said the media seldom breaks the stereotype by depicting Indians through contemporary images such as as scientists, members of Congress, lawyers, astronauts or (like himself) university professors.
A Yaqui/Apache Indian, Sanchez is associate professor in the College of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University. He teaches news media ethics and American Indians in the news media. Prior to his research presentation, he met with Communication faculty to discuss the teaching of media ethics in the classroom.
Sanchez' research interests that are focused primarily on the relationship between contemporary American Indian cultures and American news media. He also is a consultant in education and diversity initiatives specifically relating to American Indians. He is working on a book about American Indian identity in the 21st century as well as a textbook on American Indians in the media.
The presentation was co-sponsored by the department's American Indian Policy and Media Initiative and by the college's Native American Student Organization. (April 2008)