Coverage of Black soccer players by Italian media outlets perpetuate narratives rooted in anti-Black racism. These narratives reflect the country’s changing attitude toward immigration. Historically a country from which citizens emigrated, it is now a recipient of immigrants from Africa. These changing demographics have also caused a shift in the focus of racism in Italy, from discrimination against southern Italians to anti-Black racism. As the country has explored what defines a unified Italian identity, Afro-Italians have been excluded. This study evaluates how these perceptions of Afro-Italian soccer players manifest according to various racial frames, and the frequency with which they do so in three Italian sports dailies: La Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport – Stadio, and Tuttosport. In this context, Afro-Italian refers to an Italian citizen of African descent, and anti-Black racism denotes any form of discrimination, stereotyping, or racism that specifically impacts those of African descent. For this study, a representative sample was collected consisting of website coverage published by the three sports dailies: articles devoted to Mario Balotelli that appeared between 2007 and 2014, and articles devoted to Moise Kean between 2016 and 2019. Three coders recorded the content of the sample articles on a spreadsheet organized by the type of racial frame applied to Black athletes. The analysis reveals that the players were frequently portrayed as being incapable of self-determination and of having an innate, natural athletic capability, rather than one honed through practice. The coders noted that in addition to explicit racial framing, there were also instances of implicit and subtle ways these racial frames manifest. In future research, the coding procedure will need to be adapted to account for these more layered and nuanced manifestations of anti-Black racism.

As America undergoes a modern, civil rights movement, the reality of police brutality can no longer be disregarded by everyday voters. The Black Lives Matter movement has become ubiquitous, both in real life and in the media, after the murder of George Floyd. This moment has made way for widespread video coverage of police brutality incidents, a litany of written think pieces dissecting the long-term effectiveness of the police, and a myriad of articles discussing prospective policy actions. With a rise in coverage comes a heightened level of awareness of and conversation around this issue. We have witnessed the pervasiveness of the Black Lives Matter movement and an increasing conversation around the allocation of funding towards police departments. Change has been sparked, but which form of media has most effectively influenced the public? Seeing as one of the principal goals of police-related advocacy groups is to fulfill their vision of a properly functioning police force, including in relation to accountability and reform, it is vital to understand which medium the public is most receptive to. This study and its design serve to examine how exposure to different media regarding police brutality affects people’s opinions on Black Lives Matter, police reform policies, and similar changes. Moving forward, social movements will have a better understanding of which types of media can best target the public when trying to coalesce support around their movement.

The right to cast a meaningful vote, equal in value to other votes, is a fundamental tenet US elections. Despite the 1964 Supreme Court decision formally establishing the one person, one vote principle as a legal requirement of elections, our democracy consistently falls short of it. With mechanisms including the winner-take-all format in the Electoral College, disproportioned geographic allocation of senators, extreme partisan gerrymandering in the House of Representatives, and first-past-the-post elections, many voters experience severe vote dilution. <br/><br/>In order to legitimize our democratic structures, American elections should be reformed so every person’s vote has equal weight, ensuring that the election outcomes reflect the will of the people. Altering the current election structure to include more proportional structures including rank choice voting and population-based representation, will result in a democracy more compatible with the one person, one vote principle.