A study to investigate how racial inequality issues at Global Celebrity Events are portrayed by varying forms of media and investigating if these portrayals have an effect on public perceptions, using the Oscars as a case study.

Abstract

Racial inequality has been an issue for many years, both in America and the United Kingdom. It dates back until the early It has been highlighted in recent years as it has become a major issue within Global Celebrity Events, specifically the Oscars. The way in which the media portray these issues can vary substantially so it is important to identify whether different forms of media, looking closely at broadsheet and tabloid newspapers have different effects and outcomes on the public. The aim of this research project was to identify how racial inequality at Global Celebrity Events, specifically the Oscars, is addressed and perceived by the media, looking closely at tabloid and broadsheet newspapers, and how the public perceive these issues. The study included discourse analysis which was completed on broadsheets, tabloids and the BBC News online to identify and analyse the language that is used. A questionnaire was also entailed to be able to cross section with the discourse analysis. The author wanted to see whether there was any correlation between what the reader read and their overall thoughts about the issue. As part of the questionnaire, quotes were extracted from newspapers which included some controversial statements so it was interesting to see whether the type of newspaper that they read the most had an influence on how much they agreed with the it. The recurring theme that emerged from the results was that there was no direct link with what newspapers were read and the publics perceptions on the matter. It concluded that although there were some supporting statistics, they weren’t consistent enough to create an overall finding from them. There were extraneous variables that needed to be taken in to account, like there is with any research project, such as participant bias and the sample size. However, from looking at the bigger picture and the statistical analysis provided, it is clear that the media does have an influence on the how the public perceives the news, but not necessarily on this topic area.