Since the U.S. 2016 presidential election, journalists and news organizations have been forced to confront shifting racial, social and political climates, and re-evaluate practices and norms. However, news coverage of racism is complex, especially because the conceptualization of racism in society is discordant, and the parameters of racism are heavily debated. News coverage can contribute to this debatability, specifically when it presents issues of racism with certain linguistic and topical features. In a content analysis of social media posts from six of the Facebook pages maintained by national broadcast and newspaper organizations, the present study explores contextual and linguistic representations of racism, and how social media users on Facebook engage with news posted by these organizations. Results suggest representations in news coverage signal a public debate about what is and is not racism. Coverage heavily emphasized prominent figures, while social media audiences amplified Trump’s presence in social networks.

自2016年美国总统大选以来，记者和新闻机构被迫面对不断变化的种族，社会和政治氛围，并重新评估做法和规范。但是，关于种族主义的新闻报道很复杂，特别是因为种族主义在社会上的概念化是不协调的，种族主义的参数受到了激烈的辩论。新闻报道可以促进这种可辩论性，特别是当新闻报道提出具有某些语言和话题特征的种族主义问题时。在对由国家广播和报纸组织维护的六个Facebook页面上的社交媒体帖子进行的内容分析中，本研究探讨了种族主义的上下文和语言表征，以及Facebook上的社交媒体用户如何与这些组织发布的新闻互动。结果表明，新闻报道中的表象标志着一场关于什么是种族主义和什么不是种族主义的公开辩论。报道主要强调杰出人物，而社交媒体观众则扩大了特朗普在社交网络中的存在。