High Times In Black and White: Race, Class, and Gender in Newspaper Reports on Crack Cocaine and Crystal Meth

Abstract

Reports on use and sales of crack cocaine and crystal meth in Newsweek, USA Today, the Washington Post, and the New York Times are analyzed for race, class, and gender bias. It is found that crack users and dealers were portrayed as black, urban, poor and violent. Crystal meth users were mostly portrayed as poor, rural, and white. Meth users were portrayed as individuals who were trying to quit their ruinous use of the drug. Less attention to these efforts was given in reports on crack use. These differences in tone led to crack cocaine being framed as a public safety issue, whereas crystal meth use was framed as a public health issue.