White space: campus rape in the media

Using Critical Race Discourse Analysis, this study examines how campus rape is covered in the New York Times. Four case studies were analyzed involving rapes on college campuses. The race of the victims affected the media coverage: when victims were Black, stories were published during the trial, when victims were not Black, the stories were published after the trial; descriptions of perpetrators focused on their status as athletes not as rapists. Media discourse surrounding campus rape exacerbates racist stereotypes about Black men and Black women while eliciting sympathy and public action for victims who are white or have proximity to whiteness.