HOLIER THAN THOU

Abstract

This study investigates how the French and American press handled the representation of racial tensions both internally and in relationship to each other in the aftermath of two events of international proportions: Hurricane Katrina and the social unrest that shook France in the Fall of 2005. By comparing coverage in The New York Times and Le Monde, it explores how each newspaper negotiated their nation's handling of race relations not only through their reporting of events at home (Katrina in The New York Times and the riots in Le Monde), but also through their characterization of foreign events (Katrina in Le Monde and the riots in The New York Times). This analysis concludes that the two newspaper's coverage, while often critical of authorities in charge, ultimately served to position the cultural environment in which each newspaper is located as better equipped to deal with racial tensions than the other “foreign” environment.