Media Access and Consumption in the Civil Rights Era

Abstract

This paper uses the 1960 census and contemporary individual survey data to document the media landscape during the American civil rights movement. I find that southern Black households' TV ownership was much lower than those of other groups in the nation. Southern Black adults also consumed less TV, newspapers, and magazines on average than their White counterparts. In comparison, radio was the most popular medium among Black Southerners and was widely consumed across socioeconomic classes within the Black community. The findings underscore the unique and strong relationship between radio and the Southern Black community during the civil rights era.