Media Standing of Urban Parkland Movements: The Case of Los Angeles' Taylor Yard, 1985–2001

Abstract

What role does media coverage play in local communities' efforts to assert their stake in contests over urban land use? We focus this question by examining the case of Taylor Yard in Los Angeles, where community activists fought for a decade to avoid industrial development of a 100‐acre parcel of former rail yard in favor of creating much‐needed parkland. We analyze 446 direct quotations from 54 print news stories on the contest over land use at Taylor Yard between 1985 and 2001. We identify whom journalists covering Taylor Yard treated as newsworthy sources, and how rivals employed competing definitions of “the community” and its interests to frame the contest over land use at Taylor Yard. This analysis shows how park advocates' framing of the contest ultimately achieved prominence in print news coverage of Taylor Yard. Our findings suggest the need to rethink previous sociological accounts of the relationships among local news professionals, their favored sources, and coverage of urban development.