Abstract
Although the 1960s race riots have gone down in history as Americaâs most violent and destructive ethnic civil disturbances, a single common factor able to explain their insurgence is yet to be found. Using a novel data set on the universe of radio stations airing black-appeal programming, the ei¬ect of media on riots is found to be sizable and statistically signii¬cant. A marginal increase in the signal reception from these stations is estimated to lead to a 7% and 15% rise in the mean levels of the likelihood and intensity of riots, respectively. Several mechanisms behind this result are considered, with the quantity, quality, and the length of exposure to radio programming all being decisive factors.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have