Manufacturing the Gang: Mexican American Youth Gangs on Local Television News

(Hardback)

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Coverage of Mexican-American youth gangs has been a staple of local television news in the United States for decades, and its form and content have come to embody many journalistic cliches: the "rising tide" of violence, the spread of drug addiction, the alienated minority youth. But as this bold new study argues, these stories contain gross exaggerations that lead to the reinforcement of stereotypes about Mexican-American young people and the Mexican-American community in general. Indeed, the police and community leaders greatly influence the content of this coverage by deciding what information to make available to the news media, while reporters select certain sources and ignore others, thus slanting the story even further. As author Raul Tovares makes clear, the true story of Mexican-American youth is far more complex than local news would have its viewers believe. Cultural values, organizational structures, and economic systems all contribute to the production of this journalism, which itself has a direct and real impact on the lives of Mexican-American teenagers. Unlike other books on the subject of Mexican-American youth gangs, Tovares's work critiques the very assumptions on which ideas about such gangs are based, and brings much-needed attention to a timely and often misunderstood subject.

Reviews

Tovares examines the historical origins of the Mexican American youth gangs, and details the ways by which the news media (especially local tv news), the police, and community leaders have constructed a myth around them. Distortions in television reporting are highlighted, and their implications for radical politcs considered. Suggestions for unbiased reporting are provided.-Reference & Research Book News
"Tovares examines the historical origins of the Mexican American youth gangs, and details the ways by which the news media (especially local tv news), the police, and community leaders have constructed a myth around them. Distortions in television reporting are highlighted, and their implications for radical politcs considered. Suggestions for unbiased reporting are provided."-Reference & Research Book News

Author Bio

RAL DAMACIO TOVARES is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Trinity College in Washington, D.C.. His areas of study include television news, film, international communication, and ethnic representations in mass media, and he has published extensively both in journals and in edited collections.