TheNew York Timeslooks at one block in Harlem: Narratives of race in journalism

Using discourse and narrative analysis, this study examines a three‐part series in the New York Times, portraying life on a single block in Harlem. The series appears to meet critics' calls for in‐depth coverage of everyday life in minority communities written by minority reporters. However, the systematic use of personalization—the technique of representing social life through individual portraits‐has the unfortunate consequences of reproducing stereotypes and suppressing evidence of cooperative social activity in the neighborhood that would counter stereotypes. Consequently, this study suggests that the project of enriching news narratives of minority life requires increased editorial appreciation of the underlying narrative and ideological frames within which "facts" of social life are presented.