More than numbers: an intersectional examination of media portrayals of formerly incarcerated Women Gladys and Jamie Scott

ABSTRACT

This study is a textual analysis of newspaper articles from The Clarion-Ledger, a daily mainstream newspaper, and The Jackson Advocate, a Black weekly newspaper, both based in Jackson, Mississippi. This analysis reveals that mainstream and ethnic media both covered essential elements of efforts to get Gladys and Jamie Scott released from prison for serving a life sentence for robbery. Articles published in 2010, a year before the Black women who are sisters were released, show that both newspapers took a different tone in their coverage, with the mainstream newspaper producing sporadic neutral coverage of the case. The Black press consistently published stories about the grassroots movement to release the Scott sisters working in its tradition to advocate for Black liberation. The researcher analyzed the data with Black feminist theory.