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Podcasts Take Two
Study finds fringe activists have big influence on anti-Muslim sentiment in media
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Dec 6, 2012
Listen • 6:22
Study finds fringe activists have big influence on anti-Muslim sentiment in media
A new study by the American Sociological Review finds that when it comes to a discussing American Muslims, fringe activists dominate the conversation in the media, and that leads to a predominance of anti-Muslim stories.
Indonesian student of international relations Anisa Widya Lestari, (C), 20, holds a US flag as visitors watch US presidential elections at the poll monitoring center set up by the US embassy in Jakarta on November 7, 2012. Surveys indicate Indonesia the world's most populous Muslim country favors President Barack Obama who spent four years of his childhood in Jakarta over Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Indonesian student of international relations Anisa Widya Lestari, (C), 20, holds a US flag as visitors watch US presidential elections at the poll monitoring center set up by the US embassy in Jakarta on November 7, 2012. Surveys indicate Indonesia the world's most populous Muslim country favors President Barack Obama who spent four years of his childhood in Jakarta over Republican rival Mitt Romney.
(
ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images
)
Indonesian student of international relations Anisa Widya Lestari, (C), 20, holds a US flag as visitors watch US presidential elections at the poll monitoring center set up by the US embassy in Jakarta on November 7, 2012. Surveys indicate Indonesia the world's most populous Muslim country favors President Barack Obama who spent four years of his childhood in Jakarta over Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Indonesian student of international relations Anisa Widya Lestari, (C), 20, holds a US flag as visitors watch US presidential elections at the poll monitoring center set up by the US embassy in Jakarta on November 7, 2012. Surveys indicate Indonesia the world's most populous Muslim country favors President Barack Obama who spent four years of his childhood in Jakarta over Republican rival Mitt Romney.
(
ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images
)

A new study by the American Sociological Review finds that when it comes to a discussing American Muslims, fringe activists dominate the conversation in the media, and that leads to a predominance of anti-Muslim stories.

A new study by the American Sociological Review finds that when it comes to a discussing American Muslims, fringe activists dominate the conversation in the media, and that leads to a predominance of anti-Muslim stories.

Christopher Bail, a sociologist who studies the media at the University of North Carolina and University of Michigan, joins the show to discuss the implications of this research.