Racism, postracialism and why media matter

Racism has become both ubiquitous and unrecognizable, precisely as its meanings are subjected to the never-ending debates on social media and mass media. In fact, racism is increasingly debated through media events (such as in the case of the Charlie Hebdo), but also ordinarily defined and denied in everyday life (such as in the case of the casual racism in everyday social media communication). This article responds to Titley’s [2019. Racism and media. London and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage] argument that racism is defined through its constant evaluation and contestation in mediated communication–through its debatability (ibid.). In engaging with Titley’s thesis, the article sets forward a three-step argument on the need to systematically study media in the context of ethnic and racial studies: as argued, media are increasingly influential systems of power and knowledge that matter to politics (through representation), institutions (through bordering), and public culture (through recognition).