It is not a controversial statement to say that the debate over critical race theory in schools has shed more heat than light. This is not surprising. When a relatively obscure and arcane academic field suddenly becomes a high-profile political football, hotly debated on cable news shoutfests, it is almost certainly because it has been reduced to bumper-sticker simplicity. That said, it is not too much to expect prestige media to bring to bear a bit more sobriety and subtlety. Explaining complicated issues to interested non-experts is their job.
Thus it’s disappointing to share the findings of a new report from my AEI colleague Rick Hess, who took a look at exactly how the media has been covering CRT. Armchair media critics tend to natter on about media bias, but Rick’s report surfaces a more troubling issue about media completeness. He found that coverage about critical race theory has tended to focus on what is not controversial (notably whether or not schools should teach about racism and slavery), while eliding almost entirely its most inflammatory facets—specifically, CRT’s rejection of ideas and principles that are foundational to Western thought and values. This matters because it creates conditions wherein even fair-minded and diligent news consumers can be led astray.
Rick examined all the CRT articles published by four major newspapers (the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today) and three influential education press outlets (Education Week, the 74, and Chalkbeat) from September 2020 to August 2021.