Reporting racism in broadcast interview

Abstract

This study examines invited reports of racism in broadcast interviews. Guided by discursive psychology (DP) and conversation analysis (CA), the investigation focuses on the interactional moments wherein the interviewee (is invited to) describe a racist incident. Expanding existing DP and CA research on complaints of racism, this analysis shows how reported speech is treated by speakers as an indispensable device in reproducing the incident and providing evidence for the racism reported. This investigation provides further evidence for how speakers treat reporting racism as a sensitive business. This is reflected in the interviewee's accounts as they begin by describing the circumstance of the incident, and the interviewer's collaboration in co-constructing the interviewee's accounts and co-managing the trajectory of the interview. Overall, the analysis spotlights how an auspicious environment for victims to talk about their experiences of racism is created and fostered at both institutional and interactional levels.