| Abstract: | This article concerns the extensive news coverage by the leading Boston newspaper, the Boston Globe, given a double homicide of two African-American boys. These two boys were killed, ostensibly following a dispute with a juvenile street gang, in April 1991. By examining the shifting focus of this coverage over time, the article examines how the local understanding of street violence was framed by the Massachusetts debate over juvenile justice, in particular newly amended state legislation which tipped the scales towards treating juvenile offenders as adults. Considered here are the Globe's attempt to both orchestrate and stand for ‘civic debate’ by entertaining and absorbing rival voices in its representational protocols. |
