A race/class conceptual framework is used to examine the differences in reporting crimes in the context of the nature of race and racism in the United States and the role of the press in reproducing the racial order. The evidence fails to support the usual portrait drawn by the press of the supposed causal association between race and crime. The findings reveal the manner in which both regular routines of press coverage and differential press treatment of African Americans compared to whites lead to distortions in coverage of African Americans and crime. Recommendations to correct this situation include: build a protest strategy against the stereotypical coverage of African Americans in the media, build an audience model that is sensitive to the African American subculture, conduct more research on the effects of the media on African Americans and the substance of news coverage in relation to race, and form a coalition with other groups who are inaccurately portrayed in the press. 32 notes (Author abstract modified)