Images of poverty in a selection of the Polish daily press

Abstract

The social construction of poverty constitutes an important aspect of a country’s welfare culture. Still amidst studies on poverty measurement, dynamics, causes and consequences, enquiry into the social or cultural (re-)presentations of poverty remains relatively infrequent, especially in Continental Europe. The current study addresses the issue of social/cultural representations of poverty by investigating the media portrayal of poverty in Poland. Qualitative analysis of three dailies published in three research periods (2005–2007–2010) revealed marginalization of poverty in press reports. In the course of investigation, five dominant frames, each conveying a specific image of the poor and featuring them in a particular (social) role, were identified. The two primary frames were the injustice frame and the solidarity frame; the two secondary normality frames were the heroic and anti-heroic frames; the fifth – the instrumental frame proved rather marginal. The (social policy) implications of the media portrayal of the poor are discussed. Parallels between the poverty frames uncovered in Polish media and those revealed in other countries are sketched.

Trafficking in Human Beings: Made and Cut to Measure? Anti-trafficking Docufictions and the Production of Anti-trafficking Truths

“…Writing about television news, Iyengar (1994: 14) argues that the 'episodic news frame takes the form of a case study or event-oriented report and depicts public issues in terms of concrete instances…The thematic frame, by contract, places public issues in some more general or abstract context'. Lepianka (2015) distinguished between thematic and episodic frames for envisaging poverty:…”

“…Goffman’s (1974) idea of ‘frames’ as ‘schematas of interpretation’ informed much framing research. We draw here on Rein and Schön’s (1996) critical approach and recent research on media representations of poverty by Lepianka (2015), who relies on frames as conceptual tools used by media, policy-makers and members of the general public. Lepianka (2015: 1002) suggests that ‘journalists inevitably ‘frame’ the presented reality in order to simplify it and make it accessible to a broad audience, [while] the audience uses frames to give meaning and structure to the incoming information’.…”

Media masowe wobec biedy w Polsce

“…Media informacyjne często ukazują stereotypowe obrazy biedy (Bullock, Wyche, & Williams, 2001;Hanyga & Tarkowska, 2013;Harper, 2001;Lepianka, 2015). Występuje w nich między innymi sprowadzenie ubóstwa do przyczyn jednostkowych, pokazanie biedy jako zagrażającej bezpieczeństwu wspólnoty (por.…”

“…W Polsce są głównie fragmentaryczne analizy dyskursu medialnego wobec biedy, postaw społecznych wobec ubóstwa, medialnych strategii argumentacyjnych (Górniak, 2013;Kanasz, 2013;Lepianka, 2013Lepianka, , 2015Lisowska-Magdziarz, 2013;Miś, 2007;Rek, 2007;Starego, 2012Starego, , 2013Woźniak, 2012). Autorzy wspomnianych prac odnoszą się do różnych W prasie polskiej uderza konsekwentne unikanie obwiniania biednych, nawet nie o fakt popadnięcia w biedę, ale przede wszystkim o nie zawsze moralnie jednoznaczne sposoby radzenia sobie z biedą.…”

Poverty as covered in the election bulletins during the 7 June Elections<p>7 Haziran Seçimleri’nde parti bildirgelerine yansıyan yoksulluk

“…Özellikle Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nde yoksulluk ve medya ilişkisini ele alan çalışmalar, bu noktalara dikkat çekmektedir. Amerikan medyası, yoksulların "tembellikleri" nedeniyle yoksul oldukları algısını yayarken; Avrupa'da da refah toplumu idealinin yansıması olan sosyal güvence paketlerinden yararlanıyor olmaları, yine yoksulluğun, "muhtaç" halde olmanın, bireysel ve öznel olduğu algısı yaygındır (Lepianka, 2015(Lepianka, : 1000. Yoksulluğun bireysel öyküler çerçevesinde kişiselleştirilmesi, yoksulluğun boy verdiği geniş zemini görünmez kılmakta ve bağlamını ortadan kaldırmaktadır.…”