Media Images of the Poor

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive overview of research that has examined the content and prevalence of stereotypic media images of the poor. Research examining televised images and print media are reviewed. An analysis of media framing as well as classist, racist, and sexist imagery is provided. Additionally, to assess media depictions of the poor in the wake of welfare reform, 412 newspaper articles about poverty and welfare published during a 3-month period in 1999 were content analyzed. Although most articles were neutral in tone and portrayed the difficulties facing welfare recipients and the poor sympathetically, they did little to contextualize poverty or illuminate its causes. These findings are discussed in terms of their context and political function.The media are omnipresent in our everyday lives. Cable television provides viewers with a growing number of channels to choose from; videotapes provide easy access to films; and the Internet, newspapers, and 24-hour news radio and television programs provide round-the-clock coverage of current events. In their many forms, media have the potential to educate, raise consciousness, and shape public attitudes (Kinder, 1998).

Looking Good: Mediatisation and International NGOs

“…There has also been a related interest in how newspapers and other media outlets report on development issues and the developing world more generally (See, for example, Bullock et al, 2001;Poland, 2004;Chouliaraki, 2006;Cameron and Haanstra, 2008;Franks, 2008;Fenton, 2010;Thomas, 2011). These studies do not, for the most part, examine in any detail the way media technologies reshape accountabilities or power relations within NGOS.…”

Evolución de la cobertura de la pobreza entre 2005 y 2014: qué ha cambiado y qué no en los noticiarios de televisión abierta en Chile

“…Específicamente en torno a la cobertura de la pobreza, numerosos estudios -mayoritariamente desarrollados en Estados Unidos-muestran que, por una parte, la pobreza no es un tema relevante dentro de la agenda (Iyengar, 1990;Entman 1995;Bullock, Fraser Wyche & Williams, 2001), lo que de algún modo invisibiliza esta problemática social. Por otra parte, cuando se cubre temas relacionados con la pobreza, se lo hace de un modo problemático.…”

“…Un estudio similar, y que junto a la televisión estudia la prensa escrita, coincide en estos hallazgos, indicando que a los pobres se les retrata como sujetos dependientes y pasivos, que carecen tanto de iniciativa como de valores morales (Bullock et al, 2001). Estudios centrados en la imagen medial de las personas en situación de calle llegan a resultados similares (Schneider, 2011), concluyendo que las imágenes estereotípicas coinciden en dibujar a quien está en situación de calle como un "otro", distinto, lo cual aleja a la audiencia de la posibilidad de identificarse con los sujetos retratados y repercute en la poca simpatía que manifiestan los estadounidenses por el gasto social en la lucha contra la pobreza.…”

“…Bullock y colegas destacan que, aun cuando la mayor parte de los artículos puedan ser neutrales, ofrecen historias descontextualizadas, sin información que permita a la audiencia la comprensión de lo representado, de tal manera que además se banaliza la política social (Bullock et al, 2001;Pardo, 2009). …”

Valuable journalism: A search for quality from the vantage point of the user

“…Some people -the poor, women, youngsters, and ethnic, religious or sexual minorities -are misrepresented more often by the news than others (Bullock et al, 2001;Dreher, 2009). These groups wonder why they would still follow the news if journalists systematically ignore or poorly reflect their concerns, views, experiences and perspectives.…”