poverty as we know it media portrayals of the poor stephanie r., fall 2014
TRANSCRIPT
Poverty As We Know ItMedia Portrayals Of The Poor
Stephanie R. , Fall 2014
Introduction• Authors: Rosalee A. Clawson & Rakuya
Trice• Published in The Public Opinion
Quarterly, 2000• In this study, the researchers test the
hypothesis that the media portray poor people inaccurately and stereotypically.
Misleading portrayal
• Gilens (1996) found that poverty was portrayed as a “black” problem.
• Media would lead the audience to believe that 2 out or every 3 poor people are black.
• In reality, Blacks make up less than one-third of the poor.
Stereotypes
• “Citizens say people are poor due to their own “lack of effort” (Kluegel and Smith 1986).
• A majority of Americans believe that “most people who receive welfare benefits are taking advantage of the system” (Ladd 1993).
• People also believe that poor families are much larger than middle-class families (Sidel 1996).
Stereotypes Cont.
• The media perpetuate stereotypes of the poor as lazy, sexually irresponsible, and criminally deviant (Parisi 1998).
• Coughlin (1989) discussed the media’s emphasis on “welfare queens”- a phrase that invokes images of poor women living high life and taking advantage of the welfare system.
Why is it important?
• In this study, researchers analyzed whether stereotypical traits of the poor are presented in magazine photographs.
• The visual representation of a political issue is an integral part of the definition of that issue.
• Visual images define and illustrate particular issue frames.
• The pictures provide texture, drama, and detail, and they illustrate the implicit, the latent, the “taken for granted” and the “goes without saying”.
Research Design
• Data was collected by examining stories published in magazines about poverty, welfare, and the poor between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1998.
• Researchers looked for size and race of families in the pictures, demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, age work status, criminal behavior, use of drugs, alcohol or cigarettes.
Research Findings
• African Americans make up 27% of the poor. • Five magazines would lead citizens to believe
that blacks are 49% of the poor. • Whites make up 45% of the poor, but they are
portrayed only 33% of the poor. • No portrayal of Asian Americans and Hispanics
were underrepresented by 5%. • It is clear that news magazines continue to
race code the issue of poverty.
Research Findings
• In stories related to welfare reform, pregnancy, public housing and welfare dependency, there was a 63% portrayal of Blacks in contrast to 19% of Whites. More over, Hispanics were 18%.
Research Findings
• 76% of the magazine poor are women
• In reality, 62% of the adult poor are women.
• 30% of poor adults were show working or in job training programs
• In reality, 50% of the poor work full- or part-time jobs.
Conclusion• The portrayals of poverty are important because they
have an impact on public opinion. • Blacks were disproportionately portrayed among
magazine portrayals of the poor between 1993 and 1998.
• The images of poor people in the news magazines do not capture the reality of poverty.
• The news magazines provided a stereotypical and inaccurate picture of poverty which results in negative beliefs about the poor, antipathy toward black, and a lack of support for welfare programs.
Reference
• Clawson, R. &. (2000). Poverty as We Know It: Media Portrayals of the Poor. The Public Opinion Quarterly , 53-64.