Race, Poverty, and the Media
Clawson, Rosalee A. 2002. “Poor People, Black Faces: The Portrayal of Poverty in Economics Textbooks.” Journal of Black Studies 32(3): 352-361.
In this study, the author examines the portrayal of poverty in economics textbooks. The author tests the hypothesis that Blacks are disproportionately represented among the poor. In other words, she analyzes whether poverty is predicted as a “Black” problem. She found evidence that Black faces are overwhelmingly portrayed among the contemporary poor. She also demonstrates that Blacks are not portrayed among the Great Depression era poor, a particularly sympathetic group of poor people. In addition, Blacks are not used to illustrate a popular social welfare program—Social Security.
Clawson, Rosalee A., and Elizabeth Kegler. 2000. “The "Race Coding‟ of Poverty in American Government College Textbooks.” Howard Journal of Communications 11(3): 179-188.
In American politics, the issues of poverty and race have become inextricably intertwined. The political rhetoric surrounding poverty is replete with stereotypical images of African Americans. In other words, poverty has become race coded. In this paper, the authors analyze the representation of poverty in American government college textbooks. It is found that these textbooks portray poverty as a Black problem and perpetuate other stereotypical images of the poor.
In American politics, the issues of poverty and race have become inextricably intertwined. The political rhetoric surrounding poverty is replete with stereotypical images of African Americans. In other words, poverty has become race coded. In this paper, the authors analyze the representation of poverty in American government college textbooks. It is found that these textbooks portray poverty as a Black problem and perpetuate other stereotypical images of the poor.
Clawson, Rosalee A., and Rakuya Trice. 2000. “Poverty As We Know It: Media Portrayals of the Poor.” Public Opinion Quarterly 64(1): 53-64.
This article analyzes media portrayals of the poor during the 1992 U.S. presidential election when welfare reform was high on the nation's agenda. It was investigated whether media perpetuate inaccurate and stereotypical images of the poor. In sum, the magazines often portrayed an inaccurate picture of the demographic characteristics of poor people. These magazines overrepresented the African Americans, urban and nonworking poor. African Americans were especially prominent in stories on unpopular poverty topics and African American women were portrayed with the most children. Other stereotypical traits linked with poor people were not common in the magazine portrayals. Nevertheless, in those instances when the media depicted poor people with stereotypical characteristics, they tended to be African American or Hispanic. The most sympathetic group of poor people, the elderly, was underrepresented among the magazine poor. The media were most accurate in mirroring the predominance of women among welfare recipients. Overall, the photographic images of poor people in these five news magazines do not capture the reality of poverty, instead, they provide a stereotypical and inaccurate picture of poverty which results in negative beliefs about the poor, antipathy toward blacks and a lack of support for welfare programs.
This article analyzes media portrayals of the poor during the 1992 U.S. presidential election when welfare reform was high on the nation's agenda. It was investigated whether media perpetuate inaccurate and stereotypical images of the poor. In sum, the magazines often portrayed an inaccurate picture of the demographic characteristics of poor people. These magazines overrepresented the African Americans, urban and nonworking poor. African Americans were especially prominent in stories on unpopular poverty topics and African American women were portrayed with the most children. Other stereotypical traits linked with poor people were not common in the magazine portrayals. Nevertheless, in those instances when the media depicted poor people with stereotypical characteristics, they tended to be African American or Hispanic. The most sympathetic group of poor people, the elderly, was underrepresented among the magazine poor. The media were most accurate in mirroring the predominance of women among welfare recipients. Overall, the photographic images of poor people in these five news magazines do not capture the reality of poverty, instead, they provide a stereotypical and inaccurate picture of poverty which results in negative beliefs about the poor, antipathy toward blacks and a lack of support for welfare programs.