Covering Poverty
November 25th, 2008 by Dan Lavoie
Barely a week after a stunning mention of “the p-word” on Meet the Press, a new study came out today showing that “poverty” got substantially more coverage this election season than at any time in recent memory.
Of course, much of that has to do with John Edwards’ candidacy, which kicked off in the embattled Ninth Ward of New Orleans and continued to stress poverty issues throughout. The crumbling economy and the sub-prime crisis also played a major part in the boost.
Some of the key findings from the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity study:
- 2008 coverage of poverty as a topic in articles concerning the presidential campaigns was more than double that of 2004.
- The key drivers of the coverage in 2008 include John Edwards and the economy, but these were responsible for less than half the stories overall (44.8%).
- Both 2007 and 2008 were high points for coverage of poverty as an issue in politics.
- The upward trend looks to continue. In 2004, 1,013 news stories about poverty in the presidential campaign appeared in all U.S. newspapers and wires. Through the first ten months of this year, that number has already exploded to 2,565 news stories.
- Overall, coverage of poverty in politics increased 369 percent since 2003.
Having just spent some time talking about poverty framing at the Equity and Inclusion Campaign’s summit in New Orleans, I am curious that the study did not take into account that many progressives are stressing issues related to poverty without using the actual word, “poverty.” Rather, there is much more talk about “shared prosperity” and “expanded opportunity” that many argue gets at the same core issue without using the same frame.
Still, though, it is heartening to see the traditional media pay at least some attention to the nation’s struggling communities.
Tags: equity and inclusion campaign, framing, media, poverty, spotlight on poverty and opportunity, study