RACE AND POVERTY IN AMERICA: PUBLIC MISPERCEPTIONS AND THE AMERICAN NEWS MEDIA. |
| Author: |
Gilens, Martin.
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| Author Background: |
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| Date |
1/1/96
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| Type |
Journal
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| Journal Title: |
Public Opinion Quarterly
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| Volume/Pages |
60(4)p.515-541
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| Subject Matter |
African American
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| Pedagogies |
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| Abstract |
The black urban poor have come to dominate public images of poverty in the late 20th century. Surveys show that the American public dramatically exaggerates the proportion of African Americansamong the poor and that such misperceptions are associated with greater opposition to welfare. This article examines the relationship between news media portrayals and public images of poverty. The authorfinds that network television news and weekly newsmagazines portray the poor as substantially more black than is really the case. In more detailed analyses of newsmagazines, the author finds that the mostsympathetic subgroups of the poor, such as the elderly and the working poor, are underrepresented, while the least sympathetic group - unemployed working-age adults - is overrepresented. Finally, thesediscrepancies between magazine portrayals of the poor and the true nature of poverty are greater for African Americans than for others. Thus the unflattering (and distorted) portrait of the poor presented in thesenewsmagazines is even more unflattering (and more distorted) for poor African Americans.
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