From Pen to Print: Tracing the Evolution of Poverty Narratives in The Times Over Centuries
The study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the role of media in shaping and reflecting the public dialogue around poverty. We learn from history and yield any policy implication for future.
Abstract : Poverty has long been reckoned as one of the most important social and public issues. We propose to trace the evolution of poverty narratives in a longstanding newspaper publication - The Times from 1785 to 2012, using the University Newspaper Archive (available at https://go-gale-com.bris.idm.oclc.org/ps/start.do?p=TTDA&u=univbri ). Conducting such a long-run analysis on media data yields several advantages:
- The long sample period can cover many different major events over time, such as the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, post-war periods, and the recent global Financial Crisis, each of which may have influenced the narrative in different ways.
- The political climate can greatly influence how poverty is discussed in the media. Different governments and political ideologies concerning poverty are likely to be reflected in the newspapers.
Authors | Professor Adrian Bell |
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