The Rhetoric of Recessions: How British Newspapers Talk about the Poor When Unemployment Rises, 1896–2000

Recessions appear to coincide with an increasingly stigmatising presentation of poverty in parts of the media. Previous research on the connection between high unemployment and media discourse has often relied on case studies of periods when stigmatising rhetoric about the poor was increasing. We build on earlier work on how economic context affects media representations of poverty by creating a unique dataset that measures how often stigmatising descriptions of the poor are used in five centrist and right-wing British newspapers between 1896 and 2000. Our results suggest stigmatising rhetoric about the poor increases when unemployment rises, except at the peak of very deep recessions (e.g. the 1930s and 1980s). This pattern is consistent with the idea that newspapers deploy deeply embedded Malthusian explanations for poverty when those ideas resonate with the economic context, and so this stigmatising rhetoric of recessions is likely to recur during future economic crises.

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Made/maid in the media: narrative discourses surrounding Filipina nannies in the live-in caregiver program.

10.32920/ryerson.14649204 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Holly Dae Edejer

Keyword(s):

Critical Discourse Analysis ◽

Media Studies ◽

Minority Group ◽

Media Representations ◽

Critical Discourse ◽

Media Discourse ◽

Global Migration ◽

Research Findings ◽

The Media ◽

Domestic Labour

This paper explores the various narratives and media representations surrounding Filipinas in Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program. This study draws upon existing scholarship in global migration of (gendered, racialized, and class-based) domestic labour, as well as theories of postcolonialism and media studies. Using critical discourse analysis, the content of 132 news articles from 1988 to 2014 in the Toronto Star are coded and discussed. The five main categories in which these Filipina live-in caregivers – ‘or Filipina nannies’ – are constructed are identified as foreigners, mothers, workers, victims, and activists. The research findings suggest that representations of Filipina live-in caregivers are framed by notions of difference and social hierarchy in Canada’s most widely disseminated newspaper. Thus this newsprint media discourse reproduces the subaltern status and dual in/visibility of this minority group in Canadian society.

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“You are not normal, you are against nature”

Journal of Language and Politics ◽

10.1075/jlp.19088.pat ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 160-179

Author(s):

Marianna Patrona

Keyword(s):

Conversation Analysis ◽

Media Framing ◽

Media Representations ◽

Radical Right ◽

Right Wing ◽

Same Sex ◽

Public Dialogue ◽

Child Fostering ◽

The Media

Abstract This paper examines the media representations of scandalous parliamentary talk on same-sex child fostering in the discourses of representatives of the radical-right Golden Dawn party in Greece, but also by an MP of the conservative ANEL party of the SYRIZA-ANEL joint government at the time. Through discourse- and conversation analysis of online articles and a broadcast interview, it is shown that the media framing of populist statements is negotiated. Moreover, the interview enacts a subtly achieved interactional synergy between the interviewer and the politician, thus failing to address the issues through substantive public dialogue. It is argued that the process of (re)mediating racist or homophobic talk has the potential to serve as a publicity tool creating increased visibility for right-wing populist politicians, their core ideologies and policy platforms. This creates a challenge for practitioners of journalism who must balance disparate concerns in reporting on scandalous talk.

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Comparing democratic performance of semi-presidential regimes in the post-communist region: Omnipotent presidents and media control

Communist and Post-Communist Studies ◽

10.1016/j.postcomstud.2017.09.003 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 263-275

Author(s):

Huang-Ting Yan

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Analysis ◽

Case Studies ◽

Media Control ◽

Causal Mechanisms ◽

Explanatory Factors ◽

The Poor ◽

Democratic Performance ◽

The Media ◽

Comparative Case Studies ◽

Presidential Regimes

The article attempts to identify common explanatory factors and internal causal mechanisms behind the poor democratic performance of post-communist semi-presidential regimes. It attributes poor democratic performance to constitutionally powerful presidents supported by single-party-majority cabinets. Under this situation, omnipotent presidents enact media-related law unhindered, tightly regulate the media, prevent the opposition from disseminating election information, and thus increase the ruling party’s probability of winning elections. Through quantitative analysis and comparative case studies of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, this paper verifies the convergent pathway from powerful presidents’ media control to poor democratic performance. In conclusion, powerful post-communist presidents endanger democracy via media control.

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Discourse media analysis of risk and responsibility for environmental pollution

Journal of Science Communication ◽

10.22323/2.17020702 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (02) ◽

pp. R02

Author(s):

Jennifer Metcalfe

Keyword(s):

Environmental Pollution ◽

Case Studies ◽

Science Communication ◽

Environmental Issues ◽

Media Analysis ◽

Media Discourse ◽

The Media ◽

China And Japan ◽

Media Discourses

This book examines the media discourses about environmental pollution in Australia, China and Japan. The book's authors focus on the actors involved in discussions of risk versus those involved in responsibility for environmental pollution. The authors use novel and traditional means of analysis that combine techniques from a variety of disciplines to examine case studies of media discourse. The book provides an interesting, if at times simplistic, overview of the pollution issues facing each country. The conclusions made from the media analysis are relevant to those researching and practicing science communication in the context of such important environmental issues.

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Made/maid in the media: narrative discourses surrounding Filipina nannies in the live-in caregiver program.

10.32920/ryerson.14649204.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Holly Dae Edejer

Keyword(s):

Critical Discourse Analysis ◽

Media Studies ◽

Minority Group ◽

Media Representations ◽

Critical Discourse ◽

Media Discourse ◽

Global Migration ◽

Research Findings ◽

The Media ◽

Domestic Labour

This paper explores the various narratives and media representations surrounding Filipinas in Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program. This study draws upon existing scholarship in global migration of (gendered, racialized, and class-based) domestic labour, as well as theories of postcolonialism and media studies. Using critical discourse analysis, the content of 132 news articles from 1988 to 2014 in the Toronto Star are coded and discussed. The five main categories in which these Filipina live-in caregivers – ‘or Filipina nannies’ – are constructed are identified as foreigners, mothers, workers, victims, and activists. The research findings suggest that representations of Filipina live-in caregivers are framed by notions of difference and social hierarchy in Canada’s most widely disseminated newspaper. Thus this newsprint media discourse reproduces the subaltern status and dual in/visibility of this minority group in Canadian society.

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Overtourism in Iceland: Fantasy or Reality?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12187375 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (18) ◽

pp. 7375

Author(s):

Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir ◽

C. Michael Hall ◽

Margrét Wendt

Keyword(s):

Policy Making ◽

Media Analysis ◽

Media Representations ◽

Online Media ◽

Media Discourse ◽

Satisfaction Level ◽

Partial Picture ◽

The Media ◽

Industry Policy ◽

Nature Experience

Iceland has been one of the main destinations that have been incorporated into the discourse of overtourism. However, Iceland is different to many other supposed overtourism destinations in that its tourism is based on natural areas. Nevertheless, destination discourses can play an important part in influencing tourist decision-making and government and industry policy making. A media analysis was conducted of 507 online media articles on overtourism in Iceland that were published in 2018, with the main themes being identified via content analysis. The results indicated that the media discourse represented only a partial picture of overtourism and the crowding phenomenon in Iceland, with mechanisms to respond to crowding, the satisfaction level of tourists with their Icelandic nature experience, and local people’s support for tourism being underreported. Some of the findings reflect that of other media analyses. However, there are considerable discontinuities between media representations and discourses of overtourism in Iceland, which highlight the importance of national- or destination-level media analysis. The media analysis illustrates the need for a better understanding of different destination discourses and their influence.

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Metaphorizing Terrorism

10.5406/illinois/9780252038860.003.0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Alexander Spencer

Keyword(s):

News Media ◽

Cognitive Engagement ◽

Media Representations ◽

Media Discourse ◽

Abstract Concepts ◽

Conceptual Metaphors ◽

The Media ◽

Osama Bin Laden ◽

The Uk ◽

Metaphorical Analysis

This chapter shows that metaphors in the media actively take part in the construction of the world as we see it, think of it, and ultimately react to it. By projecting understandings from one conceptual area, such as war, to a different area, such as terrorism, metaphors naturalize specific countermeasures while placing other options outside of the mainstream debate. Metaphors are mechanisms for cognitive engagement by making abstract concepts and phenomena that are difficult to grasp, such as terrorism, comprehendible. The chapter begins by illustrating the concept of metaphors, reflecting on what metaphors do, and thereby outlining a method of metaphorical analysis. It then applies this method to tabloid news media discourse in Germany and the UK, and examines the four dominant conceptual metaphors that construct the terrorism of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in these media. These conceptual metaphors are: terrorism is war, terrorism is crime, terrorism is uncivilized evil, and terrorism is disease. The chapter concludes by reflecting on some of the differences between media representations in Germany and the UK, and outlines some possible explanations for varying metaphor usage.

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Stepping in the Shoes of Leaders of Populist Right-Wing Parties

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000289 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 40-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jolanda Jetten ◽

Rachel Ryan ◽

Frank Mols

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Growth Condition ◽

Baseline Condition ◽

Right Wing ◽

Economic Context

Abstract. What narrative is deemed most compelling to justify anti-immigrant sentiments when a country’s economy is not a cause for concern? We predicted that flourishing economies constrain the viability of realistic threat arguments. We found support for this prediction in an experiment in which participants were asked to take on the role of speechwriter for a leader with an anti-immigrant message (N = 75). As predicted, a greater percentage of realistic threat arguments and fewer symbolic threat arguments were generated in a condition in which the economy was expected to decline than when it was expected to grow or a baseline condition. Perhaps more interesting, in the economic growth condition, the percentage realistic entitlements and symbolic threat arguments generated were higher than when the economy was declining. We conclude that threat narratives to provide a legitimizing discourse for anti-immigrant sentiments are tailored to the economic context.

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AUTISM IN THE DISCOURSE OF THE RUSSIAN MASS MEDIA: CONSTRUCTING OF THE IMAGE OF A HUMAN WITH ASD

Bulletin Biomedicine and sociology ◽

10.26787/nydha-2618-8783-2020-5-4-37-43 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 37-43

Author(s):

Saveleva Zh.V.

Keyword(s):

Mass Media ◽

Early Stage ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Media Discourse ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Video Clips ◽

The Media ◽

Inner World ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

The Mass Media

The prevalence of autism is growing, the problems of stigmatization and discrimination of people with autism spectrum disorders in society are exacerbating. The mass media play an important role in enlightening and reducing stigmatizing effects, in connection with which the goal was formulated to study the construction of images of a person with ASD in the mass media by the method of qualitative and discourse analysis of video clips from the federal channel. According to the results of the study, it can be argued that the range of characteristics used to describe people with autism in media discourse is diverse, but in retrospect, dominant interpretation models can be identified. At an early stage, the prevailing image of a person with ASD was deprived of the quality’s characteristic of normotypical people who do not want to leave their world. People diagnosed with autism were referred to as the intolerant category of "autistic". Since 2013, there has been a discursive turn, within which the category “autist” is replaced by tolerant speech patterns, adults with autism get into the lens of the media, the topic of uncommunicability as a property of a person with autism is replaced by the intention of the lack of opportunities to communicate, one of the reasons for which is social exclusion. In television stories of recent years, the mass media are actively constructing the image of a person with autism spectrum disorder through his inner world, through the advantages that a person with ASD can have due to his characteristics. However, it cannot be said that there has been a complete change of the image: the old cliches, as a rule, manifest themselves at a more latent level of grammatical constructions and semiotic meanings.

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