ABSTRACT
Academic interest in news media coverage of homelessness has a long history. Existing research demonstrates how news coverage about homelessness reproduces and circulates discourses that are partial, selective, ideological and stigmatizing. These practices range from episodic and narrow media framing of homelessness (e.g., a disproportionate focus on those who sleep on the streets); seasonal coverage of homelessness (e.g., at Thanksgiving or Christmas) and a concentration on the “heroic” acts of celebrities, such as sports stars, pop stars and “media influencers.” In failing to adequately explain, contextualize or critique the structural causes of homelessness, news coverage may actually contribute to its perpetuation. Following a political economy approach, this chapter critiques news coverage of homelessness through a particular focus on the organizational and production contexts of media content. It includes examples of recent dominant news media discourses concerning homelessness. It also outlines some of the ways in which dominant media discourses concerning homelessness can be challenged. In an age of media conglomeration in which the public sphere is continuing to contract, the prospects for a critical journalism about homelessness remain bleak. Academics, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists concerned about homelessness need to redouble their efforts to inform and challenge received “wisdom” about homelessness through renegotiating their relationships with the mainstream news media and through greater use of alternative media strategies.
