ABSTRACT
In the United States, traditional media has been the historic mechanism through which routine public sector concerns rise to the level of public consciousness times of major policy change. This chapter reflects on the juxtaposition between The New York Times’ coverage about the need for the federal community health center program to meet the health care demands of medically vulnerable populations and thematic policy agendas characterizing selected presidential terms. The findings of this exploratory analysis suggest that media coverage has kept pace with the changing agendas of successive presidential administrations and public opinion, morphing the narratives of poverty and health care for marginalized populations to match contemporary definitions and contexts, ultimately fortifying the program’s social meaning since its inception.
