ABSTRACT
The 2008 Financial Crisis precipitated the worst global recession since the Great Depression. This chapter uses a range of qualitative research on public perceptions and media narratives to show how the public came to accept the consequent sharps cuts to the welfare state that have widened inequality and restricted the life chances of significant sections of the population. It reviews polling on attitudes towards austerity. The chapter examines qualitative research from focus groups, which unpack the beliefs and assumptions that underpin public attitudes. It examines what studies tell us about media reporting of deficits and austerity. The chapter discusses how we should interpret the relationship between media frames and public attitudes before drawing some conclusions as to how media may have contributed to public acquiescence to austerity.
