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How can we break journalism free of the myth of economic meritocracy?

BOOTSTRAP

BIAS

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Heather Bryant

Jean Friedman Rudovsky

@HBCompass

Project Facet�Membership Puzzle Project�Center for Cooperative Media

@jeannyfr

Resolve Philadelphia, Broke in Philly

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Biases around poverty and class intersect with various identities but there are a few characteristics of hardship that make it unique and warranting a specific conversation.

Why This Conversation

Mutable
Largely Invisible
Temporary Intergenerational

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One third of Americans are considered low income
Approximately 40 million Americans live in poverty
Of those 40 million, approximately half are living in deep poverty
One quarter of U.S. youth live in poverty
40% of Americans couldn’t handle a $400 emergency expense without borrowing or selling something
One quarter of adults skipped taking medication last year because they couldn’t afford it
In Philadelphia, the poverty rate is 25.7%; but 48% are unable to make ends meet without external financial assistance

Context

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The majority of Americans will experience hardship in the course of their lives.

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Two Sides of the Coin

The status of our newsrooms and industry at large

This lack of representation + ingrained bias affects the type of coverage we produce

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In the United States, at least three false—and often conflicting—narratives shape the way people think about poverty:

1. People in poverty have no one to blame but themselves.

2. People in poverty are helpless victims of a larger socioeconomic system in which they have no agency.

3. Exceptional “rags to riches” stories prove the American dream is available to anyone willing to work hard enough for it.

All three of these dominant narratives are misguided and harmful. Their continued popularity constrains our ability to better understand and address poverty.

Ai-Jen Poo & Eldar Shafir, “Changing the Narrative,” US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty

The narratives around poverty are causing harm

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ABOUT

How we approach coverage related to economic insecurity

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FOR + WITH > ABOUT

How we approach coverage related to economic insecurity

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Let’s Make a Framework

Why?

Help assess and address economic diversity within news organizations and the industry
Improve our editorial processes and decisions
Include people experiencing hardship as members of the audience, sources on topics other than poverty and hardship, and experts in their own experiences.

To facilitate journalism that does not perpetuate harmful narratives
To inform those with the power to affect change
Empower those experiencing hardship to better navigate their circumstances

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Experience + Idea Share in Small Groups

What have you seen in newsrooms and what are your ideas for addressing economic diversity in news organizations?

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Experience + Idea Share in Small Groups

What have you seen and what are your ideas for addressing the nature of news coverage about hardship and poverty?

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Discuss

What are the questions we need to be asking about economic diversity in our newsrooms?
What are the questions we need to be asking about how we cover economic hardship?