TY - JOUR
T1 - How Malthusian ideology crept into the newsroom
T2 - British tabloids and the coverage of the ‘underclass’
AU - Harkins, Steven
AU - Lugo-Ocando, Jairo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Taylor & Francis.
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - This article argues that Malthusianism as a series of discursive regimes, developed in the Victorian-era, serves in times of austerity to reproduce an elite understanding of social exclusion in which those in a state of poverty are to blame for their own situation. It highlights that Malthusianism is present in the public discourse, becoming an underlining feature in news coverage of the so-called ‘underclass’. Our findings broadly contradict the normative claim that journalism ‘speaks truth to power’, and suggest instead that overall as a political practice, journalism tends to reproduce and reinforce hegemonic discourses of power. The piece is based on critical discourse analysis, which has been applied to a significant sample of news articles published by tabloid newspapers in Britain which focussed on the concept of the ‘underclass’. By looking at the evidence, the authors argue that the ‘underclass’ is a concept used by some journalists to cast people living in poverty as ‘undeserving’ of public and state support. In so doing, these journalists help create a narrative which supports cuts in welfare provisions and additional punitive measures against some of the most vulnerable members of society.
AB - This article argues that Malthusianism as a series of discursive regimes, developed in the Victorian-era, serves in times of austerity to reproduce an elite understanding of social exclusion in which those in a state of poverty are to blame for their own situation. It highlights that Malthusianism is present in the public discourse, becoming an underlining feature in news coverage of the so-called ‘underclass’. Our findings broadly contradict the normative claim that journalism ‘speaks truth to power’, and suggest instead that overall as a political practice, journalism tends to reproduce and reinforce hegemonic discourses of power. The piece is based on critical discourse analysis, which has been applied to a significant sample of news articles published by tabloid newspapers in Britain which focussed on the concept of the ‘underclass’. By looking at the evidence, the authors argue that the ‘underclass’ is a concept used by some journalists to cast people living in poverty as ‘undeserving’ of public and state support. In so doing, these journalists help create a narrative which supports cuts in welfare provisions and additional punitive measures against some of the most vulnerable members of society.
KW - Britain
KW - critical discourse analysis
KW - journalism
KW - newspaper discourse
KW - poverty
KW - underclass
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84941360224&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1080/17405904.2015.1074594
DO - 10.1080/17405904.2015.1074594
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84941360224
VL - 13
SP - 78
EP - 93
JO - Critical Discourse Studies
JF - Critical Discourse Studies
SN - 1740-5904
IS - 1
ER -