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17 SEPTEMBER 2010
NO 1629
Media perceptions
For the vast majority of the population, residential child care is not an area of direct personal experience. In Scotland, fewer than 1600 children are in residential accommodation (Scottish Executive, 2002), representing 14% of the population of looked-after children, and only about one child per 730 of the under-eighteen population.(Scottish Office, 1996) For most people, impressions and opinions about residential care will tend to be shaped by the popular media rather than by direct knowledge.
It is widely recognised that the media have a tendency to categorise and stereotype that which is unfamiliar:
The world presented by the popular Press, like the world we feel we live in, is a culturally organized set of categories, rather than a collection of unique individuals .... In so far as we regard the category of person as displaying strongly predictable attitudes or behaviour, the category may harden into a stereotype, an extremely simplified mental model which fails to see the individual features, only the values that are believed to be appropriate to the type. (Fowler, 1991, 92)
There has long been an impression, on the part of those who work in the field, that the British press presents a hostile picture of social work, including residential care for children and young people, which is reflected not only in the tone of presentation of reports, but also in the choice of stories which receive coverage. (Franklin, 1998; Aldridge, 1994) Some writers, however, have argued that the impression of unfair press coverage of social work is more illusory than real, and that other professional groups also feel that they are unfairly treated. (Aldridge, 1990, p.611-12) Children and young people who are looked after also feel a sense of stigma from the press(Who Cares? Scotland, 2001). Since newspapers are commercially driven, they give prominence to stories which will sell papers — ‘to entertain and titillate° a large audience (Aldridge, 1999, p. 102) — rather than report positively on a sector which has only a small impact on society.....
...... ‘ There is no doubt that press reporting of residential child care in all its complexity presents problems. The press condemns 'homes from hell' where ‘under-stimulated' children allegedly cause havoc locally, while at the same time blaming young people for wasting taxpayers' money when they show the initiative to organise a trip for themselves. We have seen that in cases where most of the press are neutral and factual in their reporting, one paper may break ranks and print a sensationalist headline. This is not restricted to the tabloids; broadsheet treatment of the same incident can present contrasting attitudes. This type of reporting can create a skewed image of children in care. There is no doubt that children and young people who are looked after in residential accommodation feel themselves that they are stigmatised by the press. (Who Cares? Scotland, 2001). Some positive messages do emerge from this survey. One is that if the press are challenged over unfair reporting, they will sometimes apologise. We have seen an example of young people challenging unfair reporting and forcing a retraction.
Another point is that not all press reporting is uniformly negative. The local papers report examples of NIMBY (Not in my Back Yard) Syndrome, but not all of them use equally negative language, and there are examples of reporting which are more balanced and sympathetic. Some of the examples show factual and non-emotive reporting, and even a degree of scepticism about local fears (e.g., concern over misdirected golf balls). In many cases an attention-grabbing headline is followed by a story which turns out to be more objective. Both tabloid and broadsheet papers will use eye-catching language to draw attention to a story, but this often turns out to be much less sensational than has been promised by the headline.
ANNE CLACKSON, SHERYL LINDSAY AND ALAN MACQUARRIE
Clackson, A., Lindsay, S. and Macquarrie, A. (2006). The
homes from hell? Media perceptions of residential child care. Scottish
Journal of Residential Child Care, 5, 1. pp. 25-26 and 52-54.
References
Aldridge, M. (1990). Social Work and the News Media: a hopeless Case? British Journal of Social Work, 20, 6. pp. 611-626.
Aldridge, M. (1994). Making social work news. London: Routledge.
Aldridge, M. (1999). Poor relations: State Social Work and the Press in the UK. In B. Franklin (ed.) Social policy the media and misrepresentation. London: Routledge.
Fowler, R. (1991). Language in the news.· discourse and ideology in the press. London: Routledge.
Franklin, B. (1998). Hard pressed: national newspaper reporting of social work and social services. London: Reed Business Information.
Scottish Executive (2002). Children looked after 2001-02. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.
Scottish Office (1996). The Scottish Abstract of Statistics, no 25. Edinburgh: Stationery Ofhce.
Who Cares? Scotland. (2001). Robbie's Angels. Speak out! Magazine, June 2001. p. 2.
