News Coverage of Housing Matters: Examining Housing Crises During the Great Recession and the Covid-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Housing is an issue that affects all individuals in society. People have firsthand experiences with housing daily. Housing is also a macro issue that is affected by and has implications for the nation’s economy and public policy. Despite the centrality of housing for individuals and society, few scholars have examined media coverage of housing issues and housing policy. This gap is especially problematic when considering the critical role of the housing market collapse in the 2008 Great Recession, the landmark housing policies instituted during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the media's potential to shape perceptions of housing policy and the economy. In this study, I use content analysis to examine the media agenda-setting and framing of housing and housing policies from 2005 to 2010 and 2020 in the New York Times. I investigate whether housing is framed in episodic or thematic ways and how housing media frames changed in response to the economic collapse and the pandemic. I also examine the context of media agenda-setting using housing topics. Lastly, I pay particular attention to whether housing media frames and housing topics are racialized.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Clawson, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Political science|Urban planning
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