Tracing the Evolution of Welfare Discourse from 1990 to 2016
In August 1996, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) as the primary cash welfare program for single mothers and children. A political debate during the early to mid-1990s that was particularly hard on welfare recipients culminated in a block grant to states tied to mandatory work requirements and time-limited lifetime benefits for recipients. Media coverage during this period closely tracked the unfolding political discourse around welfare reform and recipients. Following TANF’s implementation, though, coverage dwindled to near nonexistent levels. At this writing in early 2022, TANF remains part of the social safety net, though it provides far weaker support than its predecessor for women and children living in poverty. Yet TANF recipients are rarely subjects of media discourse. How did we arrive at this point? What impact did TANF’s enactment have on welfare recipient representation in the media? Particularly in light of work’s prominence in welfare reform debate, how did coverage change, if at all, during periods of economic recession? And perhaps most important, due to the historical and contemporary racialization of welfare reform debate and welfare dependency rhetoric, what role did recipient racial/ethnic identity have in media discourse? Using qualitative content analysis, I sought to uncover how media coverage of welfare recipients changed between 1990 and 2016 across 3,360 articles published by The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal. As would be expected, pre-TANF coverage was marked by themes concerning dependency, illegitimacy, and teen parenthood. Articles during this period were more likely to incorporate a threatening frame and less likely to portray suffering than post-TANF enactment coverage. Considering racial/ethnic identity, African American recipients were strongly overrepresented, and coverage was rife with the dependent single mother controlling image. Representation matters. How and which groups are included in media discourse can have both positive and negative ramifications for those groups. Findings presented in this dissertation and limitations of the study design suggest the importance of continued research into the role of media on the substance and arc of welfare reform.
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