| Chapter 1: | Background and Significance of the Study |
I have identified two major ways that the general public learns about homeless people: (1) through their portrayal in the print and broadcast mass media; (2) by the public’s own direct observations as the homeless appear in their local communities, perhaps while soliciting handouts or traveling about within local communities. This latter approach – directly observing the homeless – is the method least likely to provide useful information because many members of the general public, and especially those in moderate- to high-income brackets, may go for days, or even weeks, without seeing a homeless person. When they do see them, it is commonly only a glimpse of the person from the window of a passing automobile. Thus, media portrayals are the primary sources of information about the homeless for most Americans. I will:
Outline
Chapter One establishes the purpose of the research, the statement of the problem, the hypothesis and the methods to be used. Chapter Two provides a review of the relevant literature dealing with this issue. Chapter Three provides an overview of the methodology used. Chapter Four provides data from the interviews of homeless people and media professionals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chapter Five provides an analytical overview of interviews conducted with the homeless and some members of the media in Albuquerque, New Mexico.