Facts In Action

The media is often the only source of information the public receives about the condition of children in the United States. Researchers at the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families and the Berkeley Media Studies Group have independently released studies examining how issues related to child care have been reported in a national sample of newspapers and on television. The two studies had similar central questions: how frequently do articles on child care appear; which issues are most often covered; and how are the issues framed?

The studies found that child care gets scant attention from the print and television media, despite the fact that three out of four children under the age of six spend time in the care of someone other than a parent. In total, the Casey study found that child care represented 3% of the child-specific articles in any section of the newspaper. On television, child care represented only 1% of child-related stories on newscasts. By contrast, child-related crime and violence represented 94% of all print articles and 96% of television stories relating to any child-specific issue.

The Berkeley study found that when child care was covered by the media, the types of issues covered included child care's contribution to the general workforce by enabling parents to seek education or employment, access and affordability, and - too frequently - crime and tragedy associated with child care. Many articles related to child care frame child care as a socially valuable service, but one for which many parents need help paying and to which government should ensure families' access.

Studies have shown that news coverage devoted to a given topic influences the public's perception of its importance. However, because of scant coverage, child care is a virtually invisible issue in print and television media. The authors of the Berkeley report recommend that advocates keep child care on the front burner by finding a compelling story with local implications, making it easy to report, and capitalizing on relevant breaking news stories by weighing in on their implications for child care.

Source:
Silent Revolution: How U.S. Newspapers Portray Child Care, J. McManus, L. Dorfman, and K. White, Berkeley Media Studies Group, January 2002.

For more information:
contact: Berkeley Media Studies Group, 2140 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 804, Berkeley, CA 94704, call (510) 204-9700, email bmsg@bmsg.org, or go online at www.bmsg.org.

Source:
Coverage in Context: How Thoroughly the News Media Report Five Key Children's Issues, D. Kunkel, S. Smith, P. Suding, and E. Biely, Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families, February 2002.

For more information:
contact Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families, 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 320, College Park, MD 20740, call (301) 699-5133, email info@casey.umd.edu, or go online at casey.umd.edu/home.nsf. Editor's Note: this url is no longer active.

Facts in Action, April 2002