How to analyze your newspaper’s coverage of the middle class
We learn from our past — both successes and failures. Reviewing your coverage of economic inequality can give you a better perspective on what your publication does well and not so well.You can make a plan to improve that based on what you learn in this exercise by simply making a mental note to include class as a factor in categories of reporting where coverage is lacking.
- Decide on a time frame. For this analysis, we started in the late 1960s when income inequality gap began to widen between the richest Americans and everyone else. You may want to start then, but it could also be helpful to do a more thorough analysis of, say, the last decade or the 1990s to the present.
- Access your newspaper’s archives (either on-site or from the website). Depending on how much of your paper’s content is online and how far back in time you want to go, search for stories using the term “middle class.” Decide how many you want to read per year based on your time constraints. We found three a year gave us a good picture, but certainly the more the better.
- Start reading and taking notes. As you read, summarize the main point of the article and note any vague or imprecise language the writer used. As you go, this will help you identify trends in how your paper typically covers the income gap, and also will show you areas where you need to explain more about a term or issue in your reporting.
- Look back on your summaries and group stories into color-coded categories. This will help show you where your paper tends to introduce class into stories. This can help you decide if you’re doing enough to explain how class plays into different topics you cover in your community.
- Visit other parts of this site to improve your income inequality coverage. Our site includes story ideas that address income inequality and a glossary of frequent but rarely explained terms that you can use to address weak spots you’ve potentially uncovered in studying your coverage.