Three years after the federal government ended subsistence guarantees for low-income people–and after hundreds of thousands of people have left or been kicked off the benefit rolls–welfare is no longer considered newsworthy. And the people, the vast majority of them children, whose lives have been irrevocably altered by benefit cut-offs simply aren’t worthy of public attention. That’s the conclusion that emerged from an exhaustive five-month study of welfare coverage in five major California newspapers. Media Alliance and media advocacy organization We Interrupt This Message surveyed the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News, and Contra Costa Times from January 1 through May 31 of this year, analyzing all stories containing the word welfare in either the headline or subhead. We wanted to know how mainstream papers have approached the issue, and what this coverage has contributed to public perceptions and policy. Continue reading WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH WELFARE REFORM?, by Camille Taiara →