When it came to the framing of articles, there were two major themes that appeared from each news site: homeless criminals versus homelessness as a crime. Homeless criminals would be seen in articles that are focusing on crime, of which a homeless individual happens to be the criminal, versus homelessness as crime in which the story frames the issue of homelessness as a crime upon unhoused people. Fox News had the most stories focused on a homeless criminal, with 6 of the 20 articles expressing that framing, whereas Reuters and CNN had one each. This can easily be seen within the Fox News article about an unhoused individual who did not pay the remaining 43 cents for his soda. The author describes the criminal as “Sobolewski, 38, who is homeless and has several convictions for other minor crimes,” (Casiano 2021). The author limits the reader’s knowledge of this individual to only his name, age, and previous convictions, thus framing the individual as a criminal. While the story is about a crime he committed, the author holds total control of how the reader should see the individual, thus shaping one’s understanding of homeless individuals. This can also be seen in another Fox News article, in which they open the story with, “San Diegans are asking police and city officials to do more to control random attacks by homeless people in parts of the city,” (Colton 2021). This opening line paints the picture that the author for Fox News is trying to portray, that residents of San Diego are desperate for change regarding the criminal homeless community. While there are instances in which crimes are committed, oftentimes randomly, the framing of the story indicates that the homeless community are always the criminals in this city. Authors may want to frame stories this was the sway their readers towards disliking homeless individuals, othering them as criminals and perpetuating stereotypes.
Annotated Screenshot of Fox News Article
“Los Angeles furniture store worker stabbed to death by homeless man in ‘random’ attack, police say.” by Louis Casiano. Copyright All Rights Reserved.
Framing can also be used to change the perspective of the story, focusing on the criminalization of homelessness and how the construct is the issue, rather than the individuals themselves. This was found among all of the news sites, with more instances occurring on CNN and Reuters. For example, CNN writers state, “some homeless advocates…denounced the initiative…said the plan would criminalize homelessness and mental health,” (Tucker and Sgueglia 2022). These authors were reporting a plan responding to homelessness in New York City, and included a section dedicated to the opinions and voices of advocates, who saw the plan as limiting and harmful towards homelessness. Rather than focusing on the crime that was occuring in the city that led to the plan, the authors note how the “solution” to crime would only further worsen the situation for the unhoused. Similarly, a Reuters article written on a rapid shelter model for California in a similar light. They note how there is an overwhelming increase of 159% in emergency shelter beds, whereas permanent supportive housing only increased in the state by 13% (Trotta 2022). This author was criticizing advocacy that aimed to temporarily “fix” homelessness, noting the issue not lying among homeless criminals but the issue of homelessness itself. This way of framing allows news sites to input their opinions regarding homelessness without blatantly stating how they feel their readers should think. Aside from the perspective of homelessness being a crime, or homeless individuals as criminals, the news sites also provided their opinions regarding the solutions and resolutions of homelessness.
Annotated Screenshot of Fox News Article
“Homeless Pennsylvania man faces 7 years for allegedly underpaying for Mountain Dew by 43 cents” by Louis Casiano. Copyright All Rights Reserved.