Economic Inequality| How Come We Know? The Media Coverage of Economic Inequality

Authors

  • Andrea Grisold Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Hendrik Theine WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Keywords:

media coverage, economic inequality, redistributional policies, preference shaping, Critical Political Economy of the Media

Abstract

Given the background of rising economic inequalities, the topic has reentered the field of economic science. Yet the problem of how economic inequality is being mediated to the public is not discussed in economics at all, and hardly mentioned in communication studies. Through an analysis of recent empirical studies on the coverage of inequality in the media, we debate the role mass media play as information providers. Assessing the underlying assumptions and the methodological approaches guiding the respective empirical findings, we can highlight the merits of this body of work and identify open questions for further research. The last part of the article provides a discussion of (currently rather neglected) political economy theories that offer rich theoretical approaches to study media, power, and inequality.

Author Biographies

Andrea Grisold, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Professor Vienna University of Economics and Business

Hendrik Theine, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Research Assistant

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Published

2017-10-24

Issue

Vol. 11 (2017)

Section

Special Sections

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