At the edge: media constructions of a stigmatised Irish housing estate

Abstract

By triangulating analyses of content and reception with a focus on production, this article attempts to understand the dynamics of and underlying reasons for the media stigmatisation of place. The research described contributes to a body of work examining how mass media and other social forces factor in the creation of negative stereotypes that damage the reputations of the places in which the poor reside. The overarching framework of understanding, provided by Goffman’s theory of stigma, is complemented by two further inter-related theoretical approaches, namely Social Exclusion and Political Economy. Combining analyses of media production (practices), media content (discourses) and audience reception (beliefs, attitudes), we analyse the representation of one of Ireland’s most deprived public housing estates in the print and broadcast media. Having established the stigmatising character and impact of national and local media content via this tripartite methodology, we focus on identifying and explaining the media practices that serve to (re)produce the estate’s ‘spoiled identity’. Our analysis of journalists’ explanations for these practices identifies the commercial realities, which progressively influence media production, as directly impacting media producers’ relationships with, and depictions of, poor places. We conclude by examining debates regarding the potential for rehabilitating a spoiled identity.