Reporting Responsibly on the Cost-of-Living Crisis
Housing markets, especially in big cities, look much more different than they did during the height of COVID-19. Rents are sky-high: June 2022 saw Manhattan’s average rental rate soar above $5,000 per month. Inflation is still raging, especially where food and other staples are concerned. All of this is adding up to a whole lot of trouble for Americans.
When reporting on this, journalists have a lot to think about: the surface level of who is affected may be tempting, because "lots of people are tightening their belts for the first time, or the first time in a while, and it's easy to focus on tips and support for them," freelance finance journalist Felicity Hannah said to Journalism.co.uk. But the cost-of-living crisis may be linked to many other things under the surface and doing a dive in the right direction could potentially uncover some greater truths.
Here are some valuable tips.
TALK ABOUT THE MOST VULNERABLE
A lot of people will continue to face financial disaster this year and in the coming year. With inflation predicted to cost Americans over $5000 each, people who were already struggling now face impossibly steep financial cliffs. The price of chicken (except, oddly, rotisserie chicken) has gone up 16 percent in one year. That means more and more Americans are looking at credit card debt, personal loans, or predatory lenders, which could result in economic disaster.
DIVERSIFY SOURCES
Poverty is a multifaceted issue that needs a diversity of research behind it. Cost of living raises often mean other places are struggling too—small businesses may be struggling to pay their rent, and independent contractors may be struggling to secure contracts.
"Media coverage about poverty often focuses on things like unemployment and doesn’t show the reality of people who are being pulled into poverty because of low wages, insecure contracts and the rising living costs we’re all facing," says Sarah Whitehead, co-director of Community Pride CIC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to tackling poverty and injustice.
REMEMBER: SOLUTION-BASED REPORTING
Finding the causes and correlations of poverty is an ongoing thing and is definitely important, but a solution-based style to these things is rare. "I want news editors to focus on what can change - not just on what’s working," says Whitehead. Several states and counties have implemented structural change that has clear results. Models can be obtained in those places. Concrete examples can empower those who are reading: it is possible to get this done.
STATS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT DON’T FORGET ABOUT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE AFFECTED
Reports without any human input are of no use to either you or your readers. But those being interviewed deserve privacy if they choose it. Your main focus is to bring a human side to the data about the drivers behind poverty, which can be done without violating the privacy of any individual or their wishes. Help the person speak for the statistics in your writing. Also, ask them what changes they would like to see, and include those in your writing where appropriate.
CLICHES ARE HARMFUL
Normally a cliché is an “eye roll” problem, not necessarily a societal-structure problem. But in this case, an overused cliché like poverty in Dickensian London or Hoovervilles doesn’t represent the problem as something happening in our society currently and can actually turn the audience’s brain off to the concept rather than make it receptive.
Poverty impacts every aspect of daily life which means that covering it means covering it in-depth, including every aspect of daily life across platforms, across data, across individuals, and across societal circumstances. With a vast array of things to report on, journalists should have no trouble adhering to these guidelines to create successful pieces.
