Newspapers Viewing the Underclass

• In general Tabloid Newspapers (e.g. The Sun) focused on representing benefit claimants as undeserving (stigma), while broadsheets such as The Guardian were more likely to focus on representing benefit claimants as 'deserving'
• In a survey completed describing the underclass and benefit claimants, the results showed how the Sun stigmatized benefit claimants whilst the Guardian represented them as 'deserving':

  • The Sun = 47.5% of Negative only
  • The Guardian = 11.7% of Negative Only
• In a survey completed describing the underclass and benefit claimants, the results showed how the Sun stigmatized benefit claimants whilst the Guardian represented them as 'deserving':

  • The Sun = 7.5% of Positive only
  • The Guardian = 45.1% of Positive Only