Here are key definitions, facts and figures to orient yourself in poverty journalism.
Why should journalists cover poverty?
People experiencing poverty have death rates twice the ratio found for people living on incomes above the poverty level.
Racial minorities experience poverty and economic disenfranchisement at a higher rate than white people.
Poverty affects a community’s potential for economic development,.
Racial minority students living in poverty are less likely to earn a high school diploma or attend college than white students.
People living in poverty are disproportionately exposed to violent crime and traumatic injuries.
Earning an income below the poverty level puts individuals at a higher risk for developing chronic diseases.
How is poverty calculated?
According to the United States Census Bureau, the poverty threshold is defined as “the dollar amounts used to determine poverty status,” which is adjusted for inflation every year. Poverty thresholds are the same throughout the United States and do not vary by state or county. Thresholds do vary by the specific family sizes and the ages of those in the family unit.
The Census Bureau states, “incomes of all related family members that live together are added up to determine poverty status.” Once a family’s income is determined to be less than the poverty threshold for that family, everyone in that family unit is considered living in poverty. Poverty status cannot be determined for those in jail, children under 15 in foster care, or people living in nursing homes, college dormitories, military barracks or unconventional housing.
The Census Bureau uses several factors to determine if an income is within poverty status. These factors include earnings, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, social security, supplemental security income, public assistance, veterans’ payments, child support and many other factors. For a complete list of these factors, visit the Census Bureau’s website.
This video demonstrates to journalists how to conduct research on poverty statistics through the Census Bureau Website. (Video/Lillie Beck)
Key facts
According to data from the United States Census Bureau, 37.9 million people were living in poverty in the United States in 2022. (Graphic/McCain Bracewell)According to the data from the Poverty Solutions Initiative at the University of Michigan, the poverty rate for children has been historically been higher than than the overall poverty rate. (Graphic/Lillie Beck) According to the data from the Poverty Solutions Initiative at the University of Michigan, the poverty rate for people in single women households are higher than the overall poverty rate. (Graphic/Lillie Beck)
Top myths about poverty
Myth 1: People living in poverty are fully to blame or have no responsibility.
Both are wrong because many factors are beyond their control.
Myth 2: Poverty is a permanent condition.
It is not. Jobs, government assistance and global economic trends can influence a person’s economic status from one month to the next.
Myth 3: Most people living in poverty don’t work. If someone has full-employment, they aren’t living in poverty.
Incorrect. Actually, many people living in poverty do have jobs. People can work multiple minimum-wage jobs and still not make enough to be above the poverty threshold.
The word “full-employment” implies comfort, but the lack of a living wage and inadequate health care coverage leads to many fully employed people continuing to live in poverty.
Myth 4: People who are experiencing poverty are more inclined to have a certain set of stereotypical values, political beliefs and education.
Poverty casts a wide net and affects people from all walks of life. It’s impossible to know if someone is living in poverty without knowing their specific, personal financial situation.
Lillie Beck graduated with a journalism degree in fall 2020 from the University of Georgia.
To see why covering poverty is so important, check out this video:
As a reporter, one of the greatest challenges you may experience is learning how to write across societal differences. Journalists must stick to the facts while still capturing nuance when covering poverty. They have to prevent their biases from interfering with the story.
Moni Basu, an award-winning journalist and Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence in the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, first came across this challenge over 30 years ago as a reporter in Tallahassee, Florida, when she wrote a story on inmates who couldn’t afford lawyers on death row. This became the first of many stories she wrote on people who experience poverty around the world.
Basu says that story taught her how to set aside her own biases, because the inmates she was interviewing lived a life that was completely different from her personal life experiences.
One of her most notable stories on poverty was the 2017 CNN article, “Seeing the New India from the Eyes of an Invisible Woman.” In this story, she returns to her hometown, Kolkata, India, and gains a fresh perspective about an old friend.
The article profiled a woman named Amina who provided domestic help for Basu’s family from 1998 to 2001.
Throughout the story, Basu paints a picture about the growing income gap in her homeland. “In India,” she writes, “the wealth of 16 people is equal to the wealth of 600 million people.”
In the CNN article, Basu recounts taking Amina to one of India’s most upscale shopping malls in Kolkata, Quest Mall.
In the article, she reported that it would have taken Amina almost 25 years to earn enough money to purchase a Michael Kors handbag she saw at the mall that was worth almost $2,000.
“It was like a magical world to her,” she said.
Basu never saw Amina again after their trip to Quest Mall in 2015. The slum she lived in was bulldozed to make room for a new high-rise where flats could sell for approximately $150,000 or more.
Telling stories about people who experience poverty can be difficult. Basu says that one of the most valuable techniques a reporter can use to successfully write across difference is to educate themselves on the communities they cover.
Leave your bias at the door.
The best way to confront your biases is to assume a position of humility.
“Be humble, lower yourself. People don’t have to talk to you. You are privileged that they’re talking to you and don’t forget that privilege. Treat them with the courtesy that they deserve.”
-Moni Basu
Throughout her career for media outlets including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CNN, she has discovered that it’s OK to plead ignorance. Call someone in the community before you visit and admit to them that you may not know what it’s like to be a part of that community or that you may not have a full picture of poverty in that area, but you’re willing to learn.
Observe, observe, observe.
Basu, who serves as director of UGA’s MFA in Narrative Nonfiction, advises journalists to find the most popular coffee shop or restaurant in the community they’re covering and go observe. Find out who the regulars are. What are people chatting about at the tables around you? Do all of those people have something in common?
She also says that reporters should visit a local place of worship to find out where people are seeking hope and guidance. It’s the small details about the everyday life of a community that will help add context to a story.
Be sensitive to trauma.
Basu explains that families who experience poverty often experience trauma. The National Education Association reports that between 50 to 80 percent of students living in poverty have been traumatized.
Basu warns reporters to be sensitive to the trauma people may have suffered and not treat their sources like victims. Instead, reporters should carefully consider how they frame questions and remember that no one wants to be subject to these types of stories.
She said, “Be sensitive to the fact that everyone has pride and no one wants to be seen beneath dignity. Treat them with the dignity they deserve.”
Interview an elderly person.
Basu also encourages reporters to find the pillars of the community they’re covering, because those are the people who have lived in that area the longest.
A person who has lived a long time and spent decades in the same community can help you layer your story with historical context related to socioeconomics and poverty.
Listen first, write later.
Listening is the key to capturing the nuance of poverty in a story.
“We tend to get one quote or get one sound bite and leave. And we often end up writing misleading stories or stories that are not nuanced enough.”
-Moni Basu
Basu says this type of reporting leads journalists to write stories that only depict black and white, but the reality is that poverty is many shades of gray.
People who are experiencing poverty often don’t have a voice. When you have the opportunity to hear from them, listen to what they’re saying, put it into context, collect valuable data and write your story based on what you find.
Kelsey Coffey graduated in fall 2020 with a journalism degree from the University of Georgia.
This database looks at the capacity of individuals and households to “absorb, endure, and recover from the health, social, and economic impacts of a disaster,” while examining risk factors, such as poverty. Journalists will find this data useful when examining how major events can affect poverty and health care.
The Census Bureau also hosts a news conference with an annual release of national-level income, poverty and health insurance coverage statistics. This typically happens in September.
This publication looks at the health and well-being of America’s infants, children and adolescents. The publication includes information and data about children in poverty, examining the connection of health and well-being of children living in low-income families.
This publication examines “a global subnational map of the prevalence of underweight children that can be used by a wide user community in interdisciplinary studies of health, poverty and the environment.”
This publication shows infant mortality rate estimates that can be used in the studies of health, poverty and the environment. It includes 234 countries and territories, giving it a global look into the issue.
This publication aims to “further increase the effectiveness of development cooperation in improving the health of poor people as a means of reducing poverty and achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals.” It is a set of policy recommendations and provides directions on ways of “supporting a pro-poor health approach in partner countries.”
Institutions
The Healthy People initiative by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aims to set “data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade.” The 2020 topic areas include economic stability, education, health and health care, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context.
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council works to end homelessness by ensuring health care and housing for all by “uniting thousands of health care professionals, people with lived experience of homelessness, and advocates in homeless health care.”
Annual Conferences
The National Academy for State Health Policy hosts their Annual State Health Policy Conference. The conference gives informative sessions covering crucial health care issues, discussions from state health policy experts, and offers solutions and innovative ideas.
The Association of Health Care Journalists hosts an annual Health Journalism Conference. The conference consists of hearing from journalists and health care experts, participating in how-to sessions and taking advantage of networking opportunities.
Shania Shelton is a fourth-year journalism major at the University of Georgia.
Poverty creates challenges for children and students of any age. A lack of resources, time from parents and mental, physical and emotional strain of living in poverty can create barriers to quality education.
Covering the intersection of poverty and education gives insight into the challenges these students face.
Research guide
Here’s a list of databases, studies, conferences and institutions, with information to help you form the right questions.
If you’re feeling stuck, use the resources below to help answer these questions. They might help you get started on a story or expand on an idea.
What challenges do students face in your region?
What are the demographics of students in your region?
What is the retention and graduation rate in your region?
What percentage of families in your region live below the poverty line?
This data collection allows journalists to search schools and districts for data and special reports related to enrollment demographics, SAT & ACT, student retention, discipline, etc. among public schools in the United States.
This data looks at how U.S. students performed in recent assessments. Journalists can look at various schools, states and districts to analyze assessment scores.
This dataset looks at education statistics in different indicators, such as various countries. This will help journalists get a wider view of education and what it may look like in different capacities and locations.
In this publication, journalists will find information related to the effects of poverty on school children. This paper by M.D. Ushadevi analyzes the database in education to provide information on the intersection of education with poverty. Journalists will find this helpful because they are able to monitor and consolidate poverty data among school children, serving as an initial step to address poverty and education.
This publication by the U.S. Department of Education examines “common constraints of neighborhood data used for educational research and proposes the use of school-centered neighborhood poverty estimates based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and estimation techniques borrowed from spatial statistics.” Journalists will find this useful by having a publication that dives deep into how school and neighborhood poverty intersect with education.
Institutions
The Global Partnership for Education is a global fund dedicated to “transforming education in lower-income countries,” and they “work to deliver quality education so that every girl and boy can have hope, opportunity and agency.” Journalists will find this institution useful for exploring global initiatives related to education and poverty.
The U.S. Department of Education collects data on America’s schools and establishes policies on federal financial aid for education. Journalists will find this institution useful for analyzing data and finding information related to schools and students in the U.S.
Annual Conferences
Millersville University hosts an Annual Conference on Education and Poverty. The purpose is to “share information, practices, policies, and research pertaining to working with students in poverty.”
The Association for Childhood Education International hosts the Global Summit on Childhood every other year, where they design ways to facilitate “global sharing of minds and resources in their mission to benefit the education and protection of children everywhere.”
Shania Shelton is a fourth year journalism major at the University of Georgia.
There is a cycle in which crime can cause poverty and poverty can cause crime, and it is important to flesh out that correlation or cycle.
People living in poverty are also vulnerable and victims of crime and mass incarceration, and it is important to tell their stories accurately.
Research guide
Here’s a list of databases, studies, conferences and institutions, with information to help you form the right questions in your community.
If you’re feeling stuck, use the resources below to help answer these questions. They might help you get started on a story or expand on an idea about poverty in your county.
What does the crime rate look like in your region?
What is the incarceration rate in your region?
What are the biggest offenses in your region?
What is the poverty rate in your region?
What percentage of families in your region live below the poverty line?
This data will bring insight to journalists about data on the monthly labor force, work experience, income, noncash benefits and migration. This will be important for background data to help journalists become more knowledgeable on poverty and trends.
This database looks at aggregated data from published sources including crime, justice and sociodemographic variables. This is important for journalists exploring crime and mass incarceration statistics and trends.
This dataset looks at the effect of income inequality on violent crime. This will be important for journalists who want to examine the effects of crime, while using a case study of Mexico’s drug war to explain the data.
In this publication, journalists will find information related to police corruption and how it is linked to processes of development, such as crime, violence and poverty. The main purpose is to “explore and clarify the relations between police corruption and the more fundamental welfare-shaping processes in poor and semi-poor countries,” researchers Jens Chr. Andvig and Odd-Helge Fjeldstad say in the paper. This publication will be useful for journalists covering poverty in developing countries especially.
This publication examines U.S. data from 1965 to 2016 to identify the effect of poverty on crime. The authors, Mohammed Imran, Mosharrof Hosen, Mohammad Ashraful Ferdous Chowdhury, find a positive co-integrating relationship between poverty and property crime. This publication and findings will be useful for journalists looking for the relationship between poverty and crime rates in America.
This publication by the Bureau of Justice Statistics examines the “violent victimization experiences of persons living in households at various levels of poverty, focusing on type of violence, victim’s race or Hispanic origin, and location of residence.” It will be useful for journalists looking for information on rates of crime on those in lower income households.
Journalists will find this study useful for examining the effects of income inequalities with violent criminality in young adulthood. This study looks at “parental income trajectories during childhood and subsequent risks of self-harm and violent criminality in young adulthood.” The study found “the longer a child lived in poorer circumstances, the higher their subsequent risks for self-harm and violent criminality, and vice versa for time spent living in affluent conditions.”
Institutions
The Poverty, Violence, and Governance Lab at Stanford University is a laboratory that partners with “policy-makers and community leaders to evaluate programs and policies aimed at containing violence and crime, reducing human rights abuses by law enforcement agents, and improving the quality and accountability of the police and criminal justice systems.” Journalists will find their research aimed at providing solutions to lawlessness and violence useful for reporting, as well as their evaluations of current programs and policies.
Innovations for Poverty Action is a research and policy nonprofit that “discovers and promotes effective solutions to global problems.” Their aim is to improve the lives of people living in poverty, and they conduct research related to poverty in various countries, crime, health, etc.
Annual Conferences
The World Bank Group is a global partnership between five institutions, whose mission is to end extreme poverty and to promote shared prosperity. The group has annual conferences on land and poverty. The Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty “Institutions for Equity and Resilience” was postponed due to COVID-19.
The Institute for International Economic Policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs serves as a catalyst for “non-partisan research on policy issues surrounding economic globalization.” The Institute hosts the Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conference, in which academics and development practitioners discuss the topics of people, markets and cities.
Shania Shelton is a fourth year journalism major at the University of Georgia.
Poverty needs to be covered with sensitivity and with the understanding that each story is unique. Assumptions are especially dangerous to make in writing these stories because poverty affects each person in a different way.
Poverty coverage can be beat-specific or include a discussion of socio-economic issues within breaking news and stories across beats.
To paint a more inclusive picture of the communities they serve, news organizations can focus resources toward training journalists on beats, while including an intersectional conversation about poverty within each area of coverage.
The Fickle State of Poverty
Poverty is news and has become an increasingly newsworthy item as studies from the Brookings Institution indicate more Americans now live in poverty in suburbs than in cities. However, Brookings Institution also said poverty in these areas is not being covered well by the press.
Part of covering a community through a sense of place is knowing the different demographics in the community. As evidenced by the Brookings Institution study, poverty may be prevalent in places journalists wouldn’t consider. To begin covering poverty, the newsroom should split and observe each sector of the community and how residents relate to other sectors.
The need for poverty coverage at some newspapers is apparent, but how do journalists cover it without making readers numb to the issue?
Trista Vincent examined this in the Ryerson Review of Journalism in 1999 by observing the newsroom conversation at The Toronto Star, when it had two reporters assigned to cover social policy and six others who wrote about issues pertaining to poverty. Fred Kuntz, the Star’s deputy managing editor said, “The best poverty stories are those containing a narrative and offering true, real-life, human drama, as well as the historical context of the issue, quantified facts about the scope of the problem and informed and dispassionate discussion about the causes and possible solutions.”
This all-encompassing responsibility is tough, but Kuntz thought it was possible. One of the staffers wrote a story in 1994 about three community members who benefited from public housing but also critically analyzed non-profit housing. Once again, establishing a sense of place by addressing a local, addressable and historical issue through a personal narrative is key.
The Humanity of It All
Journalists can’t ignore poverty coverage. The Community Service Society of New York evaluated the decreased coverage of poverty in New York in 2004 and figured coverage was dropped because newspapers were aiming at readers’ wants instead of needs, favoring more trivial news.
Articles tended to contain stereotypes, which “can lead to the conclusion that there is no need for public investment in poor neighborhoods,” or were misleading and incomplete. “Just as damaging has been the media’s refusal to look at underlying problems of poverty,” they wrote.
Considering “sense of place” is important while covering poverty. Sense of place is how a person relates to their environment. Journalists should learn to convey information through their local identities to explain poverty in persistently impoverished locations. History, personal narratives and community-wide traditions should be used to cover poverty in a way that will draw in readers and create a strong sense of place.
Community members should be able to form accurate ideas about their locale and know how poverty affects it through crime and mass incarceration, health, business and education. National statistics, surveys and legislation can be used at a local level to explain poverty trends, and journalists should specifically incorporate coverage of poverty-related issues and low-income communities in beats across the newsroom.
To understand how to cover poverty, journalists should first check how poverty manifests itself as a sense of place in the community. Are people accepted and helped or shunned? Who is affected and how does poverty play a role in political, social and economic aspects of the community?
Avoid These Misconceptions
There are numerous misunderstandings in covering poverty that journalists should be prepared for. The following are some of the most common misconceptions that journalists should be prepared for:
The belief that people are responsible for their own poverty; that poverty is caused by lack of willpower or willingness to work; that if they were eligible for government help, they would be getting it.
The belief that poverty can’t be alleviated.
The belief that anti-poverty programs don’t work—they do. But they often need updating or to be refined for new groups in poverty.
Journalists often don’t understand the full picture, and can work from stereotypes of impoverished people.
There is very little understanding of the fact that the majority of people living in poverty actually have jobs.
Most Americans do not understand that we are the most impoverished nation in the developed world or that poverty is a complicated mixture of structural injustice, the lack of capability of freedom to function at a minimal level and behavioral responsibility.
The belief that people living in poverty are likely to have a specific set of values, political beliefs and education. That most poverty comes with unsatisfactory education, lack of understanding or knowledge of the world and lack of sophistication about politics.
As a journalist, understanding your own bias as a human is a solid place to start. While reporting, treat the topic of poverty as the multifaceted subject that it is and regularly evaluate your personal and community biases.
Poverty is a complicated topic, and thus difficult to cover, but it can be done well.
Savannah Ware is a fourth year majoring in journalism at the University of Georgia.
To see why covering poverty is so important, check out this video:
Stories produced by community journalists, regional reporters and national media demonstrate the value of data-driven reporting when it comes to reporting on poverty.
Here are two examples of award-winning data-driven reporting.
Inside California’s Housing Crisis: Deceit, Disrepair and Death Inside a Southern California Rental Empire
Aaron Mendelson, for the LAist
What’s the story: Winner of an Online Journalism Award for “Investigative Data Journalism, Small/Medium Newsroom,” this story used mountains of data — including eviction records, state business data, court filings and depositions — to lead an investigation into the negligent and questionable operations of a landlord in Los Angeles County. What was uncovered included tragic stories from people living under dangerous conditions, many of which resulted in health concerns or fatalities. In addition, this reporting uncovered a lack of oversight on these poorly managed properties at a state level and how a vicious cycle of evictions keeps people experiencing poverty in poverty, while landlords get rich.
Why it works: The story is data-driven, but relies on narratives from people on the frontlines of this issue to tell the full story. There are multimedia elements to the reporting including data visualization, graphic elements, photos, videos and a full audio story to accompany the written piece. It’s extremely comprehensive and data heavy with a variety of sources, but the information is laid out in a digestible format. The story is compelling because the wrongdoing and systemic issues are laid out in a factual way.
How to do it: It’s likely that there are people in any given county in the U.S. experiencing dangerous or inadequate living conditions, and the COVID-19 pandemic paired with natural disasters this year has only made this worse. Check out resources from Princeton University’s Eviction Lab and see where your county stands on eviction levels (Note: data is from 2016). Access public records regarding property ownership from your county tax assessor’s office and look at average rental costs in your area and map out any prevalent property managers with bad reviews. Consider submitting open records or FOIA requests for code enforcement reports. Ask for courtesy visuals from sources if necessary. Most importantly, look for trends or patterns and use experts to help with the reporting process.
As Rising Heat Bakes U.S. Cities, The Poor Often Feel It Most
Meg Anderson and Sean McMinn, for NPR
What’s the story: For a series on “Heat and Health in American Cities,” National Public Radio reporters analyzed correlations between the location of low-income neighborhoods and rising temperatures, specifically in major U.S. cities. Reporting focuses on people living in poverty in urban areas and how rising temperatures will continue to put them at a disadvantage when it comes to health-related risks and social vulnerability.
Why it works: There’s data visualization that extends past the stories focus area of Baltimore, Maryland, pulling in a large audience. The story relies on narratives from people experiencing this problem first hand supported by empirical evidence. Professionals sourced in this story also provide information that support the concerns outlined by the data. Because the story is in both a written and audio format, it’s easy to read.
How to do it: This story applied thermal data from NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey to develop maps of major U.S. cities, overlapping that data with economic reports for median household incomes. There’s data for all 50 states regarding rising temperatures, air pollution and environmental risk factors, for example, that can be applied to a larger story or used to start you on your reporting process. It’s important to make connections before starting the reporting process to avoid bias. This story received an honorable mention for the Investigative Reporters & Editors Philip Meyer award.
Housing covers a basic need required by everyone: shelter.
Housing indicates economic growth or the lack of it. It also serves as an engine for employment and industrial development.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the likelihood that individuals and families experience housing insecurity. While there have been federal moratoriums on evictions, the long lasting effects of the virus and growing rates of infection will exacerbate housing insecurity.
While foreclosures have reached record lows nationally since the housing crisis in 2008, states such as Tennessee, Idaho and Indiana, as well as metropolitan areas in Oregon and Alabama, for example, have seen steady levels of foreclosures.
Rising unemployment rates and economic insecurity paired with waning unemployment benefits amid COVID-19 may increase the number of middle-class workers who slip into poverty, increasing the likelihood of housing insecurity.
Low-quality housing affects children. According to many long term psychological and economic studies, children born into impoverished homes are likely to become part of the cycle of poverty.
Research guide
Here’s a list of databases, studies and institutions, with information to help you form the right questions about poverty and housing in your community.
If you’re feeling stuck, use the resources below to help answer these questions. They might help you get started on a story or expand on an idea about housing and poverty in your county.
What percentage of families in your county live below the poverty line?
What is the unemployment rate?
What is the poverty rate in your county?
What are the average rent and housing costs in your county?
What is the median annual household income in your county?
What is the foreclosure rate in your county?
What is the homeownership rate in your county?
What percentage of people in your community experience housing hardships?
A part of the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Community Survey collects nationwide data every year on the social, economic, and housing characteristics. Data can be narrowed down by year, state and county including narrative and data profiles.
Another U.S. Census Bureau outlet, the American Housing Survey landing page provides access to annual housing surveys which follow the same housing units over time.
While providing historical demographic data for Georgia counties dating back to 1900, there’s also data about housing characteristics from 2000 including homes built by decade.
Out of the U.S. Census Bureau, this collection of data focuses on rental and homeowner vacancies, acting as both economic indicators and sources for decisions on new housing developments. Data can be distinguished by age, race/ethnicity, and family income.
A partnership between the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation and the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Includes annual reports on affordable housing access, a mapping tool showing affordable housing near you, and data on funding and subsidies for affordable housing.
An outlet for federally-collected data including county level summaries of housing problems of low income households, public housing inspection scores, and environmental impact surveys of housing developments.
Updated and revised in 2006, this manual pulls from 1970 and 1980 ideas referencing “basic principles of healthy housing,” water quality, energy efficiency, and indoor air pollutants. Provides good historical context from a federal perspective.
An analysis of federal data that summarizes the effects of federal assistance on low-income households, and how a lack thereof can exacerbate homelessness, instability, and crowding.
Published in 2020, this study analyzes the social and economic costs of foreclosures in Cooke County, Illinois. Though specific to one location, findings and ideas can be applied to other areas.
Provides national data and analysis of critical housing problems facing the low income population. This report is submitted to Congress every two years.
A deep-dive into how different types of retail — specifically dollar stores and similar shopping experiences — can indicate the presence of low-income populations and shape neighborhood profiles.
Based in New York, resources emphasize information on homeless families and children, including students. The website provides infographics and data compilation in digestible formats.
Out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a federally funded research center for national poverty in the U.S. Under research areas are collections of studies and research regarding housing, place, inequality and mobility, employment and economic support from social scientists in a variety of disciplines.
Out of Harvard University, this institution has links to research, events, and interactive data focussing on housing issues and policy. They also release an annual report on “The State of the Nation’s Housing” which can be found online.
Justia is a company that gives free access to legal advice and information through its legal platform. This page gives a comprehensive look at eviction, moratorium, and foreclosure policies in different states specifically regarding COVID-19 relief.
Has compiled housing resources specifically regarding COVID-19, including news articles and state reports. Hosts events with housing experts focussed on solutions to affordable housing, and links to its virtual conferences.
A coalition focussed on achieving social equity through policy work and advocacy. Includes analysis of housing needs by state, annual reports, and events/webinars with housing experts.
Sofia Gratas graduated in fall 2020 with a journalism degree from the University of Georgia.
In order to kickstart and supplement reporting, here is a list of essential datasets and resources including statistics, surveys, reports and analysis. Sources include research institutes, federal agencies, nonprofits and foundations covering a wide variety of topics related to poverty in the United States.
Before you start. Here are some useful resources for where to start on data-driven reporting and sorting and custom sorting data in Excel.
Software such as Tableau — which can be downloaded on most computers — allows users to connect to virtually any online data and create custom data visualization, as well as combine and clean different data sets. The National Press Foundation has a list of Digital Tools for reporters and newsrooms.
A nonprofit research institute with global connections. Reports, analysis and expert resources cover topics important in reporting on poverty, including economic development policies and intersections between race and economic mobility.
Includes food insecurity maps, cost of living studies, access to poverty rates from 1967 to 2017 and more. Fact sheets for state-level data are also available.
Has comprehensive information on all aspects of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including Medicare enrollment reports, financial statements with annual costs and charges per Medicare-certified institutions, and detailed national health expenditures.
The poverty risk calculator allows users to analyze risk based on criteria. Discussion guide modules provide valuable information and examples for stories about poverty, and additional resources cover important basics.
A nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank that conducts research and analysis on the economic status of working Americans. Topics range from COVID-19 to wages and tools include a minimum wage tracker, family budget calculator and a tax and spending explorer module.
The Georgia Department of Labor gives unemployment rates and breaks down the number of residents who have filed for unemployment insurance by month and year. If you are reporting in other states, seek out similar information on your state’s department of labor website.
Contains mountains of health information on women and children’s health, COVID-19, opioid and substance misuse and more. Here’s a link to information on lead poisoning. If you are reporting in other states, seek out similar information on your state’s department of labor website.
From wealth management company Credit Suisse, the annual Global Wealth report provides a macroscopic view of household wealth and global economic growth.
This nonprofit organization focuses on issues of particular concern to Black and other peoples of color, specifically regarding socioeconomic advancement and racial equity. Publications include reports on the “Black Rural South,” the future of work and resources for economic relief in Black communities.
This nonprofit provides news and information on a wide variety of health topics such as Medicare and Medicaid, insurance and health care costs and racial disparities in treatment.
A nonprofit education and social policy research organization with publications breaking down employment programs, barriers to economic success, low-income experiences, rent reform and more.
Breaks down studies by topics and datasets, including social and demographic trends, U.S. politics and policy, and journalism and media. An account is required to access most data.
A nonpartisan forum for exchanging research, studies and data on major issues exacerbating and facing people in poverty today. Allows breakdowns by state and focus areas such as digital divides, food and hunger, education, immigration and the justice system.
This institution monitors and analyzes trends on poverty and inequality and provides archives of trend data and original work. An excellent place to find experts on education, economic insecurity, social justice and fiscal policy, for example, including past and upcoming events in these subject areas. for sources, as well.
A nonprofit research institute focussed on solution-based policies and community response. Breaks down by research areas and lists policy centers and initiatives around the country, which can be helpful for narrowing down your story.
The Economic Research Service is a site within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides county-level and national-level statistics on poverty as recently as 2018.
Explore data by topics such as housing, employment, income and poverty and health. Conducted surveys include valuable insight covering economic insecurity and important statistics.
The GAO’s reports and testimonies include information regarding operations at the federal level regarding housing, employment, health care and economic development. Users can filter results by government agency, report topics and date.
Sofia Gratas graduated in fall 2020 with a journalism degree from the University of Georgia.
Here’s an analysis of two stories from award-winning journalists that cover the intersection between housing and poverty.
Separated by design: Why affordable housing is built in areas with high crime, few jobs and struggling schools (2019)
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas for The Connecticut Mirror
What’s the story: Published in 2019, this story is about how policies regulating affordable housing development in Connecticut have contributed to housing segregation. It discusses how the federal government funds affordable housing, how developers in Connecticut make decisions about housing projects, and who is impacted as a result of all these processes. According to the article, federal tax credits to build affordable housing go mostly toward development in historically low-income communities (80%) instead of prosperous areas (10%). While the limitations to areas with affordable housing in Connecticut limit options for low-income families, it also keeps middle-class and wealthier people out, contributing to a cycle of economic stagnancy.
Why it works: The reporter uses an emotional peg to start, narrating the experience of a single mother in a dangerous neighborhood. The Lugo family represents those deeply affected by this housing segregation crisis and provide context for an important message — while there’s affordable housing, it only exists in impoverished communities. The reporter also interviews senators, development representatives, individuals working in advocacy, and lawmakers, while providing extensive information on the historical context of housing in Connecticut. A timeline of policy intertwined with quotes and narrative ultimately lead the reader back to the characters first introduced. It’s a very long story but it works — the reporter covers all their bases to tell the whole story.
How to do it: This story was part of a year-long investigation into affordable housing in Connecticut communities. Matching the format of your story to this one isn’t necessary, but it’s important to pay attention to all the sources the reporter included and what part they play in the storytelling process. In your own community, figure out what issues there are regarding affordable housing. Make a list of every person involved in decision making, and every person affected by those decisions. This story can be tackled in longform writing or with multimedia elements.
What’s the story: What started as a photo project became a team effort between photojournalist, Castro, and staff reporter for The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, McConahey. The team documented a homeless couple for 14 months, recording the couple’s relationship, attempts to rise out of economic insecurity, and experiences in homeless camps in detail. While the story focuses on one couple, it gives a face to the housing and homelessness crisis in Santa Rosa, California.
Why it works: The story is written in chronological order, giving readers the chance to follow along with the story in pieces. McConahey’s words and Castro’s visuals work together to tell a comprehensive story — the pieces are complementary, rather than overshadowing. What this story lacks in data or factual analysis it makes up for in first-person narrative uncommon in reports on poverty.
How to do it: Field work is required. Reporters with more limited experience should contact local homeless shelters or food banks and look for opportunities to interact with people experiencing from economic insecurity or homelessness. More experienced reporters can introduce themselves to economically insecure individuals in their neighborhood or community.
