Framing homelessness for the Canadian Public: The news media and homelessness

In Canada newspapers remain a signifi cant source of information available to the public. However, little research has been done on Canadian news media representations of homelessness and their refl ection of or infl uence on social norms and values. In this paper the authors review the literature exploring news media depictions of homelessness from the perspectives of news framing, media infl uence on social norms and values, and the construction of news. Examples from Canadian newspapers are provided to demonstrate the media’s framing and portrayal of people who are homeless or their issues and circumstances. In relation to the framing of the homeless and their situations, the authors describe four primary factors that infl uence the media in their selection of frames. The paper concludes with targeted analysis about the importance of understanding how and why the media frame their stories about the homeless as they do, and what further research is needed.