Since you are familiar with the opposing point of view, you can address counter arguments in your remarks during your interview with the reporter. Language and Images Finally, low-income communities have been described for the last thirty years, by social workers as well as the media, using a deficit language model. It is not surprising that these images are overwhelmingly negative. They are images of crime and violence, of joblessness and welfare dependency, of gangs and drugs and homelessness, of vacant and abandoned land and buildings. They are images of needy and problematic and deficient neighborhoods populated by needy and problematic and deficient people .
Language is important.
There are churches, block clubs and cultural groups. Use them and refer to them. Tell their stories. Enlist their help as spokespersons. Often you can find senior citizen, youth and artistic associations.