Although some stories mentioned the low wages many former welfare recipients receive, analysis of the burgeoning low-wage job market was absent. News reporters need to find answers to these questions. Yet only 26 percent of stories mentioned what happened to people once they left welfare, and these tended to profile particular cases rather than overall statistics. The average number of hours worked per week is 27. No story in the survey touched on the fact that benefits are cut off at a very low income level, which means that many people can't afford to leave welfare.
People have to stay poor in order to get help.
It's a self-perpetuating system that ends up acting like a national temp agency. Women and children make up the vast majority of welfare recipients. Yet only seven of the 72 articles in the study mentioned the impact of welfare reform on children, and only one addressed the issue directly. Just nine stories looked at how gender affects survival in the current welfare environment. Now they work with other current and former recipients to challenge the stereotypes of the poor that are so prevalent in the mainstream media.