Media as a tool of social exclusion: homeless images in Lithuanian press
ENMedia in the society of late modernity period is a very important factor which takes part in the structuration of everyday life. Media represents a reality selectively - from the huge flow of news and events it excludes the particular things and decides how to present them; it constructs the external reality view in the consciousness of the society. Creating particular images and stereotypes, and the most often presenting only representative and not a reflex attitude, media can easily become the instrument of social exclusion of some society groups. One of such groups is homeless people. The article presents the data of the qualitative content analysis. Three main Lithuanian newspapers (published during 2005-2007 year) were chosen for the research. The aim of the research was to find out how the problem of homelessness is articulating and conceptualizing in the main Lithuanian newspapers and what kind of homeless images dominates in the media. On the basis of the research data three models of the homeless images in the newspapers were indicated: the homeless person as the "other", the homeless person as a criminal and the homeless person as a victim. A huge impact of these images for the society confirms public opinion surveys because the same models or their configurations as in the media are expressed. Reflexive, analytical view, speech in the name of the voiceless society group, representing it, could give to the media the tool of social integration. Especially in the society, where the media is considered to be the bellman of the only one truth.
