Race or Place? The Impact of New Depictions of Urban and Rural Poverty

Abstract

Objective. While scholars have investigated how the race of welfare recipients in news portrayals affects attitudes toward welfare, few if any, have considered if the urban or rural setting of coverage contributes to or interferes with racial portrayals. Therefore, I investigate whether portrayals of poverty as either urban or rural or black or white perpetuate stereotypes and result in diminished support for welfare. Methods. I use a survey-based experiment that includes news stories about welfare where the race and place of the target are manipulated. Respondents received one of four treatments: urban black; rural black; urban white; or rural white. Results. I find that Anti-Black stereotypes and Anti-Urban stereotypes impact attitudes toward welfare policy and to a lesser extent attitudes toward welfare recipients. Conclusion. A consideration of place and race illustrates that situational and dispositional explanations of behavior provide a great deal of explanation for evaluations of welfare.