Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Social Work

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

School of Social Work

Advisor/Mentor

Dr. Erin Nolen

Committee Member

Dr. John Gallagher

Second Committee Member

Professor Susan Tyler

Third Committee Member

Dr. Kate Chapman

Abstract

Amid a growing housing crisis in Fayetteville, local media serves as an influential force in shaping public understanding of homelessness. This study examines how homelessness is framed in local news coverage through a reflexive thematic analysis of ten randomly selected articles published between May 2022 and November 2025. Guided by media framing and attribution theory, this analysis explores how causes, consequences, and solutions to homelessness are constructed within a rapidly growing Southern city.

Three central themes emerged. First, local reporting centers empathy through lived experiences and community testimonies, emphasizing dignity, vulnerability, and structural precarity rather than individual failure. Second, coverage both challenges and reinforces criminalizing narratives, revealing tensions between enforcement oriented responses and community based perspectives. While some reporting critiques displacement and punitive measures, other narratives situate homelessness alongside concerns of safety and disorder. Third, a duality exists between highly visible short term responses and the absence of clearly defined structural change. Coverage frequently highlights shelters, funding allocations, and community efforts while offering limited engagement with permanent housing solutions and sustained policy reform.

Overall, findings suggest that local media increasingly humanizes unhoused individuals and acknowledges broader systemic causes. However, reporting remains largely episodic and centered on immediate responses, often stopping short of sustained structural analysis. This framing shapes how homelessness is understood and addressed, reinforcing the need for more comprehensive narratives that center long term solutions and structural accountability.

Keywords

Reflexive thematic analysis; Media analysis; Attribution Theory; Framing; Housing; Homelessness

Additional Files
Local News covering _unhoused_ or _homeless_ or _homelessness_.xlsx (15 kB)
Holistic collected samples
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