(Pay)Walled Gardens: Status and Racialized Discourse among Authors of Student Loan News Articles. EdWorkingPaper No. 23-856
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| Title: | (Pay)Walled Gardens: Status and Racialized Discourse among Authors of Student Loan News Articles. EdWorkingPaper No. 23-856 |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Dominique J. Baker, Jaime Ramirez-Mendoza, Lauren Mena Shook, Christopher T. Bennett, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University |
| Source: | Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. 2023. |
| Availability: | Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 69 |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Russell Sage Foundation Spencer Foundation |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Student Loan Programs, Authors, Educational Attainment, Newspapers, News Reporting, College Attendance, Power Structure, Race, Language Usage, Social Status, Advantaged |
| Abstract: | News media plays a crucial role in the student loan policy ecosystem by influencing how policymakers and the public understand the "problem" of student loans. Prior research emphasizes the causal impact of the media on the social construction of policy issues and the lack of knowledge about the authors of news articles. Theory also suggests that it is more difficult for new information to reach people in the core of a social network given their insular relationships. Therefore, we used social network analysis to investigate the college backgrounds for authors of student loan articles published in eight prominent newspapers between 2006 and 2021. We found evidence of a stark status hierarchy among the colleges attended (e.g., over half of the authors attended an Ivy Plus or Public Flagship institution). Our findings also identified a negative relationship between that hierarchy and an innovative practice, the use of racialized language in student loan news articles. We discuss how this status hierarchy might explain current patterns of racialized language in student loan policy and the implications of this relationship for the intersection of status and novel practices. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED672349 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | News media plays a crucial role in the student loan policy ecosystem by influencing how policymakers and the public understand the "problem" of student loans. Prior research emphasizes the causal impact of the media on the social construction of policy issues and the lack of knowledge about the authors of news articles. Theory also suggests that it is more difficult for new information to reach people in the core of a social network given their insular relationships. Therefore, we used social network analysis to investigate the college backgrounds for authors of student loan articles published in eight prominent newspapers between 2006 and 2021. We found evidence of a stark status hierarchy among the colleges attended (e.g., over half of the authors attended an Ivy Plus or Public Flagship institution). Our findings also identified a negative relationship between that hierarchy and an innovative practice, the use of racialized language in student loan news articles. We discuss how this status hierarchy might explain current patterns of racialized language in student loan policy and the implications of this relationship for the intersection of status and novel practices. |
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