"Bettlerhauptstadt". Bedrohungs- und Feindbilder in der Berichterstattung über Armutsmigrant_innen. (2015)

Stefan Benedik: "Bettlerhauptstadt". Bedrohungs- und Feindbilder in der Berichterstattung über Armutsmigrant_innen. In: Katharina Scherke (Hg.): Spannungsfeld "Gesellschaftliche Vielfalt": Begegnungen zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis. Bielefeld. transcript. 2015. p. 75–96., 2015

In this paper, I'm discussing some of the most prominent narrative strategies and metaphors as used by Austrian journalists and politicians to criminalise the presence of beggars. As a case study, I'm looking at the two Austrian cities of Salzburg and Graz and aim at understanding the notable difference in media representation of mendicancy. While some of the results seem inexplicable at the first glance, they indeed guide us towards a better understanding of how public sentiment towards begging is more often shaped by the specific situation and history of a city than by the social practices of beggars.