Homeless Culture and the Media

Homeless Culture and the Media

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, June 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- Albuquerque resident Dr. Jeremy Reynalds is perhaps best known as the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter.

What is not so well known is that after emigrating to the United States he became homeless through unfortunate circumstances, got back on his feet with the help of the Lord and while running Joy Junction earned an undergraduate degree, a master's in communication and a doctorate in intercultural education.

Reynalds' story is told in " Homeless in the City: A Call to Service".

His book "Homeless Culture and the Media," published just before "Homeless in the City," has been described by publishers Cambria Press as "one of the most penetrating analyses of homelessness ever conducted in the USA."

It's a groundbreaking look at the way the media depict the homeless.

The book explores how the homeless are portrayed by the media and, consequently, how public perceptions of the homeless are shaped. By analyzing how the media informally educate their audiences, interviewing homeless people and journalists, and conducting content analysis of news stories, Reynalds uncovered the reality that the issue of homelessness is not a media priority because it does not provide the requisite ratings boost.

The book also debunks the myth that the solution to a homeless person's problem is a meal and an overnight stay, illuminating how much farther the distance to becoming a "regular" person is.

The University of New Mexico's Dr. Bob Gassaway said, "Dr. Reynalds' study broadens our understanding of the troubles of the homeless and helps us see what we don't know. Reading his study gives us new understanding of the beggar on the street corner and the stumbling drunk looking for shelter in an alley or under a bridge. It tells us about a piece of America few of us understand or worry very much about."

Biola University's Dr. Don Douglas added, "Dr. Reynalds probes a dimension of life in modern America that is seldom addressed and begs for additional understanding and attention. His study focuses on the phenomenon of homelessness in our consciousness through the interpretative reporting of our daily news media."

Additional information is available about "Homeless Culture and the Media" at www.cambriapress.com/reynalds.cfm

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