Scant poverty coverage a media embarrassment

Taken to Task: A Poverty of News, an Embarrassment of Media | Daily Ticker - Yahoo! Finance

"...More than 49 million Americans, or 16% of the population, were living in poverty in 2010, the government reported this week.

Rising poverty is a national tragedy and a brewing humanitarian crisis in America...

...Most groups saw their poverty rates increase using the new calculations, including married couples, whites, Asians, immigrants, homeowners with mortgages, those with private health insurance and the elderly. Poverty rates among those over 65 rose to 15.9% from the previously reported 9%. Poverty rates did, however, drop for Americans under the age of 18, African Americans, renters and people living in rural areas.

...I didn't hear one word about this during the Republican Debate on Wednesday and you probably didn't hear much about it either...

...In these difficult times, and especially on Veterans Day, it's important for all of us to be aware of the messages we're sending to the media in the stories we watch, share, favorite and Tweet about.

...Those among us -- journalists and civilians alike -- who ignore the hard realities of American life and get lost in what should be the minor distractions. You've been taken to task...."