What Do newspapers say about older adults in the workforce?

Abstract

Newspapers reach a large audience and play an important role in promoting or inhibiting public views of active and dignified aging. By examining newspaper articles, it is possible to study how portrayals of older adults in the workforce reflect positive or negative public perceptions of older adults. Findings indicate negative portrayals of older workers predominate in U.S. newspaper articles, and that these articles often report on problems experienced by older people in the workplace that are due to their age. This chapter discusses implications of the findings and concludes with the relationship between this study's findings and the ageing agenda included in the 2002 Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging (MIPAA).