Othering Without Blaming: Representing Poverty in Flemish Factual Entertainment

This chapter discusses the representation of poverty on Flemish television, focusing on four explanatory models. It is based on the textual analysis of factual programmes addressing poverty and interviews with producers. Poverty shaming is very rare in these programmes, which mostly present poor people respectfully. Hardly any of the programmes suggest the poor themselves are to blame for their condition, which can be partly attributed to the strong position of the public service broadcaster (PSB). However, poor people are often presented as pitiable Others, particularly in programmes where a (white, middle-class, male) presenter offers a paternalistic view into their lives.