Conditions of Media and Social Image of the Public Assistance Institutions in Poland

Abstract

The article presents basic factors of perception of assistance and social integration institutions in the media perspective. Compared were surveys carried among the public opinion and workers of assistance institutions about knowledge and social opinions on their functioning, including the media image of this profession. Stereotypically, the image of public assistance institutions is negative and very simplified. The comparison of research results shows that opinions of social workers about their social perception are far more pessimistic than it is in reality; the surveyed people evaluated their image more unfavourably than the respondents who were not employed in institutions. Nevertheless, the mentioned reports and observations clearly indicate the insufficient recognition of the role of social workers and the unfavourable image of social work, especially in the nation-wide media, pointing out to the relatively better cooperation of institutions with regional and local media.