How a Sensationalized Story Turned Charles Otto’s Life Upside Down and Perpetuated Harmful Myths About Homelessness
Charles Otto doesn’t think those experiencing homelessness should talk to reporters after one interview upended his life.
Otto estimated he has been living on the streets of New York for about thirteen years. For the first years, he found a semblance of stability by panhandling.
It was near Grand Central Terminal that a reporter with the New York Post found him in 2015.
“They were looking for [homeless individuals] to talk to. My friends were like, ‘Nope not doing it.’ I should have done the same,” Otto said.
The next day, the New York Post ran an article with the headline, “This bum boasts he makes $200 an hour panhandling.”
“You don’t know what it’s like to get on a subway at 6 am and see your face on every paper. I told a friend I think I’m going to die. It was bad. It got really bad,” Otto said.
Some individuals experiencing homelessness threatened Otto because they felt he put their livelihoods at risk. Passersby yelled at him, possibly because they saw him as exploiting their kindness.
Otto went into hiding to protect himself. A follow-up story the next day by the Post ran the headline “‘$200 an hour’ bum disappears amid newly found fame.”
Otto said the story hit him on a deeply personal level. He felt betrayed that the Post suggested he only had a dog to help solicit strangers.
“Everything was out of context. Everything. They didn’t report how lonely it is [to be homeless]. They didn’t write that my dog was my best friend,” Otto said.
The Fallout from Misrepresentation
photo by Giles Clasen
Charles Otto is experiencing homelessness in NYC.
Without the meager income Otto received from panhandling, he eventually lost the room he had managed to secure for $300 a month. He had no choice but to sleep outside, putting himself in greater danger.
What really bothered Otto about the story is that he felt the reporter lied to him and the readers.
“I told them about the average day,” Otto said. “But the reporter didn’t want that. They wanted to hear about the unusual. Then they made it seem like the crazy days were the norm and that I was bragging, which wasn’t true at all.”
Otto said he told the reporter that most days he made between $5 and $25 and that he rarely took a day off because he couldn’t afford to. But the reporter kept cajoling him to disclose that he made an extraordinary amount of money.
Otto relented and shared a couple of stories about his biggest hauls while repeating that they were far from the norm. The story focused on the sensational without acknowledging the common bounties.
On one very exceptional day, Otto received $400. But it was a one-time occurrence that he still can’t explain. Frequently, Otto doesn’t make any money during a whole day of panhandling.
Otto didn’t receive a single donation during an hour-long interview for this story. He said that is the norm, even near tourist hot spots. In six hours of panhandling, he had only received a few dollars and a handful of coins he hadn’t yet counted.
Most days, Otto reads a book, feeds the birds, and is grateful for anything he receives. Otto believes panhandling is like sales. Most days aren’t particularly good, but there are exceptions, and the exceptions give you hope to help you get through the doldrums.
photo by Giles Clasen
Most days, Charles Otto reads a book, feeds the birds, and is grateful for anything he receives.
The Harmful Power of Media Stereotypes
Dr. Elizabeth Bowen, an Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo School of Social Work, has researched the media’s representation of homeless individuals, focusing on photos of those experiencing homelessness.
Bowen emphasized that negative stories about unhoused individuals, like the story about Otto, can cause lasting harm.
“I think, unfortunately, there’s a trend in news stories toward dehumanizing people who are homeless and not looking at them as individuals or even as whole human beings,” Bowen said.
For Bowen, stories like the one about Otto in the New York Post are problematic because they amplify myths about homelessness. She laments the missed opportunity to discuss the experiences, causes, and solutions of homelessness.
Bowen sees the New York Post story perpetuating common tropes that those experiencing homelessness are lazy individuals who choose to be homeless and that they could get off the street if they were willing to work.
The approach blames the individual, leaving the reader guilt-free.
“I think quite simply, that’s because it’s easier for society to accept the myths rather than what I think is the truth,” Bowen said. “This is all of our problems. Homelessness is really a societal issue. It’s fundamentally about the lack of affordable housing and about the policy choices that we as a collective have chosen to make in terms of not caring for people, not investing in affordable housing, not having universal healthcare.”
Misleading Narratives and Their Impact on Policy and Perception
Bowen said it is difficult to know how dehumanizing representations threaten the homeless community because there hasn’t been enough research on the subject. However, she is worried that negative and sensational stories could lead to physical harm for those experiencing homelessness.
“There is a very real concern of violence against people experiencing homelessness. And when you have negative stories in the media, I think it can sometimes fuel that violence,” Bowen said.
A clearer danger to the unhoused community is that stories perpetuating stereotypes of homelessness can have impacts on policy. When the media blames the homeless community for their circumstances, there is no responsibility or pressure on the leaders to do anything to address the need.
“If people, if the public in general, don’t see people who are homeless as fully human and as a deserving of housing, as a human right, deserving of human dignity, then I don’t think we’ll see the policy changes that we need to truly end homelessness in this country,” Bowen said.
Otto was less concerned about how the negative story impacted him or affected politicians’ decisions.
He was angry that the story hurt all of those experiencing homelessness in New York. He beat himself up, thinking some may go without food or other necessities if people gave less to panhandlers.
“I was trying to share and celebrate the generosity of strangers. The reporter turned it around and made me a villain,” Otto said.
