Abstract
News media is responsible for providing unbiased and inclusive information to viewers, however, this becomes increasingly difficult as societal norms and discourses play a role in influencing how news is framed. Underlying discourses of racism, discrimination surface through news coverage of certain minority groups such as refugees and the many stereotypes associated with them.This paper will explore refugee representations within western news media specifically European news. Many articles portray refugees through dehumanizing words like “swarm.” leading to the marginalizing of refugees. Many avoid using the term refugees, because of the responsibility refugees are entitled to from an international humanitarian perspective. The research method will be a content analysis examining news articles from several sources and trace recurrent patterns in the refugee crisis. I will look at articles on the “Refugee Crisis” over a period of time and analyze the content of the articles in order to portray the stereotypes and framing of the crisis in refugee representations. the analysis will work as evidence for the argument against the current representation of refugees in western news media and the discursive ideologies associated with it. By using Foucault’s theory on truth as a social construct that is shaped by social and political ideologies, I will prove the effect of news media in reinforcing dominant discourses in western societies such as racism, and discrimination. I will also be using Stuart Hall’s theory of minority empowerment to discuss how stereotypes evident in news articles have lead to disempower refugees and marginalize them.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Refugee Representation
