Fourth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

This research analyzes the journalistic coverage of the phenomenon of Haitian immigration in the Chilean digital medium Emol.com from January 2014 to October 2018. In a first stage, quantitative data is collected to answer the question about what is driving the modernization of the immigration law: the political agenda or the media agenda. Through the counting and analysis of sources, and internal organization of publication, quantitative data are collected with the purpose of performing an analysis of descriptive content. In a second stage, the qualitative strategy is used, based on the technique of critical discourse analysis research, with the purpose of knowing which social representation is disseminated by Emol.com about Haitian immigrants in Chile. It is concluded that the increase of Haitians in Chile modified the political and media agenda from the year 2016 to the present, making it a priority and influencing public opinion. Emol.com, through its publications, shows that Chilean elites have spread their discourse around the issue of migration, framed in national security, especially towards the Haitian population. Citizen sources are not visible in this political and social debate. This journalistic discourse tends to privilege only one look at the phenomenon. The media point of view that this online medium provides, during the period studied, is framed in prejudices and negative stereotypes towards the Haitian community.