Construing oppositions, demarcating a we-ness: The dramaturgy of a live TV debate on the refugee crisis

Abstract

This study concerns the dramaturgy of a two-hour long live televised debate by the Finnish public service broadcasting company YLE regarding how the country was to answer to increased numbers of asylum seekers in 2015. It provides insight into generic features of live TV discussions for articulating the refugee crisis as a national political concern. It unfolds a media construction "in the making" identifying: (i) the positions that participants are given and taken in the TV discussion context, and (ii) the dramaturgical execution that served to create oppositions and tensions. The study points out how dramatic compositions of scenes utilized participants' assumed speakers' positions and so created action and tensions. Despite efforts of a bold and fresh grasp, the programme channelled a classic polarization construct between 'us' (Finnish people) and 'them' (refugees) in its mere point of departure. Problem constructs concerned also some wrong and undeserving ways in which the otherhood of the immigrants is performed in a Finnish context. During the live broadcast, refugees were put to the test to demonstrate their compliance with right sorts of otherhood; they were asked to eat Finnish food and show their skills in the Finnish language. The analysis shows how journalistic and editorial decisions surrounding the dramaturgy of a live TV show actively contribute to the reproduction of certain political setups and elements of blame and shame. It is able to point out a great need for awareness and sensitivity of the imaginary material that orders and underpins journalistic narratives regarding the European refugee situation.

Refugee Organizations’ Public Communication: Conceptualizing and Exploring New Avenues for an Underdeveloped Research Subject

“…The largest growth took place between 2012 and 2015, and was largely driven by conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Sub-Saharan Africa (the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], 2018). Since the summer of 2015, the theme of forced migration has also been ubiquitous in (often polarized, overlapping and interacting) public, media and political debates (Hellman & Lerkkanen, 2019).…”

Research Methods in Deliberative Democracy

“…Here, researchers might focus on how political leaders script and stage public debate, especially after a dramatic political event, such as a policy crisis, a natural disaster, or a terrorist attack (e.g. Hajer and Uitermark 2008;Hellman and Lerkkanen 2019). The way political leaders respond to such dramatic events can shape the discursive quality of the public sphere in significant ways.…”

Asylum seekers’ experiences of participatory barriers in the educative pre-integrational programmes

“…The crisis provoked intense and polarised debates (e.g. Hellman and Lerkkanen, 2019) leading to one reception centre in Eastern Finland and the University of Eastern Finland’s School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education (SKOPE) establishing an engaged learning project aiming to enhance two-way integration by providing opportunities to establish contacts between asylum seekers and Finnish people. The project was called ‘ KOTO’ [Integration through Arts and Skills – Research-based asylum seekers’ integration project through workshops and the development of voluntary work with the methods of arts and skills] (South Savo Regional Fund, 12162033).…”