The “red door” controversy—Middlesbrough's asylum seekers and the discursive politics of racism

Abstract

This article explores some of the ways in which the current refugee “crisis” has played out in the North East of England, with a particular focus on media coverage of asylum in Middlesbrough, the town with the highest proportion of asylum seekers in the country. In January 2016, Middlesbrough made national headlines when it was claimed that the homes of asylum seekers in the town had been made identifiable through the distinctive colour of their houses' front doors, leading to occupants being singled out for violence and abuse. Drawing on critical discourse analysis of national and local newspaper features and online media content, the article examines contrasting constructions of racism, place, and class in the media's coverage of the “red door” controversy. It is argued that even these humanised constructions of asylum seekers draw on discourses that obscure the existence of elite‐driven cultural and institutional racisms that are a defining feature of Britain's asylum process. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The European Union and the refugee “crisis”: Inclusion, challenges, and responses

“…Bates () examines media coverage of those offered asylum. His analysis similarly shows that avowals of sympathy sit side‐by‐side with more problematic versions of inclusion.…”

Beyond the ‘refugee crisis’: How the UK news media represent asylum seekers across national boundaries

“…These media representations matter. It is widely acknowledged that journalists and media organisations play a crucial role in mediating public conversation around refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants and migrantsand may prompt public hostility or support for those seeking sanctuary (Banks, 2012;Bates, 2017;International Policy Institute, 2004;Philo, Briant and Donald, 2013;Smart , Grimshaw, McDowell et al, 2005). In particular, the rapidity and scale of the 2015 crisis meant that politicians and the public often relied on mediated narratives to understand what was going on (Chouliaraki and Zaborowski, 2017).…”

Refugee and Asylum News Coverage in UK Print and Online Media

“…Negative news coverage is regularly cited by refugee support organisations as a significant problem affecting the quality of life of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK (International Policy Institute 2004). And even with improvements (Smart et al 2005), some scholars have called on news media to take more responsibility in their role in informing the public about refugees and asylum seekers (Chouliaraki and Stolic 2017) Indeed, academic scholarship into how the UK press covers asylum has found patterns of misleading, simplistic, and sometimes even racist reporting in local (Bates 2017) as well as national newspapers (Banks 2012). This underpins larger patterns found in politics and in news coverage that espouse the UK is greatly impacted by illegal immigration (Berry, Garcia-Blanco, and Moore 2016;Ibrahim and Howarth 2016).…”