The Role of the Mass Media in the Integration of Migrants

Abstract

The media have a profound effect on the worldview of their consumers and should be carefully considered in matters of immigration. Often, migrants are portrayed through a negative lens by the media and most usually as a homogenous group rather than as individuals. This article examines the portrayal of migrants in one particular context (Germany) and questions what the best ways would be for handling these negative images, especially but not only in education systems. The author concludes that perhaps the combination of viewing migrants as individual people, rather than as a homogenous group, as well as more positive media portrayal of migrant people, would lead to a more positive representation of migrants in society.

Migration and emotions in the media: can socioeconomic indicators predict emotions in images associated with immigrants?

“…Moreover, it has been found that the portrayal of immigrants often depicts them as illegal, a threat or causative of negative economic consequences [24,26]. In addition, the media also tends to ethnicise immigrants and not treat them as individuals; for example, in the USA, immigrants tend to be associated mainly with "Latin Americans" [27], or in Germany, they tend to be portrayed through a negative lens, and most usually as a homogeneous group rather than as individuals [28].…”

Representations of refugees in their home countries and abroad: A content analysis of la caravana migrante/the migrant caravan in Central America and the United States

“…Specifically, she claims that news media often treat immigrants from every part of the world the same—the news media avoid mentioning identities of refugees and do not acknowledge the reasons why refugees leave their countries. Christoph (2012) argues that this posture of news media makes the host country in question unsympathetic and less likely to absorb them as part of their community. As a solution, Christoph (2012) suggests that news media should show representation of migrants in their own countries, offer more training for journalists in immigration matters and portray immigrants individually in their reporting.…”

“…Christoph (2012) argues that this posture of news media makes the host country in question unsympathetic and less likely to absorb them as part of their community. As a solution, Christoph (2012) suggests that news media should show representation of migrants in their own countries, offer more training for journalists in immigration matters and portray immigrants individually in their reporting. This research is interested in finding out if there are any differences in representation dependent on proximity to refugees.…”

Intergroup Contact as a Potential Path to Neutralize the Detrimental Effect of National Identification on Xenophobia in Germany

“…Mainstream media in Germany partially contribute to the consolidation of intergroup boundaries and exclusion. For example, people with migration background are often represented in negative ways, with a focus on foreign aspects and on criminals(Christoph, 2012;Wigger, 2019), thus inhibiting the acceptance of integration(Wigger, 2019). Contrasting with this tendency towards negative representations are media portrayals which imply the inclusion of people with migration background in the conception of Germany Zambon (2017),.…”