Advocating for Minority Inclusion: How German Journalists Conceive and Enact Their Roles When Reporting on Antisemitism

Metajournalistic Discourse and Reporting Policies on White Nationalism

“…While some studies examine how journalists cover groups like the "alt-right' in the United States and find that their struggles are in part a result of the expectations for speed in reporting, lack of training and fear (Johnson et al, 2021;Perreault et al, 2020aPerreault et al, , 2021, related research focuses on journalistic coverage in other Western countries (Baugut, 2020(Baugut, , 2021Perreault & Bell, 2020). In Germany, Baugut (2020) found that Jews perceived that local journalism actually fostered the thinking of antisemitic groups.…”

“…In Germany, Baugut (2020) found that Jews perceived that local journalism actually fostered the thinking of antisemitic groups. However, as Baugut (2021, p. 14) argues, German journalists seek to combat this through numerous role applications depending on the context of reporting, and furthermore the “Journalists’ personal perspectives as citizens may motivate them to act in line with their political convictions even when this requires deviation from what they perceive to be the general task of their profession.” In other words, journalists were willing to depart from their norms, to more actively work in the interest of targeted Jews. The stakes are quite high given that a survey of 15 countries across Europe indicated that the mere exposure to populist—a social identity developed in regards to a dangerous other— messaging had the ability to encourage support for populist ideas (Hameleers et al, 2021).…”

Introduction

“…From Jews' point of view, the selective perception and retention of "negative" or "threatening" characteristics of media coverage is arguably important for their safety; this seems to be particularly true for those who perceive high levels of antisemitism and consequently more strongly identify with their community…Plausibly, Jews' definition of unfavorable media coverage is shaped by their assumptions or experiences of the media's influence on [others] they perceive to be hostile (Baugut, 2020, p. 20-21). However, as Baugut (2021) argues, German journalists seek to combat this through numerous role applications depending on the context of reporting and, furthermore, the "Journalists' personal perspectives as citizens may motivate them to act in line with their political convictions even when this requires deviation from what they perceive to be the general task of their profession" (p. 14). In other words, journalists may be willing to depart from their norms, in order to work more actively in the interest of targeted Jews.…”

“…In other words, journalists may be willing to depart from their norms, in order to work more actively in the interest of targeted Jews. As with journalists elsewhere, the journalists in Baugut's (2021) study were committed to enabling an open public sphere.…”

Caught in Narrative Patterns? Analysis of the Swiss News Coverage of Christians, Muslims, and Jews

“…Both perspectives are important for raising awareness and stimulating discourse in the media and religious communities. A study by Baugut (2021) on the reporting of anti-Semitism shows that stereotypical reporting on minorities cannot simply be attributed to a negative attitude on the part of journalists. Rather, there is great will to act against anti-Semitism, but German Jews nevertheless consider the action to be insufficient.…”