Diversity in Western Countries: Journalism Culture, Migration Integration Policy and Public Opinion

Abstract

Earlier research has shown that public opinion and policy lines on the topic of immigrant integration are interrelated. This article investigates a sample of 24 countries for which data are available in the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), the World Values Survey (WVS), as well as in the Worlds of Journalism Study (WJS). To our knowledge, this is the first time that these data are connected to one another to study journalists’ views on their role to promote tolerance and cultural diversity in societies with diverging immigration policies. The WJS presents an analysis of the role conceptions of professional journalists throughout the world, including a variable measuring the extent to which journalists conceive promoting tolerance and cultural diversity as one of their tasks. Our findings show that journalists (as measured in the WJS) mostly tend to promote tolerance and cultural diversity in countries with more restrictive immigration policies (measured by MIPEX) and less emancipative values (measured by the WVS) Promoting tolerance and cultural diversity is associated with a so-called interventionist approach in journalism culture. Furthermore, we used cluster analyses to attribute the countries under study to meaningful, separate groups. More precisely, we discriminate four clusters of the press among the 24 countries under investigation.

After the revolution: Tunisian journalism students and a news media in transition

“…The monitorial role is broadly grounded in the notion of journalism serving as a 'Fourth Estate' and holding those in power to account, reporting in an arms-length observational manner (Hanitzsch, 2011;Standaert et al, 2019). Journalists who assume a collaborative role partner with government to support official efforts (Standaert et al, 2019).…”

“…The monitorial role is broadly grounded in the notion of journalism serving as a 'Fourth Estate' and holding those in power to account, reporting in an arms-length observational manner (Hanitzsch, 2011;Standaert et al, 2019). Journalists who assume a collaborative role partner with government to support official efforts (Standaert et al, 2019). In the interventionist role, journalists actively participate as advocates for social change rather than as objective bystanders or detached watchdogs (Hanitzsch, 2011).…”

“…In the interventionist role, journalists actively participate as advocates for social change rather than as objective bystanders or detached watchdogs (Hanitzsch, 2011). Journalists in the accommodative role aim to attract the largest audience as possible by reporting about consumer related stories, entertainment, leisure, and information to help the individual manage day-to-day life (Mertens et al, 2019).…”

Migration Cultures and Their Outcomes for National Security

“…A significant reduction in the number of immigrants from any given country should be viewed as an important element in the security of this country (Faist, 2000). Within this context, it is important to limit the process of economic migration among the group of migrants represented by young and educated people (Mertens et al, 2019). The brain-drain of the outflow of the potential personnel and valuable work capital might be perceived as an irreversible loss by the country's economy, defence sector and armed forces (Kalyugina et al, 2015;Lazaridis, 2016).…”