Framing the Refugee Crisis in Online Media: A Romanian Perspective

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is under severe pressure, due to the multiple crises it has to manage. Among them, the refugee crisis is remarkable, since it is shaking both the individual member states and the EU as a whole. The media coverage of the refugee crisis is important because the media still are the main source of information concerning distant issues (the refugee crisis included), and as such it facilitates people's access to social reality. Using the perspective of agenda-setting and the conceptual background of framing theory, we aim to (1) identify the most prominent frames online media employ with reference to the refugee crisis, and (2) reveal the tone of voice online media use when portraying issues related to this crisis. To achieve these two goals, we content analyzed 1493 online news articles, published between April 15, 2015 and February 29, 2016. Main findings show that online media outlets mainly refer to the refugee crisis in terms of responsibility and conflict, in this order of prominence. At the same time, online media portals prefer using a reasonably balanced viewpoint when portraying the refugees, and a slightly negative one in terms of attitudes towards the European Union.

Strangers ante portas: The framing of refugees and migrants in the Czech quality press

“…With a great deal of simplification, it can be said that framing migration as a problem or burden on host societies, including economic consequences, prevails (Benson and Wood, 2015; Corbu et al., 2017; Kovář, 2019; McKay et al., 2011; Tkaczyk, 2017; Van Gorp, 2005; Vliegenthart and Roggeband, 2007).…”

Syrian refugees in digital news discourse: Depictions and reflections in Germany

“…Overall, a shift towards more humanitarian perspectives on refugees in international news discourse has only recently become visible, and so far relatively few studies have focused on this trend (e.g. Cooper et al, 2016; Corbu et al, 2017; Salahshour, 2016; Šaric, 2019; Torkington and Perdigão Ribeiro, 2019).…”

“…To a smaller extent, the humanitarian perspective on refugees in the media has been tackled by a number of studies (e.g. Cooper et al, 2016; Corbu et al, 2017; O’Regan and Riordan, 2018; Salahshour, 2016; Sulaiman-Hill et al, 2011).…”

Public Opinion on Migration and the Role of the Media in the Context of the “European Refugee Crisis”

“…The Swedish press was the most positive towards refugees, in contrast to the studied British media, which was found to be the most negative and polarised (Berry et al 2015, p. 1). Corbu et al (2017) analysed Romanian online news articles during the crisis with 21 keywords. They demonstrate that online media mainly referred to the crisis in terms of accountability, and more specifically firstly responsibility and secondly conflict.…”