Owning the issues of crime and immigration: The relation between immigration and crime news and anti-immigrant voting in 11 countries

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIt is still not well understood how the media affect anti-immigrant party voting. In this paper, we argue and demonstrate empirically that mere exposure to immigration-and crime-related news is positively related to the likelihood that a voter casts a vote for an anti-immigrant party. On the basis of a media content analysis (N ¼ 20,084 news items) in combination with a voter panel survey (N ¼ 17,014 respondents) conducted in 11 European countries we find for several anti-immigrant parties that e ceteris paribus e exposure to news about immigration or crime increases voters' probabilities to vote for these parties. We discuss our findings in light of prior research on issue ownership, and their implications for the role of the mass media in established democracies.

The European media discourse on immigration and its effects: a literature review

“…Furthermore, evidence indicates that the more news media report on immigration (i.e. in quantity alone), the more people tend to vote for parties with an anti-immigrant stance Burscher et al, 2015), as they are perceived to be the most competent about the issue of immigration Bos et al, 2011;Walgrave & De Swert, 2004).While aforementioned studies have used media content and linked it to public opinion, other studies focus on survey measures of media exposure, arguing that exposure to certain types of media may influence immigration attitudes. For example, these studies show a significant relationship between exposure to commercial broadcasting (versus public service broadcasting) and negative attitudes towards illegal immigration (Beyer & Matthes, 2015;Jacobs, Meeusen, & d'Haenens, 2016;Strabac, Thorbjørnsrud, & Jensson, 2012).…”

“…1 Public debates of migration issues are important, and arguably, media coverage can have considerable effects on public attitudes toward immigration and the perceived impact of immigration (Chauzy & Appave, 2014). Knowledge about immigration related news coverage and its effects on citizens' perceptions and attitudes may thus be important to understand looming immigration policy shifts across the European Union, as well as increasing successes of anti-immigration parties (Burscher, van Spanje, & de Vreese, 2015).…”

Enemies of liberty? Nationalism, immigration, and the framing of terrorism in the agenda of the Front National

“…This dimension is increasingly emphasised by far‐right parties, which often link unemployment and economic malaise with immigration. A third related dimension is that of criminality and social unrest (Burscher, van Spanje, & De Vreese, ; Rydgren, ), as immigration is often presented as associated with high crime levels and even terrorism.…”

Martyrs for Free Speech? Disentangling the Effects of Legal Prosecution of Anti-immigration Politicians on their Electoral Support

“…Especially this associative dimension is of importance to our argument. In several contexts, anti-immigration parties are perceived by the electorate as most prominent owners of the immigration issue (Burscher et al 2015;Damstra et al in press;Walgrave and De Swert 2004). This implies that these parties are likely to electorally benefit if the media and political debate focus on their preferred issues , granting these parties an incentive to keep the immigration issue high on the political agenda.…”