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

Abstract

To understand public opinion about immigration in Europe, one has to understand the media's role in it. We present a literature review on research on media discourse on immigration and their effects. Despite differences in the way immigration and migrant groups are represented in European media, we can observe common patterns. Migrants are generally under-represented and shown as delinquents or criminals. Although, media framing differs based on specific migrant groups the discourse is focusing on, immigration coverage is often negative and conflict-centred. Frequent exposure to such media messages leads to negative attitudes towards migration, may activate stereotypical cognitions of migrant groups, and even influence vote choice. In addition to discussing these issues in depth, the present review also focuses on comparative findings.

Maintainers of Ethnic Hierarchies? Investigating the Relationship Between Media Use and Attitudes Toward Perceived Remote Versus Perceived Close Immigration

“…Following the emphasis framing tradition, here frames refer to the presentation of immigration related issues from a specific perspective to the exclusion of other perspectives (see e.g., Boydstun & Glazier, 2013;Entman, 1993). Consistent with the emphasis framing literature, evidence indicates that news media, by linking immigration to problems and threats, might reinforce negative immigration attitudes (Eberl et al, 2018;Igartua & Cheng, 2009;Jacobs & van der Linden, 2018). Yet, findings from experiments indicate that negative frames about immigrants from perceived remote regions lead to more opposition than negative frames about immigration from perceived close regions (Brader et al, 2008;Igartua et al, 2011).…”

“…More specifically, the literature suggests that commercial TV news and tabloids have a stronger tendency to focus on crime and negative aspects of immigration than public service TV news and broadsheets (Cheregi, 2015;Eberl et al, 2018;Jacobs et al, 2016). Sweden scholars have found that the commercial news show TV4 Nyheterna, compared to the two public service news shows Aktuellt and Rapport, reports slightly more about crime and conflict (Jönsson & Strömbäck, 2007;Pollack, 2001).…”

“…violence, crime, and similar topics that are likely to evoke threat perceptions and feelings of fear, were substantially more common on the frontpages of the tabloids Aftonbladet and Expressen compared to the broadsheets Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet. Since research shows that immigration is often linked to crime, violence, and terrorism (Eberl et al, 2018), these content differences might affect peoples' attitudes toward immigration. This should especially be the case when it comes to perceived remote immigration, which is particularly likely to be linked to threats such as crime and terrorism (Bleich et al, 2015;Eberl et al, 2018;von Sikorski, Schmuck, Matthes, & Binder, 2017).…”

“…Alongside established models focusing on threat perceptions as the central mechanism behind opposition toward immigration, increased attention has been paid to the role of media. For instance, evidence indicates that news media, by linking immigration to problems, might reinforce negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration while content focusing on the positive aspects of immigration is likely to have the opposite effect (Eberl et al, 2018;Igartua & Cheng, 2009;Jacobs & van der Linden, 2018). Moreover, research suggests that the use of specific media types can stimulate different effects depending on content characteristics (e.g., Beyer & Matthes, 2015;Watson & Riffe, 2013).…”

Welcoming the Unwelcome: How Contact Shapes Contexts of Reception for New Immigrants in Germany and the United States

“…An example that may be applied to the German context involves the promotion of neighborhood halls, which would offer a place for facilitated discussions of challenging issues that may arise (e.g., housing for refugees) as well as possible solutions. Lastly, since people's attitudes are prone to be shaped by the frames with which they perceive and interpret intergroup relations, policymakers and members of the media also have to acknowledge the ways in which linking discussions of societal issues (e.g., economy, crime, and public safety) with immigrants and immigration can have detrimental effects on receiving society members’ attitudes (Eberl et al., ). Thus, along with others (Wagner, Christ, & Heitmeyer, ; Wagner & Hewstone, ), we encourage both researchers and policymakers to recognize how contact experiences between immigrants and receiving society members are both likely to be shaped by and shape the social and political contexts in which they live, and to be aware of the consequences of their own actions that have the potential to impact how new immigrants are received in receiving societies.…”