UNAOC EJC migration journalism study

Data Journalism Project
With support by:

In partnership with:

Data Journalism Migration Coverage Project

Goals:
- Assess which migration related issues are discussed and when
these come about;

- Gain insight into how a given national and/or regional media
landscape characteristically frames migration;

- Generate numerical values to describe topics discussed, framing
and the possible overall tone or opinion expressed;

- Enable multi-national comparative perspective based on
standardized methodological approach.

During this presentation

- Methodology explained

- Migration topics and types

- Country-by-country results

- Comparative results across countries

- Overall conclusions

- Further research

Methodology

- Time frame and source selection

- Initial data collection

- Data analysis
• Article tone with reference to the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights
• Thematic coding along topic and type of migration
• Migration types and topics

Migration Topics

1. Culture & Religion
2. Citizenship & Political Life
3. Education & Leadership
4. Employment & Entrepreneurship
5. Housing
6. Health
7. Law & Policy
8. Refugees Asylum
9. Human Rights
10. Arts, Entertainment and Sports

Migration Types

1. Asylum-seekers
2. Diaspora
3. Documented/regular migrant (alien, foreigner, non-national)
4. Economic migrant (labor migrant)
5. Internally displaced person (IDP)
6. Irregular migrant (illegal, irregular, undocumented alien)
7. Minority
8. Refugee
9. Skilled migrant
10. Temporary migrant worker (itinerant worker, seasonal
worker)
11. Naturalized citizen with migration background

Institut National de l‘Audiovisuel

Covering migration in French media

In France the presidential election was
held on 22 April 2012 along with a
second round held on 6 May 2012.
Time frame selection: 8 april 2012 to 6
may 2012 focusing thereof on the first
round of the election.

Migration topics eyed during election period:
French corpus making of

 Pick of 58 articles among over 300.

 We aimed to respect media diversity and
pluralism:

- political and cultural pluralism,

- a variety of news sources,

- balanced types of media (web, print, online only
sources).

Media Diversity

• Web : 38
• TV : 3
• Radio : 0
• Print media : 17

TV

Web

Print

Pluralism: Diversity of viewpoints

Migration topics during French presidential poll

Migration types during French presidential poll

Overall position related to the UDHR

Fully supportive: 36%
74%
In part supportive: 38%
Neutral: 19%
In part adversarial: 7%
Fully adversarial: 0%
 Tone is sometime very difficult to
annotate.
 Mainstream conformism in mainstream
media: Difficulty to find non supportive
sources besides far-right blogs.

Diversity of viewpoints?

 Selection bias in data when the selection is not
sufficiently random to draw a general conclusion.
 Use of biased studies or partial studies to support
a particular point of view.
 Use of selective quote to express an opinion and
thus appear unbiased.
 Also, some quotes are filtered:

Diversity of viewpoints?

University of King‘s College

Studying migrations in Canada

The election to find a premier for the province of Quebec took place
on September 4, 2012.

We looked at the coverage of migration issues a week before and
three weeks after the election in the province.

Sources

We looked at six news organizations in our research:

- Three English and three French newspapers
- Found 67 articles focused on migration
- All of the sources we looked at were newspapers, with
online websites
- Difficulty looking at other types of sources (TV
websites, online only publications) because they
weren‘t properly indexed

Types of articles

More than half of the articles we found were opinion pieces
(op-eds, columns and editorials).

column
news
op-ed
profile

Migration topics covered

- Most of the articles in our research centered around the
same issue: The Parti Quebecois‘ proposed policy of
―Quebec‖ citizenship.

Tone in English versus French media

French English

1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5

Article excerpts

The only openly anti-migrant sentiment that we were able to find in
the French press, was found in Le Journal.

Let’s be realistic, this Islamism, this fundamentalist and
conquering Islam that swallows all in its path, makes the idea of a
charter of secularism popular. Only Islamism rejects local values
to better the societies in which it implants itself. Not the
Buddhists, not the Hindus, not Opus Dei.

Article excerpts

But if Pauline Marois wins, not only will there be a tidal wave of busin
esses heading to safe economic ground, the
PQ's loathing of immigrants —no religious symbols except the
Christian cross to be worn by public servants, etc. — will hardly be
confused as a welcome mat. Fascist is difficult to misconstrue. –
Toronto Sun

In the name of creating a supposedly secular state, the Parti
Québécois has pursued hostile policies, proposing a ban on non-
Christian religious symbols from public institutions and two-tier
citizenship based on ability to speak French – a position that
softened under harsh criticism. – Globe and Mail

Media and Migration: Results from Germany

Federal Republic of Germany: 16 federal states
Population: 81,8 million
Migrants: 10,7 million from 194 countries

Research Object: Elections in NRW

NRW Elections: 13 May 2012
Sample period: 30 April – 27 May 2012
North Rhine-Westfalia: Germany‘s most populated state
Population: 17.841.956
Citizens of foreign origin: 1.908.121 (10,7%)

Prior Research in Germany

1971 Delgado: Little everyday life, focus on sensationalism
(e.g., crimes, illegality).

1987 Ruhmann and Kollmer: National coverage: 2/3 articles about crime.
Local coverage: more positive information about migrants
(e.g., festivals, celebrations).

2009 Gräf: Thuringian press 1995-2005. Tendencies: in 2005 less emphasis
on crime than in 1995, but more on terrorism. Politically relevant topics.

2012 Eckardt: Generally more positive coverage in 2009 comparing to 1999.
Still more negative than positive articles about Muslims.

Research Sources

Title Type/Periodicity Average number of sold copies (per issue)
National/Weekly 960.000 copies

National/Daily 354.000 copies

National/Daily 245.000 copies (Die Welt + Welt Kompakt)

National/Daily 436.000 copies

Local/Daily 700.000 copies (Neue Ruhr Zeitung/Neue
Rhein Zeitung, Westfälische Rundschau,
Westfalenpost)
Local/Daily 320.000 copies (Kölner Stadtanzeiger +
Kölnische Rundschau )

Research Sources

• Online and print versions of newspapers and magazines.
• The electronic archive of the Deutsche Welle was used for print media.
• Articles were selected if they:
- contained more than one word from the UNAOC glossary;
- showed strong relevance to the topic;
- covered the situation in Germany, not abroad.

Search Principle

Asylum-seekers Asyl* Exil*

Diaspora Diaspora
• The definitions from the UNAOC
Documented/ Migra*
regular migrant Aufenthalts* glossary were translated into the
Aussiedl*
Irregular migrant German language. More than one
*Ausländ*, *Fremd* variant of translation was possible in
Economic migrant
Zuwander* Nomad* some cases.
Skilled migrant Einwander* Auswander*

Internally displaced Heimatlos*, Vertrieben*, Vertreib
person *, Verschlepp*
• An asterisk (*) was used to find words
Minority Minderheit*
with a variety of different endings and
Refugee Flüchtling*
derivatives. However, the websites of
Temporary Gastarbeit* , Wanderarbeit*
migrant worker Saisonarbeit*
some newspapers do not support this
function (e.g.,http://www.ksta.de/).
Naturalized citizen with Einbürg* Eingebürg*
migration background National* Integrat* Assimil*

Examples of Coverage

18-year-old Arzu Özmen from Detmold (NRW, Germany) was found dead in January 2012.
She was kidnapped and killed by her siblings because of the relationship with a 23-year-
old German boyfriend. The family, originally from the Kurdish region in eastern Turkey,
could not accept that Arzu was with a man from outside the community.

02.05.2012 „Tödliche Familienbande― („Fatal family bonds‖). The family‗s last
3. neutral
name is not mentioned, details of the story are neutrally reported.

21.05.2012 „Der ehrlose Vater― („The dishonored father‖). Negative attitude to 4. in part supportive
of UDHR
the murder, background information on honour killings from the perspective of the German law.

11.05.2012 „Auf der Flucht vor der eigenen Familie― („Running away from
5. fully supportive
their own family‖). Comparison of Arzu‗s story to a Lebanese-German couple who have to hide
of UDHR
themselves in fear of the girl‗s family.

16.05.2012 „Ein kurzes deutsches Leben― („A short German life‖). Feature-
4. in part supportive
style reporting (focus on details, use of adjecties, description of the atmosphere), reporting from the of UDHR
court.

Media Coverage of Migration in The
Netherlands

• National elections: 12th of September 2012

• Sample period: 29th of August – 26th of September 2012

Dutch Media Diversity: used sources

Sources
0 Trouw
52 articles from:
- 5 national 11 10 Telegraaf
newspapers Volkskrant
- 1 national 3 4
NRC Handelsblad
magazine
4 Algemeen Dagblad
- 1 news
3 Elsevier
website 17
NU.nl

Migration Topics eyed during the Election
Period

Arts, Entertainment and Sports 0
Human Rights 7
Refugees Asylum 9
Law & Policy 42
Health 6
Housing 9
Employment & Entrepreneurship 11
Education & Leadership 2
Citizenship & Political Life 11
Culture & Religion 6

0 10 20 30 40 50

Migration Types in Election Time

naturalized citizen with migration background 5

temporary migrant worker (itinerant worker, seasonal worker) 2

skilled migrant 0

refugee 13

minority (only if explicitly named as such) 0

irregular migrant (illegal, irregular, undocumented alien) 20

internally displaced person (IDP) 2

economic migrant (labor migrant) 12

documented/regular migrant (alien, foreigner, non-national) 28

diaspora 0

asylum-seekers 19

News report tone, related to the UDHR

Tone
in part adversarial to
UDHR
neutral
11%
in part supportive of UDHR 27%

62%

Example 1: Adversial to UDHR

‘’Burgermeester Broertjes van de tv-stad, volstrekt onervaren in het
openbaar bestuur, wordt geconfronteerd in het uitgaanscentrum van zijn
gemeente met zwaar fysiek geweld van allochtoon tuig tegen onschuldige
burgers’’

‗Heavy violence from ‗foreign scum against ‗innocent citizens‘.

Source: De Telegraaf (Daily Telegraph), the news report fits in their political
view.

Presented as a normal news fact, written as a blog.

Example 2: Supportive of UDHR

‘Marokkaanse Nederlanders moeten woensdag naar de stembus gaan om de
‘wraakideologie’ van de PVV uit de regering te houden. Die oproep doet de
directeur van het Samerwerkingsverband Marokkaanse Nederlanders’

- Moroccan Dutch people (Dutch people with a Moroccan background)
- They must give their vote to prevent the ‗revenge ideology‘ by the PVV
taking them from participation in the government.
- Only one side: The CEO of the Dutch - Moroccan Cooperation Association.

Source: Elsevier, a national liberal opinion magazine

A one-sided article, fully focused in both subject and in language use to
promote tolerance of Dutch Moroccans. However it remains implicit.

Example 3: Paradoxal picture

‘Opeens is het stil rond de allochtonen. Integratie- en islamdebat door
de economische crisis van tafel geveegd’

Article referring to immigrants with ‗irregular ***-Moroccans, street
terrorists and ‗headscarves‘

BUT: also it emphasizes the longing of migrants for an open and fair
discussion about the essence of their problems.

The news article slowly moves from negative to positive, reaching a
wider audience.

Evaluation I

• During the election period of 2012, migration was no
issue, probably because of political framing. The previous election
period, only two years earlier, showed the opposite picture. The
media seem to follow the ‗mood of the moment‘.

• In Dutch civil society the migration topic has been an important
issue during the last ten years, causing a lot of tensions in society
as well as in politics. The background is the decreasing of mutual
trust in society. The media seem to show a limited picture of reality.

• With regard to migration, the media produced only a few news
reports of their own during the 2012 election period. Press
agencies provided for the majority of the news reports. For this
reason the news reports were in general neutral.

Evaluation II

• The media showed little diversity regarding the quoted or
interviewed organizations. Also the number of research based
news reports were very limited.

• According to a journalism trends study report published in
2011, key themes that will give extra value to quality journalism in
the future are relevance, analysis, reliability and legitimation. If we
consider our media coverage research as a representative case
study, Dutch journalism deserves some quality improvement.

Data Collection

• Election held on Nov. 6, 2012

• Analysis time frame: Oct.23 – Nov.20

• Chose three national and three regional newspapers

Data Collection

• National newspapers: New York Times (50), Washington
Post (76), USA Today (34)

• Regional Newspapers: LA Times (79), Chicago Tribune
(37), Dallas Morning News (59)

• 335 articles total

Context

Migration in the U.S.

• 12 percent of US population is foreign-born; about 17
percent of the US population is Latino
• Migration issues are mentioned mostly as ―immigration‖
• ―Immigration reform‖ is a hot-button political issue

Primary Findings

Migration usually
discussed in
political context:

• Latino voting
power
• ―Immigration
reform‖
• Dream Act

Primary Findings

• 71 percent of all
articles were neutral in
tone
• Majority of ―fully
supportive‖ articles are
opinion pieces
• No adversarial articles
in our sample – not
even opinion columns

Primary Findings

Spike in articles
on migration
immediately after
election

Primary Findings

Election did not
significantly affect
tone

Conclusion

• Politics and migration coverage go hand in hand
• Tone is neutral throughout
• ―Horse race‖ coverage
• American media emphasized ―balanced‖
coverage

Type of Migration across countries

Topic of Migration across countries

Topic of Migration per country

Migration Topic and Type Co-occurrence

Topic and Type Co-occurrence Top 10

Migration coverage: Average tone per
country

Observations

- Mainstream media (in the 5 countries) make a conscious effort
to cover migration largely in compliance with the UDHR;

- Comparison shows that migration is framed through a national
lens;

- The perception of migrants is dominated by a focus on identity
issues.

Future research

- Further development of methodology;

- Better representation of migration movements;

- Representation of the countries of origin;

- Research into cross-cultural similarities of
countries.

International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent societies

Common Trends
Migration in the Media is a:

• Political phenomena
• Context specific
• Often emotive
• Generally negative (especially at National
level)
• Overall position related to the UDHR: quite
supportive
• Focus of Newspaper coverage: Mainly Law &
Policy (criminalisation of migration) and Culture &
Religion (Islamophobia)

What is in a name?
The challenge of the terminology

In the eyes of much of the public the terms
‘refugee‘, ‗asylum seeker‘ and ‗illegal migrant‘ have
become largely interchangeable. This is far from the
truth (and far from helpful) but it is true that
understanding such a complex issue can be a
headache.

Terminology

― (…) there‘s a constituency advocating for the language on
migration in the media to change.‖

―(…) This is new, they have been ‗the other.‘ they haven’t
had a voice.‖

―(…) I‘m acutely aware of this issue, and my purpose is to
tell stories in a way that everyone can hear them‖*

* Julia Preston, New York Times Reporter

UN General Assembly Resolution (1975)

―Requests the United Nations organs and the specialized
agencies concerned to utilize in all official documents the
term 'non-documented or irregular migrant workers' to
define those workers that illegally and/or surreptitiously enter
another country to obtain work‖ (para. 3449, 2)

Conclusions

• The media can change perceptions of migrants;
• There is a need to focus on the human story rather than
faceless statistics and look for more positive content;
• Terminology is important; we need to get it right. Journalists
need a working knowledge of the topic, (i.e. media-
friendly glossary on appropriate and clear terminology);
• Involving migrants in migration coverage;
• Media actions, including encouraging timely publication of
accurate data and use of data;
• Linking government and civil society actions (i.e. formal
and informal inks between journalists, migrants and other
partners).

Institut National de l‘Audiovisuel

Dr. Marie-Luce Viaud — Research Team Leader at the Institut
National de l‘Audiovisuel

Lucien Castex — Research Associate at the Institut National de
l‘Audiovisuel

Deutsche Welle Akademie

Prof. Dr. Christoph Schmidt — Head of the International Media
Studies Programme at the Deutsche Welle Akademie

Katsiaryna Kryzhanouskaya — Junior Researcher at the
Deutsche Welle Akademie

Tilman Wagner — Master Student at the Deutsche Welle
Akademie

Natalia Lazareva — Master Student at the Deutsche Welle
Akademie

The University of King‘s College

Fred Vallance-Jones — Award-winning data journalist, author and
assistant professor at the University of King‘s College in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Barrett Limoges — Fourth year student in the Bachelor of
Journalism programme at King‘s

Melissa Mancini — Master of Investigative Journalism student at
King‘s

Christelijke Hogeschool Ede

Drs. Ton Veen — International Course Coordinator at the
Christelijke Hogeschool Ede

Huub Floor — Journalism Student at the Christelijke Hogeschool
Ede

Frank van Wijhe — Journalism student at the Christelijke
Hogeschool Ede

University of Missouri

Fritz Cropp — Associate Professor and Director of International
Programs at the University of Missouri

Maoling Xiong — University of Missouri

Fedor Zarkhin — Journalism Grad Student at the University of
Missouri

UNAOC and IFRC

Anne Grobet — Migration and Integration Programme Manager at
the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

Stéphanie Durand — Strategic Media Partnerships Manager at the
United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

Sue Le Mesurier — Senior Policy Officer, Migration, at the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

EJC

Martine Rouweler — Reseacher at the European Journalism Centre

Ivan Picart — System Administrator / Web-developer at the
European Journalism Centre

Eric Karstens — Business Developer and Research Coordinator at
the European Journalism Centre

Arne Grauls — Web Project Manager at the European Journalism
Centre

Liliana Bounegru — Project Manager on Data Journalism, Editor of
DataDrivenJournalism.net at the European Journalism Centre

UNAOC EJC migration journalism study

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Editor's Notes