Media have played an important role in framing the public debate on the “refugee crisis” that peaked in autumn of 2015. This report examines the narratives developed by print media in eight European countries and how they contributed to the public perception of the “crisis”, shifting from careful tolerance over the summer, to an outpouring of solidarity and humanitarianism in September 2015, and to a securitisation of the debate and a narrative of fear in November 2015. Overall, there has been limited opportunity in mainstream media coverage for refugees and migrants to give their views on events, and little attention paid to the individuals’ plight or the global and historical context of their displacement. Refugees and migrants are often portrayed as an undistinguishable group of anonymous and unskilled outsiders who are either vulnerable or dangerous. The dissemination of biased or ill-founded information contributes to perpetuating stereotypes and creating an unfavourable environment not only for the reception of refugees but also for the longer-term perspectives of societal integration.

Bad News for Refugees analyses the political, economic and environmental contexts of migration and looks specifically at how refugees and asylum seekers have been stigmatised in political rhetoric and in media coverage. Through forensic research it shows how hysterical and inaccurate media accounts act to legitimise political action which can have terrible consequences both on the lives of refugees and also on established migrant communities. Based on new research by the renowned Glasgow Media Group, Bad News for Refugees is essential reading for those concerned with the negative effects of media on public understanding and for the safety of vulnerable groups and communities in our society.

Perception and representation of newcomers and immigrants The topic of migration has become particularly contentious in national and international debates. Media have a discernable impact on overall societal attitudes towards this phenomenon. Polls show time and again that immigration is one of the most important issues occupying people’s minds. This book examines the dynamic interplay between media representations of migrants and refugees on the one hand and the governmental and societal (re)actions to these on the other. Largely focusing on Belgium and Sweden, this collection of interdisciplinary research essays attempts to unravel the determinants of people’s preferences regarding migration policy, expectations towards newcomers, and economic, humanitarian and cultural concerns about immigration’s effect on the majority population’s life. Whilst migrants and refugees remain voiceless and highly underrepresented in the legacy media, this volume allows their voices to be heard. Contributors: Leen d’Haenens (KU Leuven), Willem Joris (KU Leuven), Paul Puschmann (KU Leuven/Radboud University Nijmegen), Ebba Sundin (Halmstad University), David De Coninck (KU Leuven), Rozane De Cock (KU Leuven), Valériane Mistiaen (Université libre de Bruxelles), Lutgard Lams (KU Leuven), Stefan Mertens (KU Leuven), Olivier Standaert (UC Louvain), Hanne Vandenberghe (KU Leuven), Koen Matthijs (KU Leuven), Kevin Smets (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Jacinthe Mazzocchetti (UC Louvain), Lorraine Gerstmans (UC Louvain), Lien Mostmans (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), and François Heinderyckx (Université libre de Bruxelles) Ebook available in Open Access. This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content). With thanks to the funding provided by Belspo (Belgian Science Policy Office), as part of the framework programme BRAIN-be (Belgian Research Action Through Interdisciplinary Networks), contract nr BR/165/A4/IM2MEDIATE.

This book examines the ‘European refugee crisis’, offering an in-depth comparative analysis of how public attitudes towards refugees and humanitarian dispositions are shaped by political news coverage. An international team of authors address the role of the media in contesting solidarity towards refugees from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Focusing on the public sphere, the book follows the assumption that solidarity is a social value, political concept and legal principle that is discursively constructed in public contentions. The analysis refers systematically and comparatively to eight European countries, namely, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Treatment of data is also original in the way it deals with variations of public spheres by combining a news media claims-making analysis with a social media reception analysis. In particular, the book highlights the prominent role of the mass media in shaping national and transnational solidarity, while exploring the readiness of the mass media to extend thick conceptions of solidarity to non-members. It proposes a research design for the comparative analysis of online news reception and considers the innovative potential of this method in relation to established public opinion research. The book is of particular interest for scholars who are interested in the fields of European solidarity, migration and refugees, contentious politics, while providing an approach that talks to scholars of journalism and political communication studies, as well as digital journalism and online news reception.

Across countries and time, asylum-seekers and refugees have been represented in a variety of ways. In some representations they appear negatively, as dangers threatening to ‘over-run’ a country or a region with ‘floods’ of incompatible strangers. In others, the same people are portrayed positively, with compassion, and pictured as desperately in need of assistance. How these competing perceptions are received has significant consequences for determining public policy, human rights, international agreements, and the realization of cultural diversity, and so it is imperative to understand how these images are perpetuated. To this end, this volume reflects on museum practice and the contexts, stories, and images of asylum seekers and refugees prevalent in our mass media. Based on case studies from Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, the overall findings are illustrative of narratives and images common to museums and the media throughout the world. They aim to challenge political rhetoric and populist media imagery and consider what forms of dissent are likely to be sustained and what narratives ultimately break through and can lead to empathy and positive political change.

Recent migration in Europe has a whole range of characteristics which are said to distinguish it from earlier migration, and the description 'new migration' is often used. Based on a wide range of empirical case studies of the new migration, this book asks three critical questions. To what extent is the description 'new' conceptually valid? How is the new migration defined and by whom? How is the new migration experienced by migrants themselves?

The large-scale movements of refugees and economic migrants from conflict zones to more stable societies have resulted in challenges, both for new entrants and their hosts. This fascinating volume brings together a collection of media analyses focused on immigration issues to examine how migration has been represented to the public. Case studies exploring media coverage of migrants and refugees in Europe enable the reader to better understand the complexity of the process through a range of unique and unexplored dimensions of immigration analysis, including strategic framing theory, game structure analysis, migration maps and routes, television narratives, rumour-based communication, and state-bred campaigns. The insights into the perspective of migrants, the general public and policy makers provide innovative methodological and theoretical analysis on population movements which will be of interest to scholars, students, and policy makers working in the fields of migration studies, international relations, peace and security studies, and social and public policy.