Migration coverage more negative despite declining number of refugees

Coverage of migration issues on international TV news, 1/2013-8/2016

Vienna, September 19, 2016. When the 193 member states of the United Nations meet in New York today for their first refugee summit, they will have already missed an opportunity to prepare the world for the challenges of migration. Media coverage of the fate of refugees from war zones around the world has been a prominent media issue since 2014, triggering fears and xenophobia in the target countries, according to long-term analysis by the Media Tenor International Institute.

“Reporting about migrants has been hostile and unfavorable for a long time, however the footage of desperate people trying to reach the European Union via the Mediterranean in growing numbers has raised the specter of an unstoppable invasion,” explains Dr. Christian Kolmer, Head of Social Studies at Media Tenor International. The tone of coverage deteriorated again in 2016, both for the migrants and refugees as well as for the other protagonists dealing with the inflow in the target countries. “Although the number of monthly sea arrivals as reported by UNHCR has dropped from 221,374 in October 2015 to 17,349 in September 2016*, media coverage has been focusing more and more on the problems and the instrumentalization of migration by politicians,” says Dr. Kolmer.

As reporting about migration deals primarily with the political reaction to the challenges, the contribution from society and business to successful integration has played a minor role. “Managers will feel few incentives to get strongly involved with the training of newcomers without significant public support and appreciation,” concludes Dr. Kolmer.

Media Tenor has analyzed 538,658 news stories in 21 international TV news shows between January 2013 and August 2016 for this report. Since 1994, Media Tenor’s mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy reporting by bringing together the diverse parties who impact and are affected by the news.

*: http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/regional.php

Contact: Dr. Christian Kolmer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.