The UNAOC, in partnership with the European Journalism Centre, and with support from the Open Society Foundation, is launching a data journalism study of media coverage of migration. A network of five journalism schools* in the USA, Canada, and Europe will conduct the study through the winter of 2012, leading to the UNAOC Vienna Forum in February 2013 where the results of the study will be revealed.
Migration remains a question that is widely and too often hotly discussed and covered, and the media has a critical role to play in advancing public understanding of a question that often polarizes communities.
In contexts of economic downturn or during elections, the migration issue – and by extension the integration issue – become a subject of tension. Several see migrants taking away jobs or think that migration represents downward pressures on salaries; others perceive migrants as a threat to national identity, values, and culture. The media, the Internet, and social networks, when they reinforce stereotypes or prejudices, risk increasing social tensions and fostering social divisions.
Through data collection/analysis and interactive visualization, an empirical assessment of migration coverage around election cycles would enable the assessment, qualitatively and quantitatively, of the main trends that emerge in various national media, and provide a picture of perceptions around migration, which if problematic can then be better addressed.
This study will be the first data led study by the UNAOC, and will be presented in its final form through the use of digital tools at the UNAOC Global Forum in Vienna in February 2013.
*Partner Universities:
Kings University, Canada
Deutsche Welle, Germany
University of Missouri School of Journalism, USA
Christelijke Hogeschool Ede, Netherlands
Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, France
Contacts:
Anne Grobet, migration manager, anneg@unops.org
Stephanie Durand, strategic media partnership manager, stephanied@unops.org