193. Name: Anita Tvauri Title: ‘Migrants’ or ‘Refugees’? Al Jazeera English and the 2015
Coverage of the Immigration Crisis in Europe Institution: Southern Illinois University Carbondale Country: United States Date: 2016 Language: English Abstract:
The migrants or refugees crisis in Europe received a wide media coverage as the number of migrants and refugees flowing to the borders of the European Union grew intensively during the year 2015. In August 2015, Al Jazeera English channel initiated a public discussion about the media representation of migrants and refugees by arguing that the term ‘migrant’ does not accurately depict the complexity of the migrant and refugee crisis. By doing so, Al Jazeera English managed to position itself as a moral advocate for migrants and refugees, one that was not afraid of standing up for the case of these people. Was Al Jazeera English successful in achieving such a lofty aim? In order to answer this question, the researcher investigates how the channel covered the crisis. The study used critical discourse analysis approach (CDA) to provide an in-depth analysis of the coverage and reveal the ideological motivations behind Al Jazeera English’s editorial decision to use the term ‘refugee’ instead of ‘migrant’. This study finds that Al Jazeera English dehumanizes migrants and refugees and represents them as homogenous groups rather than individuals.
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