Producing immigration news in receiving countries : beyond journalists' professional ideology and cultural explanations

Abstract

The media can play an important role in the promotion of integrated societies that include diverse cultures. They are often seen as "key resources in the struggles for visibility, presence, community, influence and symbolic power which many, if not all, minority groups seek'' (Silverstone and Georgiou 2005, p. 432). Yet, media systems are in themselves the outcome of internal processes and so the context remains an important influence on the production, dissemination and reception of news (Hallin and Mancini, 2004). While news content is influenced by factors such as the journalists' professional ideology, cultural attitudes towards immigrants and the demands of the publics, it will be argued that our analysis also needs to take into account political and economic factors, which determine whether the media systems open up co migrants. Such considerations also affect the complex and ambivalent roles of journalists; as critical public intellectuals scrutinizing responses to the influx of migrants, and as producers of texts that may reinforce social and cultural stereotypes. This study empirically explores dilemmas for journalists in Malta as they cover stories on immigration in a context experiencing rising public anxieties and concerns with the impact of migration. It will be argued that most media organisations still have not resolved how to adapt to the new realities as they did not extend their deliberative democratic role to engender a critical mass on integrative processes. This is a dearth of discussion on the notions of multiculturalism, migrant inclusion and cohesion (expounded by Zetter et al. 2006).