Media International Australia
Volume 162, Issue 1, 2017, Pages 78-89

Media coverage of refugees and asylum seekers in regional Australia: A critical discourse analysis (Article)

Cooper S.* , Olejniczak E. , Lenette C. , Smedley C.
  • a University of New South Wales, Social Research and Policy, School of Social Sciences, Anzac Parade, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
  • b University of New South Wales, Social Research and Policy, School of Social Sciences, Anzac Parade, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
  • c University of New South Wales, Social Research and Policy, School of Social Sciences, Anzac Parade, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
  • d University of New South Wales, Social Research and Policy, School of Social Sciences, Anzac Parade, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

Abstract

Despite significant research into media and political coverage of refugees and asylum seekers, and ongoing Commonwealth policies to resettle refugees to regional areas, analysis of the regional press is lacking. We reviewed articles from four regional newspapers using quantitative content analysis and qualitative content analysis to examine some initial trends in how regional newspapers represent refugees and asylum seekers. Despite the dominant negative framing of refugee issues at the national level, the regional media used positive, humanising frames and a broader range of sources in articles on local topics such as refugees' personal stories. This reflects the community-building role of local journalism and challenges the familiar boundaries of the debate. However, there was a compelling distinction between articles on local and national topics, with the negative national discourse and dominance of government sources reflected in articles on national topics such as legislation and events. © Media International Australia Editorial Board.

Author Keywords

critical discourse analysis regional settlement Asylum seekers Refugees Media representations

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85011645588&doi=10.1177%2f1329878X16667832&partnerID=40&md5=ce6d03d197e26f8b8da19cf28a61f8cc
DOI: 10.1177/1329878X16667832
ISSN: 1329878X
Cited by: 10
Original Language: English