This research project developed from the observation that, while a number of small-scale studies have shown how certain subsections of the UK national press covered migration issues in largely negative light, there was not a great deal of systematic or comprehensive evidence that could demonstrate these statement either over a longer period of time or across multiple sets of publications. As migration has climbed toward the top of the political agenda in Britain, the relationship between media coverage and public attitudes has become a vital question for researchers and policy-makers. Public opinion is a key justification for government policies aimed at reduced net migration. But surprisingly little is known about the roots of public opinion in information about immigration.
This project capitalised on new methods for analysing what is commonly known as ‘big data’ and provides a quantitative analysis of the language used by all 20 of Britain’s main national daily and Sunday newspapers. It covered all news stories, letters and other published content dealing with migrants and migration from the beginning of 2010 to the end of 2012. This analysis involved computer-aided analysis of a ‘corpus’ of some 58,000 news stories and other newspaper items, made-up of more than 43 million words. The results provide both useful insights into the language used and the ways that different types of newspaper approach the subject of immigration, as well as a bed of evidence for further social science investigations into the subject of migration in the media.
Sticks and stones…
Blog | Rob McNeil
What do they talk about when they (Miliband and Cameron) talk about immigration?
Blog | COMPAS Communications
Whose Dreams Are Alive? Thinking about News Media as Stories
Blog | William Allen
Immigrants, Asylum Seekers, and Ethnic and Religious Minorities in the Leveson Report
Blog | COMPAS Communications
What Kinds of Immigrants Come or Stay? Illegality and UK Tabloid Portrayal of Immigrants
Blog | William Allen
Documenting how immigrants are described in the British press: Why does comprehensiveness matter?
Blog | William Allen
Media, Public Opinion, Migration Policy: Multi- and Inter-Disciplinary Notes
Blog | William Allen
UK
PoliciesPoliticsPublic Opinion
Constructing Immigrants: Portrayals of Migrant Groups in British Newspapers, 2010-2012
Working Papers | William Allen, COMPAS Communications | 2014
Bulgarians and Romanians in the British National Press
Migration Observatory Report | Aug 2014
Migration in the News
Migration Observatory Report | Aug 2013
Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, and Identity Language in the British Press: A Case Study in Monitoring and Analysing Print Media
Migration Observatory Report | Dec 2012
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