Framing migration and the process of crimmigration: a systematic analysis of the media representation of unauthorized immigrants in the Netherlands

In this article we examine whether the proposal to criminalize illegal stay in the Netherlands was preceded by increased negative media attention for unauthorized immigrants. Using a corpus linguistics approach, we carried out a quantitative discourse analysis of all newspaper articles on unauthoriz...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Brouwer, Jelmer (Author)
Contributors: Woude, Maartje Amalia Hermina van der ; Leun, Joanne van der
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2018
In: European journal of criminology
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Keywords:
Crimmigration
Framing
Immigration
Media
The Netherlands
Description
Summary:In this article we examine whether the proposal to criminalize illegal stay in the Netherlands was preceded by increased negative media attention for unauthorized immigrants. Using a corpus linguistics approach, we carried out a quantitative discourse analysis of all newspaper articles on unauthorized migrants over a period of 15 years. Our results show that the amount of media coverage actually strongly decreased in the years before the proposal, and this coverage was moreover increasingly less negative. This study thus nuances the somewhat popular belief that unauthorized migrants are increasingly portrayed in negative ways and shows that the framing of migrants as criminals is a more diffuse process in which the media seem to follow rather than fuel politics and policy.
ISSN:1741-2609
DOI:10.1177/1477370816640136