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Moving images: the media representation of refugees
Funder: The Pilgrim Trust and Esmee Fairbairn Trust
Principal Researcher: Dr Terence Wright
Aims and Objectives of the Research
The 'Moving Images' project examines the relationship between
media images and public, NGO and government response to refugee
disasters.
Aims
To establish:
- How refugees gain public attention
- Why some instances of forced migration are covered by the media
while others are ignored
- What determines the type of media treatment
that refugees receive
- What it is that moves people to respond to visual
images of forced migration
Objectives
- To conduct a qualitative analysis of the media
coverage of refugee crises
- To carry out a case-study to provide an in-depth
analysis of a specific refugee crisis concentrating
on the visual image
- To conduct a series of structured interviews with
key personnel (media professionals, academics, migrants,
pressure groups, etc.) to obtain practical opinions of the
desk-based results of research.
Description of the Relevance/Context of the Research
At the outset of humanitarian crises our television screens and the
pages of our newspapers display images of refugees. This
reporting has the potential to stir public opinion, ultimately
prompting aid agencies and governments to respond to the problem.
While some cases will invoke rapid response, others can take years
to obtain a public reaction. For NGOs and for those forced to migrate,
generating public interest appears to be a hit or miss affair, governed
by factors beyond their control.
The past fifteen years has not only witnessed dramatic
changes in the world political order, but also a technological
revolution in media communications. The power of media images
to motivate public response is based on two central factors:
the changing political, cultural and historical contexts in
which these picture operate; and the style and content of the
media images themselves. While the close relationship between
media imagery and public opinion has long been recognised,
an exploration of the media representation of migration until
now has not been undertaken.
Recent changes in the media have been brought about by
the increased speed and availability of media technologies.
One consequence is an emerging ‘visual culture' that places
a new emphasis on the communicative power of images. Another
is a demand for more simplistic presentation of news items.
Journalism has become more ‘promiscuous', disparate and
diffuse; yet Western governments appear more responsive
to public opinion. There has been a global increase in the
number of displaced persons, while the foreign stories in
the media have been subjected to budgetary cutbacks. Media
representations predominate in determining how we perceive
migrants. While there is a marked tendency to categorise
them as human types, the selective nature of the visual
image frequently objectifies them dismissing their historical,
cultural and political circumstances.
In addition to the ways that the image of the refugee is
constructed through media representation, there is a need
to address the reception of these images. In this context
not only is the relationship of the image to the text or
spoken word paramount, but also the wider editorial and
institutional constraints on reporting incidents of forced
migration, as well as the wider social and political
agendas. This raises questions regarding the social function
of refugee images and if, through the process of categorisation,
they act as a way of coping with a social ‘problem' to provide
a sense of absolution of responsibility, or to stimulate empathy.
Description of Methodology/Process being undertaken
The research has taken the form of content and context analysis
of television news footage covering the Afghan refugee crisis
in the year 2001. It has examined how such constituent factors
as the selection of subject, use of composition, development
of narrative structure, etc., contribute to stereotyping and
the construction of identity. In addition to examining the '
internal' organisation of the images, the research examines
the media texts, the circumstances of production and the historical
significance. The qualitative empirical research methods are derived
from visual anthropology, media and communications studies, and
visual studies. The first year of the project is essentially
desk-based - though the findings arising from this research are
to be used in conjunction with interviews with key personnel
concerned with the media reporting of refugee crises.
Stages of research:
- Collation of on-going television coverage to supply
overview of the situation and material for analysis
- Identification of central issues regarding coverage
of the Afghan crisis
- Analysis of material to establish the current picture:
explanations, relationships, comparisons, predictions,
generalisations and theories
- To identify and interview key personnel (media professionals,
academics, migrants, pressure groups, etc.,)
- Synthesis of material and findings
- Conclusion and writing-up
Details of Papers Produced and Planned Means of Dissemination
Paper: 'Moving Images: the media representation of refugees'
Visual Studies peer-reviewed journal (Routledge) - currently in press.
The paper begins by examining the structure of television news.
It suggests that existing media research on the issue of forced
migration has paid scant regard for the visual image. The media
image's wider context is introduced, followed by an outline of
some issues arising from recent technological and institutional
changes in media practice. The paper then addresses contemporary
images of refugees in the press and looks for patterns and common
elements in their construction and usage. It then identifies some
historical archetypes that are used to portray the subject of
forced migration and initially suggests that many 'standard'
images of refugees conform to patterns already established in
Christian iconography. It suggests that viewers find accord with
the images (with which they are already familiar) and that they
may evoke a familiar story line. In this context the image of the
refugee in fiction film is examined and consideration is given
to the genre of the ‘migrant movie'. The paper concludes in the
identification of key topics for future research into media images
of refugees.
Paper: 'Collateral Coverage: media images of Afghan refugees,
2001' to be presented at:
- Communicating Cultures conference, Belfast, June 2002
- International Communication Association Conference, Korea,
July 2002
- European Association of Social Anthropologists Conference,
Copenhagen, Aug 2002
The paper is concerned with the media coverage of the on-going
refugee crisis in Afghanistan. It considers the factors that have
instigated media response by examining some general issues arising
from the media coverage of disasters. In particular, how the terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center of September 11 th had the result
of stimulating renewed media interest in Afghan refugees. Paying special
regard to the role of visual images in the reporting of disasters, the
paper reviews the narrative strategies adopted by television news.
While the central focus of the study is on the BBC Television News
Special reports, selective comparisons are made with other television
broadcast channels Sky News and Euronews
On-going presentations of findings have taken place at:
Centre for War and Culture Studies, University of Westminster.
Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge
Chelsea College of Art & Design, London
Kunsthøgskolen i Bergen, Norway
and within the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford:
One of the Wednesday seminars on Forced Migration
Michaelmas Term screenings for MSt students
Afghan round-table discussion
Presentation for Palestinian Delegation Workshop
Results and Findings to Date
Some general conclusions have been drawn from the study of
the Afghan refugee crisis, 2001. There are three main
constituent factors contributing to the likelihood of
effective media coverage of a refugee crisis. Firstly,
in order to attract Western press coverage it is necessary
for the crisis to be of such a magnitude that it cannot be
ignored or it is necessary for it to be perceived as having
some obvious connection with Western concerns. Secondly,
the story will gain airtime if the nature of the crisis is
such that it produces dramatic imagery - pictures with
impact. Finally, if the style of the media coverage is
sufficiently innovative it will stimulate interest in the
viewers.
As for the future coverage of the Afghan refugee crisis, the
media have a central role to play in the efforts to rebuild
the country and to achieve political stability. For Afghanistan,
the tasks involved include: disarmament, establishing peace and
security; providing food, healthcare, education for the population;
reviving the economy; repairing the infrastructure; establishing an
independent judiciary; creating a new political environment; and so
on. Such activities do not necessarily make ‘good television'
nonetheless the need remains to maintain the interest of the western
world. As the country moves from receiving short-term relief to building
up long-term development, it would be for future the benefit of Afghanistan
if the western public remain informed, thus concentrating the minds of
politicians to retain their interest. In addition positive coverage of
the country may help win back members of the Afghan diaspora whose
professional skills are crucial to the process of rebuilding.
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