Dehumanization as Policy: A Frame Analysis of Immigration and Detention Portrayals in the Media

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 4:20 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Media Ecologies and Spaces Through Critical Lenses (Table 9)

Abstract

As the U. S. election cycle commences, immigration is prominent in national reporting, and this reporting shapes understanding of the issues and fuels partisan divides. We present preliminary results from an ongoing critical media literacy analysis of news reporting on one immigrant detention center. Specifically, we use framing analysis to reveal whether news reporting was positive, negative, or neutral towards the immigration detention system and towards immigrants. We also examine the framing of a prominent reporter to examine changes in the orientation of their reporting over time. Initial findings indicate that journalistic neutrality is elusive, and we find that changes in journalistic guidelines over time contributed to shifts in the tone of reporting for both immigrants and the detention system.

Authors

• Susan Anne Cridland-Hughes, Clemson University

• Mikel W. Cole, University of Houston

• Stephanie M. Madison, Clemson University