Migrant Representation: In the Media

 

A Look Into How Migrants Are Represented In The Media & Society

 

By Alexandra Gibbs

 

Every year, every month, every day, people are migrating in search for a better life and a new change of pace. Often the term ‘immigration’ gets labelled cynically and stereotypes are often made when it comes to different cultures. This is not always aided by the media or everyday conversations, which can often set a framework on how different communities are treated.

 

Women migrate for an assortment of reasons and for that, they have to face different challenges. These reasons can range from marriage to education to personal exploration, but the inhabitants of the country women immigrate into, may not recognize the obstacles they must conquer: language, culture, cooking, basic skills, finance, shelter, geographical awareness… to name a few. For many women who do migrate to a new location, they want to preserve their cultural identity, yet acknowledge that they will have to adapt to new dialects, lifestyle choices and even cuisine tastes.

 

Threadgold examined that the reason why immigration doesn’t always receive the most respectable of spotlights in the media is because the stories that generate attention are confined to the categories of serious and negative.[1] How many headlines do we see discussing female success stories when moving to a new country? How many celebrate the small and big triumphs that people achieve during their integration? Now compare this number to the migration stories associated with the impact of illegal documents, crime, public welfare and money has on the country. Raising awareness and promoting equality is still a problem that needs to be conquered.

 

In November 2002, when the BBC asked people why having a multicultural network was essential for the media, it was down the fact that mainstream media is tremendously influential and people looked up to having equal representation. Overall, participants wished for an increase in media’s multiculturalism because it would:

 

• To reduce the amount of harmful and often unrealistic stereotypes associated with particular cultures and communities

• Establish a greater sense of belonging and ease within the UK community

• Allow children to identify with constructive media archetypes

• Encourage an improved awareness of ethnic cultures

 

The study by the BBC uncovered that media personalities were not necessarily reflecting everyone’s communities or values; and the main reason for that was the lack of people from particular communities working within the decision process. Overall, by promoting multiculturalism in societies and raising awareness, it creates a diverse selection of respectable & relatable role models, whilst establish a more comfortable unity between different unique cultures. [2]

 

However, global awareness of these challenges and acceptance of multicultural communities are emerging. In November 2002, BBC Broadcasting reported that there had been a major amplification in ethnic minority representation on television. It’s been made more palpable in recent years with broadcasters from various cultures featuring on US and UK TV networks, including Christiane Amanpour, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Monita Rajpal, Ritula Shah and George Alagiah. Some of the most influential people in the world weren’t born in the country they currently reside in, but tackled obstacles to be heard, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Natalie Portman, Khaled Hosseini and Penelope Cruz. Not only that, but women in general are often portrayed as matters up for scrutiny, yet from 2008, 40% of the BBC senior management positions were held by women. [3] A triumph for female solidarity!

 

Society and the media are gradually welcoming the notion of a multicultural community, with Prime Minister David Cameron declaring that migration is not a threat to our economy, but perhaps beneficial, with new employees filling gaps in the job market and bringing professional capabilities with them.[4] We can all learn something from one another and society is now starting to pick up on that.

 

 

Attribution

[1] Terry Threadgold, The Media and Migration in the United Kingdom, 1999 to 2009, Transatlantic Council on Migration and Cardiff University, 2009, p. 1, http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/TCM-UKMedia.pdf 11 April 2014

[2] Andrea Millwood Hargrave, Multicultural Broadcasting: Concept and Reality, BBC, November 2002, p. 1-3, http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/research/multicultural-broadcasting.pdf 10 April 2014

[3] Kate Murphy, Women at the BBC, BBC News: History of the BBC, 15th September 2006, http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/resources/in-depth/women_at_bbc.shtml 10 April 2014

[4] Juliette Jowit, Is Migration good or bad for British jobs?, The Guardian, 5th March 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/news/reality-check/2014/mar/05/immigration-migration-british-jobs-economy-newsnight- 11 April 2014