Immigration, Coverage of

The presumed influence of mass media on public attitudes about immigration combined with the rising salience of immigration as a political issue makes it important to understand patterns in immigration coverage. As many citizens do not come into direct contact with immigrants or immigration in their daily lives, they are reliant on information sources such as the mass media.

The literature on immigration coverage by the mass media is rich and diverse. This entry offers an overview of the dominant approaches and most common findings in research on news media depictions of immigration. Most studies have examined a set of distinct attributes of news coverage of immigration, among which its salience, tone, and framing are most relevant. These theoretical perspectives are briefly discussed. Next, the entry ...