The aim of this article is to analyse the building process of the “immigration issue” as a result of the interaction among political actors, news media and civil society. In the first part, based on the available theoretical and empirical literature, we provide an overview of the way in which immigration has been treated and shaped by the Italian media throughout the past forty years. The second part is based on original research data deriving from the content analysis of the news coverage by la Repubblica and Corriere della Sera (the two most important and influential Italian newspapers) during the semesters of June-November 2008 and 2014. We deal with the immigration issue in the light of three primary elements: 1) the sub-issues which constitute the main issue; 2) the political scenario of each news-event; 3) the actors who gain visibility in the media arena. Results show that, in both sample-periods, the Italian papers arena becomes more pluralized in terms of actors and relative stances: the central role of the domestic political actors is antagonized by the positioning of numerous actors of the civil society (especially in 2008) and by the intervention of the European Union. This process tends to expand the sub-issue of rights-racism, counterbalancing the previously established strength of the sub-issue of threats-insecurity. In the context of a prevailing narrative characterized by the mix of emergency and political conflict, in 2008 a civil society coalition opposes the ongoing government reform on security; in 2014 the recurrent refugees’ landings on the Southern Italy coasts lead to a supra-national replacement of the political competences towards the EU institutions. This more significant standing of the civil society’s actors and of the European Union’s institutions brings interesting consequences on the interaction dynamics, which are to be considered the main factor in redefining the issue. Such process is favoured by the logics adopted by the two outlets, that commit to advocate against racism and to support hospitality policies.
La costruzione del tema immigrazione nel rapporto media-politica. Tra emergenze cicliche e strategie dell’insicurezza
Matteo Gerli;
2019
Abstract
The aim of this article is to analyse the building process of the “immigration issue” as a result of the interaction among political actors, news media and civil society. In the first part, based on the available theoretical and empirical literature, we provide an overview of the way in which immigration has been treated and shaped by the Italian media throughout the past forty years. The second part is based on original research data deriving from the content analysis of the news coverage by la Repubblica and Corriere della Sera (the two most important and influential Italian newspapers) during the semesters of June-November 2008 and 2014. We deal with the immigration issue in the light of three primary elements: 1) the sub-issues which constitute the main issue; 2) the political scenario of each news-event; 3) the actors who gain visibility in the media arena. Results show that, in both sample-periods, the Italian papers arena becomes more pluralized in terms of actors and relative stances: the central role of the domestic political actors is antagonized by the positioning of numerous actors of the civil society (especially in 2008) and by the intervention of the European Union. This process tends to expand the sub-issue of rights-racism, counterbalancing the previously established strength of the sub-issue of threats-insecurity. In the context of a prevailing narrative characterized by the mix of emergency and political conflict, in 2008 a civil society coalition opposes the ongoing government reform on security; in 2014 the recurrent refugees’ landings on the Southern Italy coasts lead to a supra-national replacement of the political competences towards the EU institutions. This more significant standing of the civil society’s actors and of the European Union’s institutions brings interesting consequences on the interaction dynamics, which are to be considered the main factor in redefining the issue. Such process is favoured by the logics adopted by the two outlets, that commit to advocate against racism and to support hospitality policies.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
