Latest Publications
Reflections on Journalistic Role Perceptions in Belgium and Sweden: Strategies and Difficulties While Reporting on Refugees
Stefan Mertens, Rozane De Cock, Valériane Mistiaen & Sara Helmersson
October 2024
Link: 10.1007/978-3-031-65084-0_12
Book: Representations of Refugees, Migrants, and Displaced People as the ‘Other’
Publisher: Springer
Abstract
Role perceptions of journalists are no global monolithic professional features, but, as has been demonstrated by previous research, cultural differences between journalists operating in different countries are pronounced. These journalistic role perceptions form the central focal point of this study while zooming in on a highly debated news topic that has been covered intensely during the past few years: the so-called refugee situation. Our study uniquely combines survey results (N = 1267) with qualitative in-depth interview data (N = 30) collected among French- and Flemish-speaking journalists in Belgium as among Swedish journalists who have been reporting frequently on refugees. By exploring the challenges journalists experience while reporting on refugees, our results show that although in survey questions journalists from different regional origins express different role orientations, journalists from all covered regions express going through a similar process of negotiating their roles when reporting on refugees. The normative ideals of journalists can be strongly influenced by the concrete topic being reported on. Reporting on refugees follows its own logic. Journalists who report on refugees try to give concrete meaning to principles of both objectivity and empathy.
Visual methods for migration research: approaches, strategies, and challenges
Kevin Smets
October 2024
Link: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800378032.00020
Book: Handbook of Research Methods in Migration
Publisher: Elgar
Abstract
Interest in visual culture has risen in recent years as images are circulated more than ever before (Aiello & Parry 2019; Bleiker 2018). This broadening interest in visual culture and the meanings of images in complex societies is also reflected in the expansion of visual methods, both in terms of their scope and in their application across a variety of fields. This chapter aims to provide a general introduction to visual methods and their use in research on migration. It broadly maps the different approaches for visual data collection and analysis, and explores how these can be engaged when studying different aspects of human migration. Rather than a plea for visual methods, this chapter offers an informed understanding of what visual methods entail in the field of migration research, particularly for those considering embarking on visual methods projects or adding visual methods to their ongoing projects. Visual methods extend in different directions – from more conventional content analyses to less mainstream participatory approaches – and it might thus be helpful to pay attention not only to their possibilities but also to their common pitfalls.