IMER Master Thesis 1 year Spring 2015 GP501 “Who are they & Why are they here?” A media analysis of the negative portrayal of immigrants in the mainstream Greek press. Author: Eleni-Ioanna Malafouri 890301T289 Supervisor: Christian Fernandez Examiner: Margareta Popoola Aknowledgements I would like to seize the opportunity to thank the department of Global & Political Studies of the University of Malmö for providing the most fostering environment for my academic development. Special thanks to Christian Fernandez for his constant guidance that has been proven of immeasurable importance during the conduct of this dissertation and Joanna Tsoni for her advice and support. Many thanks to all my Master's colleagues, especially Charlotte Rasmussen, Kyle Campbell, Rennato Johnsson and Nara Farias who enriched my knowledge of the IMER field. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my parents for their undivided support and caring. To my close friend Chryssa for cultivating, day by day in our friendship, my sensitivity towards matters of migration and last but not least my fiancé, Socrates, for his unconditional love, company and support during the conduct of this thesis and in every aspect of my life. Abstract Eleni-Ioanna Malafouri, International Migration and Ethnic Relations, University of Malmö. Abstract of Master's Thesis, Submitted 22 May 2015: Who are they and why are they here? A media analysis of the negative portrayal of immigrants in the mainstream Greek press. This study is an initial attempt to investigate the negative depiction of immigrants in the mainstream Greek press of the 2000s. Our goal is to identify the dimensions of negative image-making and discuss the dichotomy of the ''identity'' and the ''otherness'' projected in the contemporary press. In order to accomplish that, data, collected from selected articles in a number of best-selling Greek newspapers, were scrutinised with regards to their content, style of writing, presentation as well as their readability and triggering of a wider social discourse at the time of their publication. Using a retroductive approach, to wit travelling back and forth from the general phenomenon to specific incidents, we showed that via the presentation of the negative association of the immigrants with a) criminality, b) the obscure market and c) their unworthiness to bear national symbols, the mainstream Greek press intensifies the presence of certain dichotomies. Such dichotomies, as they appeared in the text and presentation of the articles, are the “identity” versus the “otherness”, “we” versus “they”, as well as one’s race “superiority” versus the “inferiority” of the other, “locals” versus “immigrants”. Key concepts: media, media portrayal, Greece, immigrants, public sphere, representation, stereotyping, superiority, inferiority, newspapers, identity, otherness. For all the “damned” of the world.... Table of Contents 1.Introduction……………………………………………………………………………1 1.1Statement of the topic and motives ……………………………………..…………...1 1.2Aim and research questions………………………………………………………..…2 1.3Outline of the thesis……………………………………………………………..……3 2Contextual Background and Prior Research…………………………………………...4 3Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………………..11 4Research Strategy and Methodology / Delimitations and Material Selection………...14 4.1Research Strategy……………………………………………………………….…..14 4.2Methodology and Delimitations……………………………………………….……14 4.3Resource Selection……………………………………………………………….…17 4.4Media Outlets…………………………………………………………………….…18 4.5List of Selected Articles……………………………………………………….……19 5Material Analysis……………………………………………………………………...21 5.1Immigrants and the impact on unemployment rates………………………………..21 5.2Immigrants bearing national symbols………………………………………………26 5.3Immigrants and their involvement in criminal acts…………………………..…….31 6Discussion…………………………………………………………………………….36 7Epilogue………………………………………………………………………………38 8References……………………………………………………………………….……41 8.1Greek Literature………………………………………………………………….....41 8.2English Literature……………………………………………………………..……43 8.3Digital Media Outlets………………………………………………………….…...44 1 “Who are they and why are they here?” A media analysis of the negative portrayal of immigrants in the mainstream Greek press. 1. Introduction 1.1 Statement of the topic and motives Drawing upon the fact that there is an acute turmoil taking place in the political scene of Greece as well as the recent media discourses over the immigrant shelters in the country, I have decided to set myself out on an investigation of the role of the media with regards to matters of immigration. Greece being my homeland even more so within the framework of the current state of recession is the main reason for choosing to focus my academic investigation on its territories. Having studied and worked as a journalist in various Greek media, including the National Radio and Television of Greece (ERT S.A), I have always been sensitised in the media portrayal of immigrants and the discussions taking place over the notion of immigration; not to mention, from a more theoretical -or even philosophical- point of view the ways in which media have the capacity to influence the society. Nevertheless, apart from my personal zeal, it is the country's current state that drew my attention towards a sociological approach on migration matters. On the dawn of the World War I and the Greek Civil War, Greece has been characterised by the mass flows of emigration. Especially during the latter, about 130,000 people were forced to seek asylum in other countries as political refugees (Vergeti, 2003). After the collapse of the USSR and the political instability in Albania in the 90's and the Middle East in the early 00’s (Kassimis & Kassimi, 2004), Greece took a shift from being a sending country to a popular destination for immigrants, as well as a way-point for those involved in transit migration, aiming at entering 2 Europe, given the country's geographical position. Being involved in the contemporary media of my country, I was always shocked by the aggregate presence of nationalism and the more often than not negative illustration of immigrants in the press or the TV. In that perspective, there is a justifiable question to be asked and it is what drove me to get involved with this attempt: Why would a society that has a great history of emigration keep a negative attitude towards the receiving immigrants? 1.2 Aim & Research Questions Through this dissertation we intend to illustrate and discuss the ways in which the mainstream Greek press has presented the phenomenon of immigration from the first major inbound flow, during the 90's, up until today, on the back of a primarily negative bias. In order to achieve our objectives, we have articulated one main research question that would function as the guideline of our investigation and three sub-questions that provide precision. • In what ways does the mainstream Greek press sketch a negative portrait of the immigrants living in the country? Sub-questions: 1. How are the negative images of immigrants projected in the mainstream Greek press identified? 2. What are the dimensions of the negative depiction of immigrants in the mainstream Greek press over the course of time? 3. Which are the main positions of the mainstream Greek press regarding negative representation of immigration? 3 1.3 Outline of the thesis In order for this thesis to offer a neat overview of the phenomenon, it is divided in seven chapters. The first chapter serves as an introductory section that informs the reader over the aim of this study and the research questions to be answered. The second chapter is comprised of a general background as well as the description of research conducted within the wider field, starting from the first attempts of the researchers to approach the phenomenon of immigration in Greece and moving on to more specific studies, closest to our own, aiming at the combination of migration, media and sociology studies. In the third chapter we present the theoretical framework which will be used as an umbrella for our material analysis. In the course of this section, we will interrogate the concept of representation and stereotyping in the press, as well as the dichotomies formed, such as the rhetorics of superiority / inferiority, identity / otherness, we / they. The fourth chapter is dedicated to the methodology followed in order for us to approach the answers of this thesis' research questions and draw our conclusions in a reliable way. In this section, we present our research approach, the selection of our material, a brief description of the Greek press background as well as a list of the articles used in our analysis. The material analysis of our research takes place in the fifth chapter that is divided in three subsections, according to the three axes of investigation, which will be identified and justified in prior chapters. Each subsection contains a concluding summary, where the essence of the analysis is offered in a condensed form. The sixth chapter of the thesis is comprised of a discussion based on the material analysis findings and the theoretical framework projected to the wider, general Greek media discourse over the phenomenon of immigration in the country. Last but not least, chapter seven contains a brief summary of our attempt along with our suggestions for further investigation of the matter in question. 4 2. Contextual Background & Prior Research In this chapter we shall present a contextual background as well as an overview of the prior research, in order to