EMM4 releases a new study on how the media reports on migration on both shores of the Mediterranean

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How does the media on both sides of the Mediterranean report on Migration?

In the study How does the media on both sides of the Mediterranean report on Migration?, commissioned by ICMPD’s EUROMED Migration IV to the Ethical Journalism Network, journalists from 17 countries –nine EU countries and eight countries in the south of the Mediterranean, have examined the quality of migration media coverage in 2015 and 2016 from a national perspective.

Problems related to migration, different types of political discourse and the human tragedy associated with migration have dominated reporting, and this study, made by journalists for journalists and policy-makers, provides an insight into how the media have reported on a broad and complex topic in the midst of what was repeatedly described as a crisis. The study revolves around another question: is the media underequipped to cover migration?

It finds that media in many countries on both sides of the Mediterranean are under-resourced and unable to provide the time, money and appropriate level of expertise that is needed to tell the migration story in context.

It also finds that journalists are often poorly informed about the complex nature of migration as a phenomenon. At the same time newsrooms are also vulnerable to pressure, manipulation and hate speech by some political elites or voices on social media networks. The study also highlights inspirational examples of journalism at its best –resourceful, painstaking, and marked by careful, sensitive and humanitarian reporting. In order to address the identified challenges it  provides a series of detailed recommendations and calls for training, better funding of media action and other activities to support and foster more balanced and fact-based journalism on immigration, emigration, integration, asylum and other migration-related challenges.