Today's story provides a handy guide to the dark arts of the press
It is a truth universally acknowledged that migrants get a rough ride in the British press. But how do they do it?
Today’s Daily Mail provides a crash course in the dark arts of demonising migrants. Here are some of the basics:
1. Do not refer to migrants as people.
It is of the first importance that these people not be seen as human. Instead, use words like ‘figures’, ‘numbers’, ‘influx’ – or indeed, ‘migrant’, which simply means a person who moves from one place to another.
2. Use numbers instead of words where possible.
Words can be slippery. To avoid breaking step 1, use numbers like 18,000, as in today’s story. This helps creates the idea of migration as a pest control problem, or a force of nature, rather than a man-made crisis that involves human lives.
3. Use the language of crime.
Discuss migrants as you would criminals. Some examples from today’s story are ‘sneak’, ‘evade’, ‘targeting’ and ‘caught’. These are bad people doing a bad thing. They deserve to be punished. (Add a scary picture of dark-skinned people if you can.)
4. Do not quote people who care about migrants.
Pick your sources with care. Organisations which worry about the safety of migrants should not be quoted if possible (as they are not in today’s story). This might cause readers to see another side of the story, learn about its context and the causes of migration, hear ideas for solutions, and even empathise with the migrants themselves. Instead, seek quotes from police, tough-guy politicians, truck drivers, British tourists, and so on.
5. Do not speak to migrants.
This may be the most important step. Under no circumstances should you interview the people trying to reach Britain. Asking about their experiences and motivations, or just about their family or their favourite food, could risk readers seeing them as human, and should be avoided at all costs. This includes the cost of good stories or honest journalism.
There are other steps, and not all of these are kept all the time. Reports of migrants drowning in the Mediterranean has broken through the usual filters as a regrettable anomaly. Generally though, some adherence to the above will ensure you write about migrants correctly.
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
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39 Responses to “Daily Mail’s 5 step guide to demonising migrants”
Cole
I am not Leon Wolfson. Are you in the pub or something?
damon
Oh sorry, you just sounded a bit like him.
Where’s he gone then? – it’s not the same without him.
Cole
Who said 1% of Africa was on its way to the EU? However, I do think we should help refugees from murderous regimes, like Sudan and Eritrea – as we have done for centuries (though we didn’t let many Jews in during the 1930s thanks the the likes of the Daily Mail). I think Mr Farage’s family are here because they were Protestants persecuted by the then French government.
damon
If we don’t want to be accused of having built ”Fortress Europe” we have to be much more generous in allowing people from Africa to move to the West.
This chap Kenan Malik wrote this blog post on the subject recently.
https://kenanmalik.wordpress.com/2015/05/14/the-price-of-fortress-europe/#comments
Also, the logic of saving people from going to sea in unseaworthy boats is to not have them trying to come illegally in the first place, but allowing them legal ways where they can come in regular migrations. And that doesn’t just mean people from war ravaged countries.
Because most countries in Africa have big numbers of people leaving.
So to stop them doing it illegally we need to alow them visas.
How many would come if it was open to them?
How many Irish left Ireland over a hundred Yeats ago?
It was twenty or thirty percent of the population.
One percent of Africa doesn’t sound like too high a number.
mike_in_brum
The reality is that migrants are vermin and have ruined Britain.