This paper explores how a German and an English news website, Spiegel online and BBC online, respectively, present some of the actual people behind the term 'refugee': A Syrian family of seven and a lone Syrian man. Both have faced hardships, both have a similar cultural background and both want nothing more than to integrate into German society and "become German".
In 2015, the already tense situation in many Arab countries, chief among them Syria, escalated. While many Syrians had already sought asylum in neighboring states such as Turkey and Jordan since 2011, when the Syrian Civil War first led people to flee their country, the vast refugee population in the neighboring countries eventually forced many to go elsewhere. At first, the refugees’ predicament seemed solved: Many Europeans had a "Refugees Welcome" mentality, welcoming the new arrivals with open arms and hearts.
This changed, however, with more and more people coming to the country and politicians seemingly at a loss on how to organize the situation. The circumstances for the new society members became difficult. They were disliked by many for the sheer fact that they were part of a different culture. A majority of the refugees lived in crowded refugee camps, bored out of their minds, often not allowed to work, out of money since having spent the last of it on the way to Germany. The media also could not decide how to portray refugees: Were they victims, perpetrators? As Chouliaraki put it, the news on the topic of refugees has been "a constant struggle of shifts and turns over the narration of refugees in news journalism".
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Background
3. Methods
4. Results & Discussion
5. Conclusion
6. References
Research Objectives and Topics
This study examines how multimodality—the interaction between headlines, text, and images—shapes the portrayal of Syrian refugees in two specific online news articles from BBC and Spiegel Online. By applying a qualitative analysis, the paper investigates how these news outlets construct narratives of care, aiming to determine whether the combination of media modes fosters empathy and humanizes the subjects or reinforces existing stereotypes of refugees as victims or perpetrators.
- Multimodal discourse analysis in digital journalism
- Construction of "narratives of care" in news media
- Representation of Syrian refugees in British and German media
- The interplay between textual headlines, images, and body copy
- Humanization versus victimization in refugee reporting
Excerpt from the Book
BBC Article: ”Migrant crisis: A Syrian man’s struggle to become German”
The BBC article ”Migrant crisis: A Syrian man’s struggle to become German” focuses on Sami Farah, a 23-year old Syrian who used to study music therapy, and at the time of the article, in October 2016, works as a dish-washer. The headline uses the words ”crisis” and ”struggle”, which have a negative connotation. This sets the reader up for a story of sadness and diminishment. The images, however, tell a slightly different story: The first image shows Sami with his new-found friends, two Germans he lives with. The text below it reads: ”Sami Farah (center) is building new friendships after 15 months in Berlin”. The image is a triptych, meaning that the focus lies on Sami in the centre, who is slightly isolated from his friends, while two other elements -his friends- are shown from the side and are slightly cut off in the picture. Sami smiles and seems friendly and content. The picture has aesthetic quality, but overall seems natural due to the imperfect quality of the image. Together with the caption, it seems as if Sami has finally found his place in Germany: He went through difficult 15 months, but now he finally found friends and a nice place to live.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides the context of the 2015 refugee situation and outlines the research focus on the multimodal portrayal of refugees in British and German online news.
Theoretical Background: Defines key concepts such as multimodality, modes, and the role of news discourse in shaping meaning through combined media elements.
Methods: Describes the qualitative analytical approach used to compare two specific news articles based on their use of headline, image, and text.
Results & Discussion: Analyzes the specific BBC and Spiegel Online articles, examining how their multimodal structure affects the emotional resonance and humanization of the portrayed individuals.
Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, confirming that while headlines often carry negative connotations, the visual and textual content can effectively humanize refugees.
References: Lists the academic sources used to support the theoretical framework and methodology.
Keywords
Multimodality, Refugees, News Discourse, BBC, Spiegel Online, Syrian Refugees, Media Analysis, Qualitative Research, Narrative of Care, Visual Framing, Journalism, Semiotics, Human Interest, Interplay, Media Representation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper examines how online news sites utilize multimodality—the combination of images, headlines, and text—to portray Syrian refugees, specifically analyzing how these elements construct the narrative identity of the subjects.
What are the central themes of this research?
The core themes include the representation of refugees in European media, the concept of "narratives of care" in journalism, and the interplay between different media modes in shaping public perception.
What is the primary objective of this study?
The goal is to determine if the interaction between headlines, images, and text creates a sense-related unit that humanizes the refugees or forces them into pre-existing roles like "victims" or "perpetrators."
Which scientific method is employed?
The author uses a qualitative multimodal discourse analysis, comparing two specific standalone news articles by evaluating their textual connotation and the unity of their visual and written components.
What is covered in the main section?
The main section analyzes one BBC article and one Spiegel Online article, breaking down the impact of their respective headlines, images, and narrative perspectives on the reader's emotional connection to the subjects.
Which keywords characterize this work?
The most important keywords include multimodality, news discourse, Syrian refugees, narrative of care, visual framing, and media representation.
How does the author define a "narrative of care"?
Based on the work of Lilie Chouliaraki, a "narrative of care" is defined as a journalistic text specifically designed to portray the suffering of others as a mechanism to evoke empathy and emotion in the audience.
What role does the "ideal/real" layout structure play in these news articles?
Following Kress's theory, the author identifies the headline and image as the "ideal" (generalized information), while the main text serves as the "real" (specific details), illustrating how this structure guides the reader's understanding of the refugee stories.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Michelle Blum (Autor:in), 2018, The Effect of Multimodality on the Portrayal of Refugees on German and English News Sites, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1128285
