Race and Migration in the Community Media: Local Stories, Common Stereotypes

This 70-page report, published by Media Monitoring Africa, examines how issues of race, ethnicity, migrants, racism, and xenophobia are represented in community and small commercial newspapers in South Africa. The research forms part of a larger project that involved a series of media relations and advocacy workshops with community-based organisations (CBOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as a stakeholder workshop and strategy meeting, consisting primarily of media practitioners. This study acknowledges that there are many examples of good practice, but also that there is always scope for improvement, particularly with respect to the concerns highlighted in the findings. The research and practical suggestions it provides are intended for use by NGOs, media, and other stakeholders to promote and facilitate media's role in preventing and challenging racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination.

According to the report, the project used a participatory research approach that included both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. This included content analysis, focus groups, training sessions, and workshops. The research found that in community media, there was relatively little coverage of race, migrants, and xenophobia. The authors argue that newspapers appear to present a partial picture and miss opportunities to challenge negative representation of migrants and address racism. The research also suggested that, while newspaper reporting did not appear to make reference to people's race unless it was clearly relevant to the story, there were many examples that suggested it was acceptable, at least for some newspapers, to state people's nationality or migration status where it was not necessary. Such indicators can be seen to contribute to negative perceptions and association of migrants with crime. The implicit linking of migrants with crime is possibly also exacerbated by the common use of police and residents as sources.

However, there were examples where newspapers showed a commitment to addressing racism or xenophobia and challenging stereotypes through, for example, regular features, profiles and columns, investigating and following up stories, and providing opportunities for different views to be heard. The high proportion of authors who were guest or letter writers suggests that these issues are pertinent to the community, who, in some cases, may be more ready than the newspapers to raise them. It also suggests opportunities for civil society to engage with community and small commercial newspapers by providing content.

The report includes a number of recommendations for both community/small commercial media and NGOs/CBOs on how to improve coverage. These recommendations incorporate suggestions made by the research participants themselves. For media, the recommendations include: increasing language diversity; training journalists and editors, and employing foreign nationals as journalists; building relationships with NGOs/CBOs who can provide sources and stories; reviewing and strengthening existing press codes and guidelines; reporting on positive contributions of migrants, as well as solutions to problems; investigating and following up more consistently; and providing information on refugee and migrant rights.

For NGOs/CBOs, recommendations include: reading and building relationships with local newspapers; engaging with newspaper content and finding opportunities to provide input through writing opinion pieces, letters, and articles; and providing press releases with research.