Category: Immigration

As it becomes increasingly easier for everyday people to create their own mass media, more and more people are voicing their political opinions over blogs.  In fact, politics are one of the most popular blog topics of today, representing 35% of the blogs on the Internet. One of the most common topics in political blogs is immigration, with most of these websites promoting immigration reform and pointing out the dangers of illegal immigration. Many immigration reform blogs use government data and other reliable sources to bring readers up-to-date information about this issue. This style of blog tends to be more news-based, rather than arbitrarily promoting the viewpoint of the writer. These sources, such as the popular blog “Immigration Impact,” are usually fairly reliable, because although they may be somewhat influenced by the author’s personal biases, they are mainly based on factual evidence.

In contrast, many other blogs make it no secret that the author supports immigration reform. While these are still valid sources of information about immigration reform, readers should be aware that the writer’s personal biases might have a stronger impact on the material presented in the blog. Rather than acting as news sources that relay as much relevant information about the issue as possible, these blogs frequently choose to discuss only the events supporting the blogger’s viewpoint.

Overall, immigration reform blogs show the mass media trend of interactivity and political controversy, as they allow readers and producers to have a two-way form of communication about this topic. As the Internet continues to grow in popularity and impact, these blogs will likely have increased impact on the community as well. While this form of media is a valuable resource in finding information about immigration, it is important to keep in mind that the writer’s personal beliefs might have a strong influence over the content of the blog.

When most people think about magazine coverage of national security, images of anti-immigration rallies and articles about the need for immigration reform often come to mind. For the most part, this perception is fairly accurate, with major magazines like “Time” typically covering this side of the story. While some of these articles do frame immigration in a positive light, overall the coverage is fairly negative, and almost all of the reports are geared toward the American viewpoint on the issue.

However, there is another, less well-known, side of magazine coverage of immigration.  There are many smaller magazines geared specifically toward immigrants, focusing on how to improve the life of an immigrant rather than emphasizing the problems caused by immigration. Publications such as “The Immigration Times” and “The Immigrant Magazine” cater to these audiences, with articles ranging from job-hunting to health advice for immigrants. Common topics include:

• Gaining green cards/ United States citizenship
• Finding employment in the United States
• Education, both for children and adults
• Entertainment, such as music and movies
• Personal stories from other immigrants
• Current events and recent developments in immigration reform

These niche magazines, which demonstrate the trend of fragmentation, offer a perspective on immigration that is rarely seen in the media today. While they do cover current events in immigration, these news topics are not the primary focus of immigration magazines. Instead, they concentrate more on lifestyle issues, providing immigrants with articles directly relevant to their situations. Although these publications are not the most prevalent forms of immigration coverage today, they play an important role by providing immigrants with a form of media designed specifically for them.

Immigration is one of the most frequently discussed issues in the news today, with large portions of newspaper and other mass media coverage devoted to this topic. In 2009, it was the 5th most reported topic in United States newspapers, comprising 2% of the newshole for newspapers nationally. However, a great deal of newspaper reporting on immigration is often biased, and recent studies have found that a variety of components can influence both the extent of this bias and the amount of coverage dedicated to immigration issues.  Some of these influential factors include:

• Proximity to the US border
• Profit-making goals of the newspaper
• Political agenda of the newspaper or reporter
• Personal biases and experiences of the reporter

These studies have found that newspapers based out of cities closer to the US/Mexico border tend to show immigration in a more negative light in news stories, cartoons, and published opinion pieces.  These newspapers also have significantly more coverage of immigration issues overall, presenting it as a much bigger problem than newspapers from cities far from the border. Economic concerns can also contribute to newspaper coverage, as papers tend to focus more on “sensational topics such as violence and crime” (Branton and Dunaway) in relation to immigration in order to sell more papers. Finally, the personal beliefs, goals, and experiences of reporters themselves can have a strong influence over how skewed newspaper coverage of immigration is. It is important to keep in mind the factors influencing newspaper coverage of immigration when reading articles about this topic.

In the past, televised news was seen primarily as a source of information, usually about politics and other recent events that could affect the audience. Now, however, this conception has become blurred with entertainment, as the evening news shows a much wider variety of stories. Many of the events that are now considered “newsworthy” are less substantial and more entertainment-based than earlier stories. Events such as immigration, which could fit under the traditional conception of news, are often pushed aside and covered only sporadically in favor of less serious stories that could interest a broader audience. This inconsistent coverage makes it difficult for viewers to fully understand immigration.

Even when more serious stories are discussed, television reporters often focus on the more entertaining, less political side of these issues. This trend can be seen as many news reports emphasize the personal side of immigration, telling listeners entertaining stories about illegal immigration rather than simply explaining recent events in Congress. The CNN report “Illegal Migrants Chase Wages” is an example of this, as the reporters focus not only on the actual problem, but also on the ways in which people were personally affected by it. Similarly, the report “Star Student is Undocumented” also follows this trend, as it discusses something that does not directly affect viewers, but that the audience might find interesting and entertaining.

These types of stories have much more entertainment value than a dull report about immigration reform recent bills presented in in Congress, thereby drawing in more viewers and increasing people’s awareness of this issue. Still, they also contribute to the inconsistency in television coverage of immigration, as they are primarily entertainment sources rather than informative reports. If televised news used these kinds of stories to catch people’s attention in addition to presenting relevant political information, the public would be much more knowledgeable about immigration as a whole.

National security is one of the most frequently discussed topics in the news today, as many different media sources cover this subject from varying points of view.  Immigration, specifically illegal immigration, is one of these widely visible issues.  Much of this coverage relates to the problems caused by immigration to the United States, with many anti-immigration organizations publishing articles about this problem.  While the audience is clearly aware that these groups are biased, the media that they produce is often very convincing as they concentrate on the ways in which immigration negatively affects their readers on a personal level.  By claiming that immigration hurts the economy and detracts from American heritage, these institutions directly relate the issue to the public, thereby winning over the audience’s support.

One of these institutions is RenewAmerica, a group claiming that “America must return to its founding principles if it is to survive.”  RenewAmerica writer Neil Brian Goldberg’s recent article “It is not Immigration!” focuses on this viewpoint, explaining how illegal immigration has harmed the United States as a whole. He urges readers to support laws that will:

1. Seal borders more effectively
2. Take serious offenders from prison and deport them to their countries of origin

Sources like this one are primarily persuasive and informational, as they attempt to convince readers to agree with their anti-immigration perspective.  In the past, immigration has not been a focal point for the media, however with growing global awareness, national security now relates to immigration much more.  An increase in globalization has in turn created political controversy over this issue, as producers of mass media take opposing sides while reporting about the immigration debate.  Institutional sources, although biased, provide in-depth information for audiences as they persuade readers to agree with their viewpoint.