CNN, Fox focus on refugee threat, not humanitarian crisis
When covering Syrian refugees, Fox News and CNN are
reporting much more about the supposed threat posed by refugees than the
continuing humanitarian crisis.
A Lexis Nexis study by the Center for Global Peace
Journalism examined Syrian coverage using threat terms (threat, terrorism,
terrorist, crime, ISIS) and humanitarian terms (humanitarian, suffering,
relief, injured, pain, desperate, fear). On both CNN and Fox News, a majority
of the coverage discussed Syrians as a threat, rather than as victims.
From May 1-Aug. 15, there were 66 Fox stories listed by
Lexis Nexis under “Syrian refugees.” Of these, 49 contained the word threat
(74%); 44 terrorism (66%); 45 terrorist (68%); 36 crime (55%) and 44 ISIS
(66%). In stark contrast, of the 66
Syrian refugee stories on Fox, only 3 contained the term suffering (4%); 0
humanitarian; 4 relief (6%); 16 injured (24%); 5 desperate (7.5%); 2 pain (3%); and 4 fear (6%).
CNN had almost three times as many Syrian refugee stories
during the study period as Fox. However, like Fox, there was far more
discussion of Syrians as a threat. There were 172 CNN stories listed by Lexis
Nexis under “Syrian refugees” from May 1-August 15. Of these, 73 contained the
word threat (42%); 61 terrorism (35%); 60 terrorist (34%); 68 crime (39.5%) and
88 ISIS (51%). CNN also had far less humanitarian reporting than threat
reporting. Of the 172 stories, 5 contained the word suffering (3%); 9
humanitarian (5%); 10 relief (5.8%); 11 injured (6%); 13 pain (7.5%); 2
desperate (1%); and 16 fear (9%).
What these statistics don’t show is the tone of the
stories about the Syrian refugees--if they are portrayed as terrorists or
criminals, or instead as victims of incorrect, threatening stereotypes.
Regardless of the tone of the coverage, the preponderance of the reporting is
still dominated by a discussion about refugees as threats. Given the limited
space in the news hole, especially during an election year, it’s not a stretch
to suggest that one reason that the humanitarian coverage is so limited is because
the threat narrative is so prevalent.
In Peace Journalism Principle and Practice (Routledge
Publishing, 2016), I argue that refugee coverage can be better if it utilizes
the tools of peace journalism, beginning with offering a more realistic balance
between coverage discussing the threat with stories that highlight the
humanitarian crisis. In reporting about refugees, peace journalists should
avoid language and framing that reinforce racism, Islamophobia, or xenophobia;
report stories that offer a counter-narrative to the distorted
“Syrians-as-terrorists” narrative; and humanize refugees by giving their stories a platform.
CNN and Fox News can better serve their audience by
adopting peace journalism as a framework for their reporting on Syrian
refugees.
