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PP 124
Analysis of the Regional Media Reporting in Southeastern Europe on Migrant Crisis
V. Barović
1
, N. Šinković
1
1
Faculty of Philosophy / University of Novi Sad, Media Studies, Novi Sad, Serbia
This paper depicts media reporting analysis of migrant crisis in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary.The quantitative-qualitative discourse
analysis includes public services of Serbia, Croatia and Hungary, as well as regional media Al Jazeera Balkans and N1. The goal of this paper is to deconstruct
media messages by analyzing media practice of listed broadcasters. Analyzing 1227 media articles the main findings indicated that the priority of brief
information is in the form of news and reports, which phenomenon fits in the practice in media reporting in crisis situations. Thematically, analysis pointed
out that media mainly broadcasted information about the position of the migrants/refugees on the path from Greece to Germany. In crisis situations such
as the analyzed one, information source credibility is of high importance. In analyzed publications, country institutions as well as non-governmental orga‑
nizations have been dominantly used as sources. Usually they are the ones who speak about the crisis. Migrants/refugees passivization in media articles is
significant: they had fewer opportunities to speak about their problems compared to non-governmental organizations or state institutions.
PP 125
Open Door Solidarities: Exploring Humanitarian Communication in Twitter in Times of Crisis
M. Tikka
1
1
University of Tampere, School of Communication- Media and Theatre, Tampere, Finland
This presentation explores a crisis occurring in media-saturated conditions by studying the terror attacks in Paris, in November, 2015, from the viewpoint
of humanitarian communication (Cottle 2014; Chouliaraki 2011). Mediated appeals for action on human suffering have long been the domain of human‑
itarian organizations, but today the field has opened for ordinary people as well. Via digital ethnographic investigation in online media this presentation
scrutinizes how humanitarian communication – defined as a special genre of communication that aims for us to care about distant others – shapes solidar‑
ities and moral positions among people experiencing the crisis. On November 13, 2015, a series of terror attacks occurred in Paris. The violent attacks caused
the deaths of 130 people and the seven perpetrators, while over 350 were injured. The attacks and the following massive security operation caused chaos
and disarray in the streets of Paris. Newsrooms all over the world followed the developing situation. Social media sites were inundated with comments,
links and images connected to the event, and these were shared and commented on by both journalists and ordinary citizens. One of the prominent plat‑
forms of today’s disaster communication is Twitter. This was also the site of a key feature of the civilian communication surge after the violent incidents, as
the hashtag PorteOuverte (Open Door) started to spread inTwitter. A French freelance journalist launched the hashtag few hours after the first attack, when
he tweeted‘Those who can open their doors, geotag your tweets and [use] #PorteOuverte to indicate safe places’. Rapidly people started to use the hashtag
in order to allow those affected by the attack to find safety. The phenomenon of civilian surges in disaster communication reconfigures the traditional rela‑
tions of communicative power (Cottle 2014). Instead of the traditional news media that previously played a key role in the creation of modernity’s shared
worlds, it is now the Internet together with social media that creates the public sense of the world.Through interactivity, social media changes the space for
social action and creates a boundless reserve for human action (Couldry 2012). This transformation has caused changes in humanitarian communication, as
solidarity that was previously intertwined with the universal emotion of pity is nowmoving towards irony and agonism.This involves a shift from a universal
morality to one of contingency (Chouliaraki 2011). Via digital ethnographic fieldwork on the communication and actors using the hashtag Porte Ouverte
and related online media material, I aim to develop a more nuanced understanding of humanitarian communication of ordinary people and the mobili‑
zation of different solidarities in the contemporary context of high media-saturation. Bibliography: Chouliaraki, Lilie (2011) ‘Improper distance’: Towards
a critical account of solidarity as irony. International Journal of Cultural Studies 14(4), 363–381. Cottle, Simon (2014) Rethinking media and disasters in
a global age: What’s changed and why it matters. Media, War and Conflict 7(1), 3–22. Couldry, Nick (2012) Media, society, world: social theory and digital
media practice. Polity Press: Cambridge, UK.
PP 126
Crisis Talks: The Framing of the Ukraine Crisis on German TV Political Talk Show Debates
K. Esau
1
, D. Lichtenstein
2
1
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Department of Social Sciences, Düsseldorf, Germany
2
Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Chair of Political Communication, Friedrichshafen, Germany
Following the controversial incorporation of Crimea into Russia in spring 2014 the Ukraine crisis has attracted intense media attention. In their coverage
the media contribute to the social construction of the crisis (Cottle 2009). They make it salient for citizens, provide answers to questions of responsibility,
and raise expectations about legitimate political actions (Jakobsen 2000). This paper examines the framing of the Ukraine crisis in German TV political talk
show debates that are considered to enable for a wide-reaching in-depth debate of confronting perspectives (Wessler & Schultz 2007). To frame is to select
and highlight certain aspects of a perceived reality in order to promote a particular narrative (Matthes 2012). Frames are frequently defined as a specific
combination of a “particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described” (Ent‑
man 1993, p. 52). In media debates, a controversial discussion of a plurality of frames is needed for opinion formation (Zaller 1992). Moreover, the quality
of frames can have an impact on the escalation or de-escalation of the debate. While escalation is related to blaming political representatives or countries
for the conflict, de-escalation is related to frames emphasizing structural causes and recommendations for crisis solution (Lynch 2013). We ask whether
the plurality of frames gives different perspectives on the Ukraine crisis for public opinion formation and whether the quality of frames contributes to
de-escalation of the debate. To answer the questions a quantitative content analysis of all 37 episodes covering the crisis in the years 2014 and 2015
from the five most prominent TV political talk shows in Germany is conducted. Coding refers to the frames that are attributed to the crisis by the guests
participating in the shows. The frames have been identified inductively by a qualitative pre-study of a sample of the material (30%). Findings reveal that
in the debates a broad range of guests discussing 25 different frames contribute to plurality. Although frames that criticize the Russian role in the conflict