Framing immigration: a content analysis of newspapers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States

This study examines the media framings of immigration in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using a content analysis of over 1700 newspaper articles published in 2014 in different cases, my findings show that, regardless of context, the media use a small number of frames to stereotype, generalize and reduce immigration to a singular dimension. My analysis also suggests that the media do not always only have a binary representation of bad or good immigrants. Instead, the media's othering of immigrants is a complex process, suggesting ambivalence despite superficial affirmation. Although my findings also demonstrate that some national differences exist, common patterns can be found across contexts that share similar historical, cultural, social, economic, and political dimensions of immigration. As one of the first cross-regional comparisons of media framings, this research reflects the power dynamics between the elites and immigrants and offers implications for how the media's reinforcement of stereotypes and outsider status of immigrants could potentially shape public opinion and policies regarding immigration.