Dorota Lepianka
Media analysis
Solidarity in the 21st century
Media construction of the old, the young, the autochthon and the allochthon.
Notes on the research design.
by Dorota Lepianka
The Aim of the Study and the Research Questions
The primary aim of the study is to reconstruct the (dominant) depictions (images) of
the four social groups: the young, the old, the allochthon and the autochthon in a
variety of Dutch media. The secondary aim of the study is to grasp the media
representations of intra- and inter-group relations between and within those groups.
Our two basic research questions read:
1. What images/ representations of the young, the old, the
autochthon and the allochthon are present in the Dutch mainstream
media? Which of them are dominant?
2. How do the media frame the relations between and within the
groups under study?
Research Design
In our analysis we will follow the prescriptions of Gerbner (1985) and inquire into the
four basic dimensions of the mass media discourse: existence, importance, values (or
evaluations) and relationships. Thus, following Gerbener’s model we will investigate
the (un)availability of messages about the groups under study as well as the amount of
attention given to each of them (existence); inquire into the prioritization of the
messages about the various groups, their prominence, centrality and intensity
(importance); examine the perspective or the point of view from which each of the
groups is presented and look into the connotations attached to the specific (groups of)
actors (values). Finally, we will study the underlying associations among all the
dimensions (relationships).
In terms of analytical categories, this will imply a search for the presence of
minority/majority actors in press articles and news-items and the sketching of their
profile in terms of objective (socio-demographic) and subjective characteristics.
Attention will be paid to the type of story in which the specific actors appear (genre),
the overall theme of the story as well as the possible (sub-) themes per actor-group.
Here the prominence of a specific group in the story will be investigated (e.g.
presence in the headline, the lead and/or the accompanying illustration). It will be
examined who is the source of the opinion/ news (journalist/editorial board, politician,
minority/ majority representative, member of the public), whose perspective is taken
in the story (in-group vs. out-group), and which actors, if any, are given the “voice”
(i.e. are quoted). With respect to the quotes, attention will be paid to the profile of
speakers (e.g. common people, experts, politicians), the amount of credibility they are
granted, the perspective they take and the role they assume or are ascribed. Attempt
will be made to capture the overall tone/ tendency of the presentation and/or the
evaluation of the actors.
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Dorota Lepianka
Media analysis
The analysis of the media portrayal of the various groups (their presence, prominence,
profile and evaluation) shall be complemented by an investigation of the media
framing of intra- and inter-group relations. In most simple terms, “frame” can be
conceived as a specific problem-representation. Entman (1993) defines framing as
selecting ‘some aspects of perceived reality and mak[ing] them more salient in a
communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular definition of a problem,
causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item
described’ (p.53). Although there is no general consensus as to the effects of framing
on the audience, a number of studies have pointed to the role of frames in shaping
public’s perception and interpretation of various issues.
In our search for frames we shall focus on the various dimensions of inter-group
perceptions and relations. Instructive here might be the distinction between the
dimensions of competence and morality that facilitate the construction of (national)
stereotypes. According to Phalet and Poppe (1997), the mental mapping of the various
groups within the competence-morality typology determines people’s orientation
towards different out-groups (positive or negative) as well as the inter-group relations
(aggression, competition, cooperation and altruism). The analysis of frames will be
limited to the articles and news-items that contain reference to at least two different
types of actors and/or the articles which contain a clear, elaborated opinion about
group relations.
Methods of analysis
The study material will be analysed using the technique of content analysis. Content
analysis is frequently conceptualized as a quantitative technique which allows a
systematic study of large corpuses of text (Neuendorf 2002:10). It is a technique that
offers “precise, objective, and reliable observations about the frequency with which
given content characteristics occur either singly or in conjunction with one another”
(George, 2009 [1954]). While content analysis does allow an extensive measurement
of the various dimensions of media communication, including the portrayal of the
actors under study, the (journalists’) attitudes towards the actors, the various
perspectives on the actors, or the framing of specific issues (Maneri and ter Wal 2005),
the technique does not offer (enough) insight into the context of the media messages,
their structure, or the use of syntax and lexicalization. Yet, these aspects of the media
communication might effectively alter the meaning of the media messages. Therefore,
time permitting, in the current study an attempt will be made to analyse a small
selection of the research material using more qualitative methods, including discourse
analysis.
The selection of the analysis material – sampling options
All of the material analysed in our study comes from the news media. Our selection of
channels/outlets under study is primarily determined by their popularity among
various social groups. Our second consideration in the selection of study material is
the inclusion of such a variety of media that would enable us to capture a whole range
of images of the old, the young, the allochthon and the autochthon that populates
public discourse.
Hence, our analysis will encompass main news editions broadcast by two tv-channels:
Nederland 1 (Journaal) and SBS6 (Hart van Nederland), a selection of newspaper
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Dorota Lepianka
Media analysis
articles published in de Telegraaf and de Volkskrant as well as a selection of on-line
news-items published on nu.nl.
The research periods
In literature on media communication a distinction is frequently made between
routine reporting and crisis reporting, where the latter indicates reporting over and
following a specific ‘crisis’ situation (cf. Staes 1996). Vliegenthart and Roggeband
(2007) distinguish between three types of events that might influence the (intensity of)
news coverage: institutional events (e.g. parliamentary elections), unpremeditated
events (e.g. 9/11) and deliberate events (e.g. unconventional opinions promoted/
imposed on the public by political or social actors). For the purposes of our study, we
decided to focus on one period of crisis reporting and one period of routine reporting,
the crisis reporting being triggered by the parliamentary elections of 2010. The choice
of parliamentary elections as a ‘crisis’ event is not accidental. Election (campaign)
appears one of the very few “crisis” situations that can affect the reporting about all
four groups under study in a similar way and not necessarily at the expense of one
another.
The third research period will be determined in conjunction with the (preliminary)
results of other studies within the research programme (the survey research or the
qualitative case study).
The sampling unit
Newspaper articles and the internet news-items subject to the analysis shall be
sampled using extensive search-strings containing words (or words co-occurrences)
indicating relevant articles. The following search-strings are a possibility:




allochto* OR vreemdeling* OR immigra* migra* OR asielzoeker* OR
minderhe* OR Marokka* OR Turk* OR Antillia* OR Surinamer* OR
(etnisch* AND afkomst) OR (nieuw* AND Nederlander*)
ouder* OR senior* OR bejaarde* OR 65+ OR pensioen* OR AOW* OR
grootouder*
jeugd OR jong* OR student* OR leerling*
autochto* OR bevolking OR inwoner* OR bewoner* OR (Nederland* AND
publiek) OR (Nederland* AND populatie) OR (Nederland* AND samenleving)
OR (Nederland* AND maatschappij) OR stedeling* OR dorpeling*
TV news items for analysis will be selected on the basis of their verbal content.
Analyzed will be all the items containing words indicating/alluding to ethnicity,
migration, (young or old) age as well as solidarity, (social) cohesion and integration.
Preliminary planning
May 2010:
May – July 2010:
Aug – Oct 2010:
Nov 2010:
Dec 2010 – Feb 2011:
Nov 2010 – May 2011:
gathering of the research material (crisis reporting)
preparation and testing of the code-book;
“pilot” analysis/ qualitative search for “frames”
coding (1)
gathering of the research material (routine reporting)
coding (2)
analysis & writing up the results
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Dorota Lepianka
June – July 2011:
Aug – Sept 2011:
Sept – Oct 2011:
Nov – Dec 2011:
Media analysis
conceptualizing/ planning of a (complementary) substudy related to (a) the survey research or (b) the
qualitative case study
gathering & coding the material necessary for the
analysis
supplementary analysis
writing up the results; rounding-up the study
Bibliography
Entman, R. (1993) “Framing: Towards Clarification of a fractured paradigm.” Journal
of Communication 43(4): 51-58.
George, A. (2009) “Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Content Analysis.” In:
K. Kippendorff and M. Bock (eds) The Content Analysis Reader. Los
Angeles-London-New Delhi, Sage.
Gerbner, G. (1985) “Mass Media Discourse: Message System Analysis as a
Component of Cultural Indicators.” In: van T. Dijk (ed) Discourse and
Communication. New Approaches to the Analysis of Mass Media Discourse
and Communication. Berlin, New York, Walter de Gruyter: 13-25.
Maneri, M. and J. ter Wal (2005) “The Criminalisation of Ethnic Groups: An Issue for
Media Analysis” Forum: Qualitative Social Research 6(3), Art. 9.
Neuendorf, K. (2002) The Content Analysis Guidebook. Thusands Oaks-London-New
Delhi, Sage.
Phalet K. and E. Poppe (1997) “Competence and morality dimensions of national and
ethnic stereotypes. A study in six Eastern-European countries” European
Journal of Social Psychology 27(6): 703-723
Staes, L. (1996) “Berichtgeving over allochtonen en aanverwante thema's in de
Vlaamse pers.” In: L. d'Haenens and F. Saeys (eds) Media en
Multiculturalisme in Vlaanderen. Gent, Academia Press: 90-106.
Vliegenthart, R. and C. Roggeband (2007). "Framing Immigration and Integration:
Relationships between Press and Parliament in the Netherlands." International
Communication Gazette 69(3): 295-319.
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