The Politics of Representation of Migrants in Italian Media

Abstract

Over recent decades, because of its geographic position, Italy has experienced a large-scale migration, particularly from Northern African countries, the majority of migrants being from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Gambia. The year 2016 was the deadliest year for refugees trying to reach Europe through the central Mediterranean route. In the same year, Italy counted 171,000 asylum seekers reaching Italian shores by boat, the highest record compared to previous years (Kingsley, The Guardian, 2016). The number of migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean in search of protection and better life conditions is growing, as well as the anti-immigration rhetoric of conservative right-wing parties, episodes of xenophobic violence, hate speech, Islamophobia and racist backlash. This chapter first analyses the politics of representation of migration in Italian media and discusses the ways in which the latter legitimate anti-immigration hostility. Second, it analyses studies that have assessed Italians’ public perceptions of migrants and “the Other”, and discusses whether there are concurrent themes and tensions between the information disseminated by the media and Italians’ beliefs and attitudes.