Migranți sau refugiați? Construcții identitare prin opțiuni semantice în presa locală online timișoreană
Migrants, refugees or fugitives? Constructing identities via semantic options in the online media from Timişoara

Summary/Abstract: Mass-media represents a major factor in shaping perceptions. Hence, the semantic choices undertaken by journalists when presenting certain social groups can be very influential in constructing the identity of those groups in the eyes of the audiences. Naming the displaced persons who cross the border into Romania (whether in transit toward Western Europe or for a longer stay in the country) as „migrants”, „refugees”, „asylum seekers” or „immigrants” contributes to the way in which they are perceived by the local community. The current study aims to analyze how the identity of these persons is mediated by one of the most influential online local media outlet via the semantic choices of journalists, as well as what are the dominant media frames in which they are presented to the audiences. Following a review of the context of migration in/through Romania and of the two groups of displaced persons who currently appear in the local media from Timişoara (the „older” one, from outside Europe, and, starting with 2022, the one from Ukraine) and of some of the most frequently used terms in the semantic sphere of migration, the current study uses the methodological tools of media framing theory for analyzing articles on the topic published during one month on Tion.ro, one of the most widely read local news platforms in Timişoara. The results of the analysis bring into discussion the connection between the semantic choices and the identified dominant media frames, while also establishing wider links between these elements and the larger context of journalistic practice in the online local media.

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