Териториална вграденост и идентичност в конфликта ние-другите: темата за украинските бежанци, отразена в българските регионални медии
Territorial Embeddedness and Identity in the Us-Others ConÀict: The Topic of Ukrainian Refugees as Covered by Bulgarian Regional Media

Author(s): Dilyana Toncheva
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Media studies, Communication studies
Published by: Факултет по журналистика и масова комуникация, Софийски университет „Св. Кл. Охридски”
Keywords: Ukrainian refugees; Bulgarian regional media; content analysis; us others; otherness; intercultural sensitivity; media framing; territorial identity; refugee integration; local journalism
Summary/Abstract: This article examines how Bulgarian regional media covered the topic of Ukrainian refugees during 2022–2023, drawing on Milton Bennett‘s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity as a theoretical framework for understanding the us-others dynamic. Through a content analysis of the online editions of seven regional newspapers – each representing a distinct administrative-territorial unit of Bulgaria – a total of 273 publications were coded using a structured coding diary. The analysis tracks authorship, headlines, thematic categories, genre, readership figures, tone of coverage, key vocabulary, and the types of speakers/participants featured. Results indicate that the dominant narrative is framed within a neutral, news-oriented register, reflecting professional detachment rather than editorial engagement. Over two-thirds of the publications present representatives of official institutions as the primary voices on the issue. Positive coverage – emphasizing solidarity, volunteering, and humanitarian aid – accounts for 41% of materials, while explicitly negative coverage remains marginal at under 3%. Local variation is observed: regions with higher refugee presence (e.g., Burgas) show a greater incidence of conflict-related reporting, whereas other areas foreground integration and community support. The study concludes that regional media functioned primarily as informational intermediaries, moderately encouraging solidarity rather than acting as mobilizers of fear or sources of critical community reÀection. The otherness of Ukrainian refugees is constructed through an institutionally mediated, largely neutral, and occasionally empathetic lens.

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