Acknowledging, But Constrained? An Analysis of Press Agency Journalists’ Justifications of Frames, Source, and Actor Terminology in Immigration News

Immigration news coverage is often characterized by negativity, marked by a lack of representation of immigration stakeholders, and frequent instances of terminology misuse. Such depictions of immigration risk to perpetuate stereotypes and distort public perceptions concerning immigration. Although prior research has scrutinized the content of immigration news, how journalists give rise to the framing and voice of asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants remains underexplored so far. Since press agency content often serves as a starting point for other newsrooms, we conducted three focus groups with 21 journalists from Belgium's largest press agency, Belga. Our findings show that journalists recognize the negativity bias in immigration coverage, which may be influenced by external actors such as politicians or NGOs. Journalists attribute the lack of a voice for immigration stakeholders to language barriers, organizational limitations, and the time pressures of 24/7 news reporting. Additionally, terminological complexities regarding asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants hinder accurate representation. When reporting on international news, journalists frequently resort to external sources, given the limited opportunities for fact-checking. Our study implies that journalists do not operate in isolation and journalistic routines, organizational roles, and external actors, such as NGOs or political parties, shape immigration coverage.