Objectivity, identity and proximity: how female journalists with migration background fight the anti-immigrant discourse in Austria

Abstract

The aim of the study has been to examine the narratives and motifs that five female journalists with migration background employ to counteract the hegemonic anti-immigrant discourse in Austria. A multimethod approach, consisting of qualitative content analysis and semi- structured interviews with the journalists was employed. The results were triangulated to provide an in-depth and nuanced answer to the research questions. The findings reveal that structural racism is the most pressing issue in the Austrian anti-immigrant discourse and one way to counteract it is to grant visibility to the marginalized group. The study indicates more specific areas of structural racism, such as education, and provides tools and practices to counteract it. According to the findings, all the journalists in this study express scepticism to the objectivity norm and stated that their own identity – being a woman with a migration background – heavily influences their coverage on the anti-immigrant discourse, because of the proximity they feel towards the realities of life of a marginalized group.