Media Development

The document analyzes how media coverage of migration often relies on biased, superficial narratives that 'other' migrants or frame them as security threats. It advocates for a rights-based approach to communication, highlighting the role of digital technologies in supporting migrants while warning against corporate digital monopolies. Through case studies in Asia-Pacific, Nigeria, West Papua, and the Dominican Republic, it demonstrates the barriers migrants face in exercising their communication rights and provides specific ethical recommendations for journalists to foster more inclusive and accurate reporting.

• Media coverage of migration frequently marginalizes migrants by speaking on their behalf rather than including their voices, often depicting them on a misleading continuum between being 'needy and lacking agency, and as a possible threat.'
• In many regions, media reporting frames migration through a 'securitisation paradigm,' where migrants are presented as national security problems or threats to the economic and social stability of host countries.
• Research in Nigeria indicates that reporting on internally displaced persons (IDPs) is often superficial, relying heavily on government sources and ignoring the actual needs and rights of the displaced.
• Migrants in the Asia-Pacific region face significant barriers to participating in international frameworks like the UN Global Compact for Migration, including lack of awareness, language barriers, and a digital divide.
• In West Papua, a 'veil of silence' exists over a humanitarian crisis due to the banning of foreign journalists and the repression of local freedom of expression by Indonesian forces.
• Analysis of media in the Dominican Republic reveals a dominant 'nationalist' discourse regarding Haitian migration that uses dehumanizing language to incite xenophobia and racism.
• The current digital architecture is described as 'neocolonial' and dominated by corporate monopolies that prioritize profit and surveillance over the universal human right to communication.
• Ethical reporting on migration requires journalists to avoid dehumanizing metaphors such as 'floods', 'swarms', or 'waves' and to avoid using the adjective 'illegal' to describe people.

APA

World Association for Christian Communication (2023). Media Development. https://waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MD-2023-4.pdf

Chicago

World Association for Christian Communication. Media Development. 2023. https://waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MD-2023-4.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Association for Christian Communication |title=Media Development |date=April 2023 |url=https://waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MD-2023-4.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldassociationforchristiancommunication2023media, author = {{World Association for Christian Communication}}, title = {{Media Development}}, institution = {World Association for Christian Communication}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://waccglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/MD-2023-4.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }