Representations of the “Refugee Crisis” on Front Pages of Polish Weekly Magazines between 2015 and 2018

Abstrakt

Drawing from postcolonial studies and discourse analysis, in this article I will critically look at the dominant narratives and visual depictions of the so-called “refugee crisis” in contemporary Polish weekly magazines (2015–2018) with a special focus on their front pages. For comparative purposes, I will conduct qualitative analysis of the selected press titles representing different socio-political worldviews and aiming at various audiences, such as Tygodnik Powszechny, Wprost, Polityka, Do Rzeczy, W Sieci, Gazeta Polska, Niedziela. I will have a look at the images used to illustrate the humanitarian crisis in combination with the analysis of titles and texts placed on front pages. Importantly, as many European reports underline, the press in particular, and the media in general, participated in framing the arrival of migrants and refugees from North Africa in 2015 as crisis. The term “refugee crisis” was popularized by numerous headlines, press articles, and other media accounts.

The analysis of weeklies’ front pages leads to the conclusion that the Polish society and mass media yield to the dominant discourse defining a refugee as “Other,” enemy, terrorist, or invader. As I have shown above, sympathetic coverage is rare. The press, instead of delivering reliable and balanced opinions, rather tends to fuel negative attitudes and prejudices by maintaining the perception of refugees from North African and Middle East as endangering the Polish society.