Yuvviki Dioh

Yuvviki Dioh, M.A.
Contact details: yuvviki@gmail.com
 
Associated member
Supervisor:  Prof. Dr. Frank Esser

Yuvviki Dioh got her bachelor's degree in Media and Communication Science, Ethnology and English Language and Literature at the University of Zurich. During her bachelor's degree, she also did a year abroad at the Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität Berlin. In 2014, she started the master's degree program in Media and Communication science with Gender Studies as a minor at the University of Zurich. Since September 2016, Yuvviki Dioh is part of the doctoral program of Media and Communication Science in Zurich. She is also an associated member of the doctoral program Gender Studies since 2017. In addition, she is part of an SNF project under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Otfried Jarren.

Hegemonies Within the Refugee Media Coverage in Sub-Saharan African and European Media (working title)

Abstract

European migration and refugee media coverage seem to have increased since the advent of the so called «refugee crisis», whereby fear, danger and rejection seem to be the narrative ground structure of any media content regarding the political, economic and ethical debate around migration in Europe. While Europe seemingly takes centre stage within general migration and refugee media coverage, little is known about the public opinion(s), the general conditions etc. regarding migration in non-European host and origin countries. This is also the case for sub-Saharan Africa although this region hosts more refugees/asylum seekers than many other regions including Europe, according to UNHCR reports.

This research project investigates in what ways national as well as international hegemonialisations occur within refugee and migration media coverage. Thereby, the main goal is to compare the extent of media hegemonialisation in European and sub-Saharan African host and origin countries and thus to identify possible discrepancies between the two distinct but historically intertwined geopolitical regions.

Hegemony, roughly speaking, designates anything that exists within the field of tension from a violently secured supremacy of an agent (i.g. a nation-state) up to deeply ingrained societal concepts (i.g. gender) (Adler 2015: 15). With regards to the research of the relationship between foreign policy and the media, Entman explains that “the major schools of thought on media and foreign policy cluster around hegemony and indexing.” (2003: 416).

In this study, the concept of hegemony will be discussed in light of its processual character (Adler 2015: 21): (contemporary) hegemony is not necessarily an absolute, homogenous state. In fact, what characterizes hegemony is heterogeneity and its constant (re-)production within its periphery. This can be considered true, whether hegemony is discussed in a national (hegemony of the state, political elite) or international (hegemony within international relations) context. This idea of processuality further indicates that there are more dimensions of hegemony to consider. As Adler points out (2015: 37), it is important to differentiate between political discourse, practices and agents. Furthermore, there is a difference between hegemony (the quasi-absolute, finite) and hegemonialisation (the processural). While agents can only be hegemonic/hegemonial or not, political discourse and practices can indeed be hegemonialising because of their performativity (ability to (re-)produce).

Generally speaking, since political discourse(s) by and about a variety of agents take place in the media, they can be regarded as a lieu of hegemonialisation. Within the media, hegemonialising discourses are adopted, (re-)produced or contested through the usage of news frames. In accordance with these theoretical reflections, news frames are considered to function as narrative indicators of hegemonialisation or even hegemony.

08/2016: Publication planned: Terrorismus, Medien und Frieden in DFPK Tagungsband