Media Representations of Immigration in the Chilean Press: To a Different Narrative of Immigration?

This article examines representations of immigration in Chilean newspapers. From January to December 2016, a total of 507 articles from three mainstream newspapers were analyzed. The findings show a dual discourse on immigration in the Chileans press: a criminalization of immigrants, which frame them as delinquents, deviant, and dangerous people, and a positive and more humanizing discourse, which portrays them as people who deserve to be protected by the Chilean society. The study also finds a shift in the way media sources are representing immigration compared to previous reports, characterized by presenting alternative images of migrants, a more cautious use of language, and increased attention to the voices of governmental and religious leaders. Nevertheless, this shift has also intensified the "difference" and "otherness" of foreigners in Chile by repeatedly focusing on their nationality and differentiating between the "good" and "bad" immigrants.