Knight Library Browsing Room
The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication (UO SOJC) will hold a town hall meeting addressing the current global immigration and refugee crisis as it relates to the journalism industry. The meeting, titled “The Migrant in Popular Imagination: Anchor Babies, Border-Crossers and Refugees”, will take place on Monday, October 12 at 6 p.m. in the Knight Library Browsing Room.
Assistant Professor Christopher Chávez will moderate a discussion by a panel of experts who will provide context and insight to this issue. Panelists including James N. Wallace Chair of Journalism Peter Laufer, Associate Professor Gabriela Martínez and Dr. Teddy Workneh will explore the representation and misrepresentation of migrants in news media, the reemergence of nativist sentiments and the promise and failure of journalists to critique these discourses.
“In many ways, journalists have failed to challenge misrepresentations of migrants that circulate widely within popular imagination. This panel discussion is a response to all the one-dimensional caricatures of migrants that are presented in the media,” says Chavez, the primary coordinator of the meeting.
The overwhelming influx of migrants seeking refuge will continue to be a global plight and a heavily covered topic by international media outlets. This meeting aims to begin a discussion surrounding journalists’ role in challenging the vilification and falsification of migrant issues in the media. Please join the UO SOJC in examining this important topic.