Welcome to a K3 seminar with Agnese Davidsone, Director of Media and Communication Studies, Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, Latvia. The title of the talk is:

Ethical Issues Related to Media Representations of Migration and Citizens of Third Countries: Opinions from Latvian Media Journalists and Editors

It will be held at Wednesday, January 31 at 10.15-12.00 in room NIC 0541 (K3 Open Studio), Niagara.

Here is an abstract for the talk:

Several previous studies point towards an abundance of ethical problems in the ways how Latvian media have reported on the migration process in Europe and the placement of citizens of third countries in Latvia. However, most studies in this area are based on analysis of the content that media have produced. The study that I will report on, is one of the few that focus on the opinions of editors and journalists, media professionals who are behind the stories and publications that we consume as media audiences. The opinions of the media professionals are vital for understanding how the personal attitudes and opinions, the editorial policies, and adherence to universal codes of media ethics collide and shape the ethical decisions in the process of news production. Our data consist of 9 interviews with editors of various media (print, online, radio, TV), and 92 survey responses from news journalists. Data tell us about the following questions: How are the ethical issues related to migration representation discussed inside the newsrooms? How do journalists handle controversies and potential dilemmas related to reporting on citizens of third countries seeking asylum in Europe and Latvia? How free do the journalists feel in choosing the focus and points to stress when they report on events related to migration? These questions are debated in a larger context of media responsibility and roles in the process of societal integration. The study has been supported by the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.