Changing the Narrative on Migration in SADC: A Newsroom Manual

"In a region where there is a challenging, emotional and dangerous conflict over migration and migrants, conflict management and peace building are by-products of conflict-sensitive reporting."

This manual was developed for the media in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, which is home to over 7.9 million cross-border migrants, most of whom are from elsewhere in the region. It is designed to empower journalists to report on migration-related conflict professionally and in a manner that does not increase hostilities but, rather, that assists citizens to make educated choices that can bring about a just and peaceful society, where the human rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees are observed.

As Internews explains, the media "play a big role in how migrants are perceived. Yet the coverage of migration issues by the media still remains problematic. With a few exceptions, migration issues are only covered when something goes wrong, the reports are often polarising and dangerously stereotypical while over-simplifying stories of migrants and xenophobia, with the voices of migrants largely absent from the narrative. This kind of reporting, coupled with increasing rhetoric on nationalism and xenophobic utterances from government officials and community leaders, makes for a very hostile environment for migrants, particularly African migrants, who make up the largest number of migrants in SADC and bear the brunt of xenophobic attitudes and attacks."

The manual brings together principles of conflict-sensitive journalism with practical strategies for reporting on migration. In particular, it seeks to change the narrative about migrants in Southern Africa from the current polarising narrative to more fair and nuanced reporting, which Internews contends can ultimately benefit the region socially and economically. The resource provides guidelines that both editors and their journalists can follow as they strategise around ways of reporting on the migration issue, what to do during conflict, and how to cover the post-conflict period.

Developed as part of an eight-month project called Changing the Narrative on Migrants in Southern Africa, the manual is based on presentations delivered at a series of workshops organised by Internews in South Africa. The training was designed to encourage sensitive and in-depth reporting on migration, xenophobia, and migrants' rights in Southern Africa. It included a combination of presentations from subject specialists, panel discussions, and practical activities facilitated by academics and practitioners, who shared theoretical fundamentals and practical experiences.

The handbook contains the following chapters:

1. Changing the Narrative on Migrants in SADC - This chapter looks at the context of migration in the SADC region and outlines the current narrative and desired narrative.
2. Conflict-Sensitive Journalism - This chapter: (i) explores how excellent journalism can play a role in enabling parties to find solutions to the conflicts that are too frequently sparked by people's responses to migration; and (ii)examines how responsible journalists can avoid exacerbating conflicts between migrants, host communities, and officials.
3. Unconscious Bias - Journalists who fail to recognise they have blind spots can unintentionally distort the meaning of their reporting. The objective of this chapter is to provide journalists with tools to help them recognise their biases.
4. Principles of Reporting on Migration - This chapter aims to give journalists principles that will help them cover migration in a way that is informative, accurate, fair, and balanced. It looks in particular at the importance of knowledge of law and reliable statistics.
5. Solutions Journalism - Internews asserts that stories on migration mostly focus on problems without interrogating solutions. The aim of this chapter is to introduce the basics of solutions journalism to journalists as a way of encouraging them to pursue this type of journalism when covering migration stories.
6. Migration and Economy - This chapter aims to outline the interdependent nature of the SADC economy and to offer some insight on key issues on the movement of goods and persons in the region.
7. Migration and Xenophobia - This chapter attempts to unpack the causes of xenophobia and provides a framework on how the media could play a meaningful role in promoting peaceful integration of foreign nationals within local communities.
8. Migration and Children - Children are recognised as one of the most vulnerable migrant groups; it is important that journalists know the issues they face and highlight those issues.
9. Other Migrant Groups and Topics to Take Note of - This chapter discusses often-overlooked topics and some of the issues to look out for related to these topics. They include: women and migration; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people and migration; and healthcare and migration.