By ARELIS HERNANDEZ
The UNITY News Online

For the last 20 years, immigration coverage has been defined by the public’s wonder—or rather the journalist’s wonder. When new people ride into town, the temptation is to tell the story of their arrival and origins—but the story doesn’t end after they arrive.

From the African escaping civil war to the Central American with a student visa, reporters are fascinated by the people that reach our shores and borders.

But the tone of these stories treat immigrants as an “other” in a community, relegating them to the fringes of society, said panelists during a session on immigration storytelling.

Mainstream media over-emphasizes cultural differences and illegality while ignoring the greater story of collective impact, said University of Southern California journalism professor Roberto Suro.

Steve Holmes, deputy national editor for domestic policy at the Washington Post, predicted that immigration coverage will have to undergo a shift to maintain its relevancy.

“Immigration coverage is not the same as covering immigrants,” Holmes said. “You don’t have to tell the story of immigrants but economic stories about immigrants.”

Cultural shock stories blossom during years of prosperity, he said, but during a recession the main question concerns economic issues like jobs.

Holmes said he looked forward to reading a new kind of “coming to America,” story, one that examines the economics of immigration. He said journalists need to write stories that include immigrants as members of the community.

“The next few years may be the toughest we’ve seen in immigration coverage,” Holmes said. He believes an economic downturn will incite even more fiery rhetoric from television pundits such as Lou Dobbs.

Suro, a former immigration reporter, said journalists must avoid “de-contextualizing” immigrants by excluding information about the economic conditions that trigger their migration.

“Have you ever seen an employer quoted in a story about immigrants?” Suro said.

Reporters, Suro said, need to ask different questions such as: How are immigrants impacting local businesses? How do employers feel about the immigration? How much are they paid?

Part of telling the money story will mean testing the claims made about immigration, both legal and illegal: Are immigrants really taking American jobs? Do immigrants pay taxes? Are immigrants holding up the economy?

Because the story isn’t new, Suro said, the media needs to stop reacting and start interpreting to help the public move past the ideological stalemate concerning the issue.

“Immigration is classically known as a newser,” Suro said, quoting famed Philadelphia Inquirer editor Gene Roberts. “It’s a slow, gradual story.”

topic: Industry Issues
tags: economy, illegal, immigrants, immigration, panel, UNITY Convention

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