Reception and avoidance tendencies of German news coverage by people with a history of migration

This doctoral project aims to examine how people with a history of migration living in Germany consume news content, particularly migration-related content, and to what extent the known patterns of news avoidance can be identified in their consumption behavior. The focus on migration-related news stems from the realization that many news avoiders feel that the reporting does not correspond to their reality of life.

While the phenomenon of declining interest in news is spreading, the group of people with a history of migration in Germany is growing. However, the German media migration debate is not neutral towards all countries – often a negative image of people with a (supposed) Muslim (migration) background is drawn. The question is: Can these people avoid news that could have a potential impact on their own social position? Therefore, the research focuses on people with non-European migration backgrounds from a country of origin understood as Muslim. Specifically, the doctoral project addresses the following questions: What kind of messages are received or holistically avoided by people with a history of migration in Germany, and how? What does this do to their understanding of affiliation negotiations and a sense of social acceptance? How does this affect their social participation? The doctoral project aims to openly explore possible factors influencing the reception of news (migration-related content) through the previously largely unexplored combination of topics. To this end, a qualitative survey will first be conducted to bring new insights and connections to light. In a second step, hypotheses will be developed on the basis of the qualitative results and tested in a standardized procedure. In order to determine which news people with a history of migration actually prefer, a news selection study will be conducted to present the specific selection decisions.