The Observatory of discriminatory discourse in the media

by Alèxia Rué, Universitat de Barcelona – SPAIN

A journalists association in Spain (Grup Barnils/Media.cat) has recently launched an Observatory of Discriminatory Discourse in the Media. The initiative, supported by Barcelona City Council, analyses the prevalence of discourses that promote discrimination against vulnerable communities and minorities on mainstream media outlets, and aims to encourage a critical approach to the ideological constructions and discourses on the media.

In 2017, Grup Barnils proposed an Observatory of Hate Speech in the Media, which analysed hate speech and discriminatory discourses on news outlets aligned with conservative and extreme right ideologies, and developed a list of 8 discursive strategies that these use to promote hate speech. After the success of this first edition and drawing on its results, the Observatory of Discriminatory Discourse in the Media has been presented with a renewed methodology and focus.

The 2018 edition, which was presented under the title “Persons who are not persons on the media”, analyses the coverage by mainstream media of key events, like the terror attacks in August 2017 in Barcelona, in order to visibilise discriminatory discourses along four axis: anti-romanyism, aporophobia, islamophobia and xenophobia.

The project examines patterns of hate speech, paternalistic or benevolent discourses and inadequate coverage of cultural diversity, as well as instances of ‘bad journalism’ in the inclusion and omission of information and news.

This observatory aims to raise awareness among journalists about their role in the dissemination and reproduction of discriminatory discourses and to provide the public with tools to spot and be critical of such discourses.

You can access the project’s website here:

https://www.media.cat/discursodimitjans/ (in Catalan)