Heed Their Rising Voices: Conflicts and The Politics of Women’s Representations

Conflicts and wars have many parallels wherever they occur around the world. For many people worldwide, the media is the most important source of information on these conflicts and their effects on vulnerable groups such as women and children. Women’s experiences in particular mirror the atrocities of war zones. Yet, it is certain women whose stories and voices are amplified the most by the media. The war in Ukraine in comparison to ongoing conflicts in countries such as Afghanistan and Syria garnered more media coverage in a shorter time span. By reporting on some conflicts while neglecting others, and representing vulnerable groups in these selected areas in particular ways, the media influences whose voices get heard and which conflicts are at the forefront. This is especially important in determining the outcome of wars, the amount of global and humanitarian aid vulnerable groups in conflict zones receive, and the success of refugee assimilation in host countries. The following research analyzed studies examining media coverage of Ukrainian, Afghan, and Syrian refugees, particularly women, in the West. The research seeks to unveil the framing patterns found in Western media discourses regarding these refugees, arguing that these frames impact policy and public opinion

Elections, Representations, and Journalistic Schemas: Local News Coverage of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib in the US Mid-term Elections

Communication research has systematically pointed to the disparities in news coverage of political candidates from women and minority groups. These differences may hurt the chances of these candidates at being elected. Recently more migrants are entering the political arenas in their adopted Western countries. Migrants have become the center of debates over the rights and wrongs of multiculturalism. In particular, Muslim women, in liberal democracies have been turned into an allegory for undesirable cultural difference. The November 2018 US Congressional race saw an unprecedented number of women especially minority women run for office. Ilhan Omar (representing Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (representing Michigan) are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Both Omar and Tlaib won by large margins. This study examines if local news coverage of Omar and Tlaib’s candidacy was congruent to prevalent schemas in representations of Muslim women and minorities in American media