Grassroot Antidiscrimination: The Role of Civil Society in Media Monitoring Policies

In Other Words 1
GRASSROOT ANTIDISCRIMINATION - THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN MEDIA MONITORING POLICIES

GRASSROOT ANTIDISCRIMINATION
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN MEDIA MONITORING
POLICIES
December 2012
Edited by Matteo Bassoli
EUROPEAN UNION DISCLAIMER
Tis project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
Tis publication refects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
In Other Words 2
Grassroot Antidiscrimination - Te role of civil society in media monitoring policies
December 2012
Edited by Matteo Bassoli
Project In Other Words
Grant Agreement n. JUST/2009/FRAC/AG/1092 30-ce-0377097/00-01 with the European Commission
www.inotherwords-project.eu
Title: Grassroot Antidiscrimination - Te role of civil society in media monitoring policies
Editor: Matteo Bassoli
Contributors:
Chapter 1: Matteo Bassoli
Chapter 2: Maaris Raudsepp and Raivo Vetik
Chapter 3: Articolo 3, Osservatorio sulle discriminazioni
Chapter 4: Nicoletta Gomiero
Chapter 5: Agustn Galiana Fernndez, Alejandra Ainz Galende, Antonio Jos Macas Ruano,
Antonio Segura Snchez, Ascensin Rodrguez Fernndez, Carmen Salvador Ferrer,
Encarnacin Pelez Quero, Jess Muyor Rodrguez, Jos Luis Ruiz Real,
Mara del Mar Martnez Fernndez, Mara Jos Gonzlez Moreno, Purifcacin Garca Prez,
Rosa Mara Rodrguez Vzquez, Rubn Martnez Reche
Subjects: Antidiscrimination, Civil Society, Media, Minorities, Monitoring Policies, Stereotypes
Proof Reading: IEBA, Portugal
Publication Details: Mortgua, Portugal: Logowords, December 2012
Language: English
Printed Publications: 200
Licence: GRASSROOT ANTIDISCRIMINATION - THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN MEDIA MONITORING POLICIES edited by Matteo Bassoli is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Portugal License.
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About IN OTHER WORDS project
We had the opportunity to get involved in a project transcending national borders, work in a language diferent
from our own and get acquainted with new working methods, meet people from the most diverse backgrounds, share
experiences about the situation of minority groups all over Europe, compare practices, needs and results, and plan future
partnerships and further projects
Tis work in partnership with the Local Press Unit, revealed an important potential for developing new initiatives
and contributed to the development of each participant and each partner organisations competences, by sharing knowl-
edge and experiences
We have succeeded in allowing many social groups, who at some point have sufered inappropriate treatment by
the media, to make their voice heard.
We have also attracted the collaboration of many very good professionals from the media who have contributed
with their points of view and solutions for making our media fairer and more objective in its treatment of diverse groups,
and in its expression of respect for the person, whatever her social, racial, political, religious, sexual or ideological condi-
tion, or any other diferentiating feature.
We have learnt to be much more open-minded during the in other words project. We have learnt that language
should be used appropriately, because using it well is also a very important way to promote multiculturalism and respect
between identities.
In Other Words has enlarged the scope of our work to all discriminated target groups and brought about the in-
novative approach of media monitoring.
In Other Words was a challenging journey: it changed the internal dynamics of our organisation, as well as the
ways we deal with external actors, representing a unique learning experience.
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Index
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN MEDIA MONITORING POLICIES
Chapter 1
Te local governance of antidiscrimination policies
Chapter 2
Te construction of stereotypes in the media and its monitoring
2.1 How to deconstruct media stereotypes about minorities
2.2 An example: An unknown Russian delinquent
2.2.1 Face of the week: An unknown Russian delinquent
2.2.2 Deconstruction of stereotypes represented in the article
2.3 Media Monitoring in six European countries
Monitoring institutions and scope of analysis
2.3.1 ITALY
2.3.2 FRANCE
2.3.3 PORTUGAL
2.3.4 ROMANIA
2.3.5 SPAIN
2.3.6 ESTONIA
2.4. Monitoring methods
2.5 Monitoring output and further actions
2.6 Comparing Methods
Chapter 3
Media Monitoring. Observing and analysing the media representation of minorities
3.1 Framing media monitoring
3.2 Case studies
3.2.1 Te people: cross-community approach
3.2.2 Methodology and sources
3.2.3 Te case of Eurocircle
3.2.4 Te case of Articolo 3
Chapter 4
Guidelines on diversity journalism and efective communication
4.1 Which information sources are available to a journalist?
4.2. Has social media changed the way journalists deal with information?
4.3 What is the importance of crossing information in the journalistic approach?
4.4 What is the importance of identifying actors and third parties in journalistic aptoach
4.5 More specifc situations
4.6 Communication between NGOs and the media
4.7 Concluding remarks...
4.8 Some examples of best practices
Example from Spain (Almeria)
Example from Portugal
Example from Estonia
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Example from France
Chapter 5
Guidelines for local units creations and management
5.1 LPUs: Group composition and sourcing volunteers
5.2 Local Unit set up, the partners experiences
5.3 Local units and the media
5.4 How to manage a cross-community approach
5.5 Standards and working methods: suggestions and experiences
5.6 Local network creation: experience and suggestions
5.7 Difculties, special circumstances and problems encountered by the local press units,
regarding diferent contexts and situations
ANNEXES
A1 - THEMATIC LITERATURE
A1.1 How are stereotypes constructed?
A1.2 How are stereotypes communicated?
A1.3 Perceptions of stereotypes
A1.4 Normative issues.
A2 - A GLOSSARY OF THE RELEVANT TERMS 62
A3 - GLOSSARY OF PEJORATIVE TERMS
A3.1 Italian
A3.2 Spanish
A3.3 Portuguese
A3.4 Estonian
A3.5 French
A3.6 Romanian
GLOSSARY TABLE
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Preface
Which is the process that, emerging from the ground like a karst river, is strong enough to strip people of their right
to a unique and complex existence, and condemns them to semi-dignity, the prey of labels and stereotypes?
Unexpectedly, one such source of this is words; their strength, their creative ideas, their ability to communicate
concepts, if poorly used, can cause discrimination. Tings only actually exist if named, that is, because they have a name.
Te In Other Words European project was conceived to monitor the press and other media, and aims to point out
how words can be a dangerous tool in the creation of stereotypes that usually trigger exclusion and discrimination of
whole segments of our communities.
Hence people with disability cease to be complex human beings and are identifed with their disability. Likewise,
entire communities end up sacrifcing their rich complexity to the banality of stereotypes. Who are Roma and Sinti people?
Nothing but deterioration, theft and lies. Similarly, people belonging to the LGBT community are crushed into an analogous
trap which favours their social exclusion.
Te media also contribute to the unbalanced representation of genders. For instance, by pointing out the exceptionality of
women in senior positions in various felds of life. But the dangers of the ethnicisation of crimes should not be forgotten,
either: too often non-national perpetrators of crimes are described by way of their nationality. Such a dangerous habit has ef
In Other Words has based its work on sound analysis of diferent European Countries, taking into account the specifcity
of their social fabric. In Italy, France, Portugal, Estonia, Spain and Romania it stressed the need to raise awareness in
the media and the general public, and to consider the power of words, and the responsibility with which we should use
the them.
After recognising and countering the careless addiction which we, as readers and viewers, are subject to as we absorb
everyday news, and after reactivating the responsibility of professionals in the media, we can only be surprised as we realise
how many forgotten people emerge from the gray morass of stereotypes.
Elena Magri
Alderwoman, Cohesion policies and equal opportunities, Province of Mantova
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1- Te European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is one of the EUs specialised agencies [...]. Te FRA helps to ensure that the fundamental rights of
people living in the EU are protected. Fundamental rights set out minimum standards to ensure that a person is treated with dignity [...]. Trough the collection and
analysis of data in the EU, the FRA assists EU institutions and EU Member States in understanding and tackling challenges to safeguard the fundamental rights of
everyone in the EU. Working in partnership with the EU institutions, its Member States and other organisations at international, European and national levels, the
FRA plays an important role in helping to make fundamental rights a reality for everyone living in the EU (FRA website 2012).
2- Te concept of civil society has been defned diferently by scholars, although there is an emerging consensus on its key characteristics. Te most commonly used
defnition of civil society is the ensemble of associations, or a space between the family and the state where people associate across ties of kinship, aside from the market,
and independent of the state (Elliott, 2003: 89).
3- In Other Words, often referred to as IOW, is a European project formally entitled In other words - web observatory and review, for discrimination alerts and ste-
reotypes deconstruction and is funded by the European Commission with grant agreement n.: JUST/2009/FRAC/AG/1092 30 ce 0377097 / 00 - 01
Chapter 1
Te local governance of antidiscrimination policies
Matteo Bassoli
Te European Union, within the powers conferred on it by the Treaties, implements a policy against racism, xenophobia,
anti-Semitism and other related intolerance, such as Islamophobia and anti-Roma and anti-Sinti racism. Tis activity is
developed both at the political level (via the Fundamental Rights Agency and the activity of DG Justice, Fundamental
Rights and Citizenship), but also with specifc fnancial support for actions aimed at fghting traditional and new stereotypes
whose persistence or difusion are at the root of racist attitudes and speech, discriminatory action and violent incidents.
In this duality a general tendency towards governance can be grasped. Indeed, while the traditional hierarchical approach
based on national legislation (legislative power) and sanctions (judiciary power) has not been abandoned, a new more
nuanced governance approached is fostered by diferent institutions, nationally (often by the executive power) and by the
European Union. Te main idea is to have closer cooperation between diferent administrative levels (multi-level governance), as
well as a more pronounced role played by civil society . In line with this, the European Commission particularly encourages
private initiatives aimed at countering stereotypes and the spread of stereotypes, as well as initiatives to foster mutual
understandi ng. Within the framework of the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Action grants, a heterogeneous
group of eight local entities (two universities, two public administrations and four non-governmental organisations -
NGOs) decided to take action against the public use of stereotypes based on a clear idea of stereotype difusion (see
chapter 2). Te IN OTHER WORDS project was conceived frstly in connection to the awareness of the role and reality of
mass media across Europe, how they infuence intolerant behaviours, and how, conversely, they may contribute positively
in combating discrimination and promoting cultural diversity. It has been proven that intolerance, racism, xenophobia
and other discriminatory attitudes are born of ignorance (the lack of direct knowledge or understanding of diversity),
prejudice and stereotypes. Te direct knowledge or in-depth awareness of fgures, data, cultural backgrounds, scientifc
fndings and social dynamics may help people to develop their own independent idea, free from prejudice and thus to
overcome stereotypes and intolerant attitudes, so developing a positive attitude towards minorities and groups that are
perceived as diferent (otherness). Opinion makers and information providers such as mass media may play a crucial role in
the development of multi-cultural awareness and mature attitudes, and help shape peoples beliefs and attitudes.
Correct information could in fact become the main tool to tackle the roots of discrimination and intolerant
attitudes. As an example, the research commissioned by DG EMPL called Media4diversity - Taking the pulse of diversity in
the media (2009), looked at the many measures media, including newspapers, TV and radio, have undertaken to tackle
discrimination and to promote diversity. It highlighted 30 initiatives that have been able to combine innovation and
originality in addressing diversity issues in an increasingly competitive and commercial European media space. Tese good
practices can provide lessons on how to create media cultures of diversity across Europe. Te publication also includes a
set of recommendations to the media, civil society organisations and policy-makers on how to further develop diversity
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in European media and to respond to the information needs of an increasingly diverse population, thus contributing to
social cohesion in European societies. Te project builds on the potential linked to correct information in combating
discrimination, with a comprehensive approach based on the actual difusion of media stereotypes.
Te IN OTHER WORDS project tackles the problem that the media often plays a negative role in disseminating
stereotypes;
In fact, today, much of the information provided by mass media is not free from stereotypes and the language
used is often polluted with prejudice. Messages provided by the media lead to misunderstandings or infuence the reader/
listener/watcher in developing rather than overcoming stereotypes. By incorrect information provided by the media we
refer not only to direct discriminatory discourse (see chapter 3), but also to wrong or superfcial representations of reality,
generic or ofensive wording or language used to refer to ethnic or religious minorities, descriptions where the belonging of
one person to a specifc group is stressed without reason and superfcial descriptions or defnitions referring to a whole
group of people. In other cases, highlighting presuppositions rather than facts, where no direct verifcation with the involved
persons is provided, fosters stereotypes. Such incorrect information may also be disseminated without a precise intention
to discriminate, and the problem may refer to simple language correctness or to the personal prejudices of the person
elaborating the news, articles or message.
When wrong information is provided by mass-media this may be particularly dangerous because the perceiver of
such messages, tends to incorporate them without a critical attitude. Moreover, incorrect information is disseminated not
only by diferent forms of mass-media, such as the written press, television, radio and public websites, but also by other
information channels such as internet social networks and political communications. Te Italian situation, for instance,
seems to be critical: United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay, expressed high concern at how Italians represent
minorities; the High Commissioner also drew attention to the often extraordinarily negative portrayal of both migrants
and Roma in some parts of the media, and commented on a survey of 5,684 TV news stories that dealt with immigration,
showing that only 26 of these stories did not link immigration with a specifc criminal event or security issues.
In the following pages the development of the project will be presented in greater detail. However, in order to provide
a long-lasting reference document, authors have used a rather theoretical approach when appropriate using project data
as empirical material to explain relevant matters. In this brief introduction, the development of the project along with
some policy implications are presented to provide the reader with a consistent framework in which to place information
scattered throughout the document.
Te partnership was created with the aim of difusing in the local areas the so-called Local Press Units (LPUs).
Tese LPUs are groups of people, often with minority background, reproducing locally the practice developed in recent
years by Articolo 3 - Osservatorio sulle discriminazioni (Observatory on Discriminations), in Mantua. Representatives of
the Jewish Community, Contemporary History Institute, Institute for Sinti Culture, Sucar Drom Association and the
Salamandra Arcigay set up this organisation in Mantova in 2009. Since its very frst day, the Association has counted
among its members people belonging to several minorities: Roma and Sinti, Jews, people with disabilities, Muslims, exponents
of the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transexual community and migrants working alongside representatives of the majority community.
Tese people gather together in order to detect and fght discrimination and racism. Articolo 3 pursues this objective in a
very specifc way, setting the benchmark for the project. On the one hand, it monitors daily the newspapers of Lombardy
region. 350 articles per week, selected by relevant key-words, are read allowing the staf to analyse the ways the press
represents cultural and religious minorities and deals with their rights, demands and issues. A weekly newsletter guides
its 1500 addressees in the press review, detecting cases of incorrect or incomplete information, discriminating language,
dissemination of stereotypes and hate speech. On the other hand, Articolo 3 acts as a means of judicial contrast, through
its Antidiscrimination Desk. Finally, Articolo 3 is constantly engaged in cultural work as well, since it believes knowledge,
culture and in-depth information to be as fundamental in the fght against discrimination as its other activities: this work
4- Sucar Drom is a non-proft organization set up by Sinti and Roma people as well as by people belonging to other ethnic groups [...]. Sucar Drom favours the rela-
tions among people, societies and cultures in order to achieve a common culture based on the knowledge, dialogue, comprehension, and on the acquisition of mutual
rights (Sucar Drom website 2012).
5- Arcigay is a non-proft organization, founded in 1985, which operates all over the country through its local branches and afliated clubs. Its aim is the equality
between individuals regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Arcigay is made of groups of volunteers, the local branches, consisting of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender [LGBT] and straight people. From its headquarters, it coordinates the national activities on information, prevention, and advocacy for the LGBT
community (Arcigay website 2012).
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includes seminars and public conventions, meetings with students and teachers, articles and reports.
Te relevance of the media monitoring as developed by Articolo 3 can be fully grasped using a few fgures. If we
consider a short span of time of only four months it is impressive to note the percentage (73%) of incorrect minority
representation.
Minority represented Total Articles assessed
Articles with correct repre-
sentation
Articles with incorrect repre-
sentation
Percentage of incorrect articles
Roma/Sinti 978 175 803 82%
Migrants 1166 288 878 75%
LGBT 129 49 80 62%
Jews 392 179 213 54%
People with disabilities 142 41 101 71%
Muslims 193 66 127 65%
Total 3000 798 2202 73%
However, monitoring by itself is meaningless without a proactive stand. Tus, the IOW project created a semi-professional
but also a socially difused system of monitoring and reacting towards such (sometimes well hidden), sources of intolerant attitudes.
To do so it considered Article 3 as the benchmark, but allowed each local unit to develop in its own way. Generally, the
frst step has been the development of a shared methodology for observation: how to monitor and detect intolerant and
racist messages, information and expressions in the European public media communication (see chapter 3); the second
step was to build a correct reaction: how to develop a critical attitude towards them, in order to 1) keep high attention on
the phenomenon and help both communicators and public to deconstruct prejudices and deliver/receive information that
may foster intercultural understanding rather than intolerance; 2) understand when and how the gravity is such that it
should be reported to competent authorities. Te third step has been the development of a methodology for an appealing counter-
communication (chapter 5), where in other words facts were described, issues were tackled and problems were presented
to the public, also by the cultural sensitivity of representatives of groups most frequently the target of discrimination and
intolerance. Tis way the targets of intolerance were provided with a new way to react and to communicate positively.
Indeed, one of the crucial aspects of local press units was their makeup based on minorities (chapter 6 and section 3.2.1).
Te use of the so-called cross-community approach allowed LPUs to develop their own mutual understanding before
moving towards the framing of antidiscrimination activities. Tis step has been crucial in motivating volunteers and improving
cooperation between diferent NGOs which perceived themselves as being far apart. In the words of a Russian speaking
representative (Estonian LPU), we have been very critical [towards the Estonian speaking majority] without realising we
were framing news in our own newspapers representing other minorities in the same incorrect manner we were fghting
against ourselves.
As regards the eight partners it is important to highlight the diference between the partners (diferent kinds of
organisations), and the corresponding local press unit (based on diferent local organisations or other specifc structure
hosted by the local partners). While local press units will be presented later on (see chapter six), a brief account of the
partnership may help the reader to fully grasp the specifc angle adopted in this document. Te IN OTHER WORDS
project partnership consists of: two local authorities (Provincia di Mantova and Diputacin Provincial de Jan), with experience
in intercultural and youth policies, with special regard to migrant youth, one local development agency - IEBA - with
experience in projects for combating gender discrimination and equal opportunities, three NGOs: Articolo 3, which
has specifc expertise in the project methodology, the Institutul Intercultural din Timioara, with its relevant experience
of intercultural education and tackling Roma discrimination and Eurocircle, which has years of experience in informal
youth group facilitation, with special attention to social inclusion and to projects with youth web and media literacy, and
two Universities (Fundacin Almera Social y Laboral and Tallinna likool), that have conducted specifc research on
discrimination and social inclusion. Te partnership also includes 3 NGOs as associate partners with concrete experience
6- Data was gathered between January 1st 2010 and April 20th of the same year.
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in social inclusion, intercultural exchange, and the fght against intolerance (Sucar Drom, Europeople and Yaam Boyu
Eitim Derneg). Geographically, the partnership includes seven countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Romania and
Estonia, plus Turkey as associate partner).
1. Te Province of Mantua (lead partner), is a local supra-municipal authority whose aim is territorial development.
Te Province supports collaboration among the organisations in its area with a to promoting the balanced development
of the territory and the population, based on principles of impartiality, transparency, efectiveness and simplifcation of
administrative activity. Te Province enhances environmental and cultural resources, encourages social integration, organises
public social services and is responsible for high school education. Within the Social Policies Department, a Unit for Intercultural
activity has been established, made up of the Intercultural education centre and Immigration Observatory. Trough its Intercultural
education centre, the Province fosters the integration of foreigners, through the cultural exchange. Trough the Immigration
observatory, the Province monitors immigrants, their integration, and the services ofered to them. The intercultural
education centre of the Te Province of Mantova, in particular, worked closely for some months with the Articolo 3 association on
a local level to incorporate the lessons learned from the association, issued from a partnership of several associations representing
groups and communities that are victims of discrimination.
2. Articolo 3, as briefy described hereinbefore, works in order to detect and fght discrimination and racism. It monitors
the regional newspapers daily. Data Stampa Agency provides it with about 350 articles per week, selected thorough minority
related key-words, allowing the staf to analyse only relevant material. A weekly newsletter guides its 1500 addressees in the
press review, detecting cases of incorrect or incomplete information, discriminating language, dissemination of stereotypes
and hate speech. Articolo 3 acts as a means of judicial contrast, through its Antidiscrimination Desk, whose aims are: to
provide mediation and legal advice to victims of discrimination; to spread among the minority communities increasing
confdence and awareness of their rights, supporting their activism and direct participation; to disseminate among the diferent sectors
of society a correct perception of the seriousness of discrimination, in order to eradicat it completely. Finally, Articolo
3 is constantly engaged in cultural work as well, since it believes knowledge, culture and in-depth information to be as
fundamental in the fght against discrimination as its other activities: this work includes seminars and public conventions,
meetings with students and teachers, articles and reports. Articolo 3 partners with the National Ofce for Combating
Discrimination (UNAR).
3. Founded in Berlin in 1993, the Eurocircle network is a European grouping of project managers in the social
sectors of education and employment. In 1995, the network became a non-proft organisation under French law, and settled
in Marseille. Ever since, Eurocircle has been endeavouring to support project managers in their implementation of a European
approach by initiating European partnerships in order to set up transnational projects.
4. IEBA Centro de Iniciativas Empresariais e Sociais is a local development association, whic is private and not-for-proft,
created in 1994, in Mortgua (Portugal). IEBAs statutory objective is the development of its territory, namely through the technical
support and the promotion of economic, cultural and social activities, human resources, education and training and also by giving
support to the creation and management of businesses. Over the years, IEBA has carried out several national projects to promote
equal opportunities between men and women, the prevention of gender discrimination and promoting employment and social
inclusion.
5. Diputacin Provincial de Jan is a Spanish public administration of provincial level. It provides town councils and
citizens with a vast array of services, in the following felds: culture, economic development, welfare, tourism, housing, roads,
taxes, environment, etc. One of the most important area of intervention is welfare, where many programmes are developed.
Diputacin Provincial de Jan mainly promotes migrants integration and actions against racism. It constantly works on
European projects and it has a long history of collaboration with the Province of Mantua.
6. Te Intercultural Institute of Timisoara (IIT) is an autonomous, non-governmental institution, which promotes
non-political cultural, civic and scientifc activity, which adheres to the values and the principles of the Council of Europe
on inter-culturality. IIT was established in 1992 with the support of the local authorities of Timisoara and of the Council
of Europe. Trough its programmes and activities, IIT pursues the development of the intercultural dimension in the felds
of education and culture. Te interethnic relations and communication with new immigrant communities are one of the
In Other Words 13
main focuses of the IIT, as well as developing online courses and platforms for intercultural education and education for
democratic citizenship. IIT has established a wide network of partners from diferent regions of Romania and from several
European countries. IIT coordinates and is involved in projects in the feld of intercultural education, anti-discrimination
and diversity. IIT has developed intercultural education activities in schools with Roma pupils, teacher training sessions
on intercultural education and anti-discrimination, online training courses about Roma history and culture for teachers
and about civic education, training and educational activities for youth, a forum on intercultural dialogue, projects aiming
at improving minority-majority relations, consultancy mechanisms between immigrants and public authorities, etc. IIT
partners with the National Council for Combating Discrimination.
7. Fundacin Almera Social y Laboral is dedicated to teaching at university level, being the holders of the University of Almera,
which ofers a degree in Social Work and Labour Relations. As holder of a University, the Fundacin generates and participates in various
research studies in social and labour felds. It has experience in research in felds such as immigration, sexism, cultural mediation, service
quality, as well as in managing projects combating racism and intolerance.
8. Tallinn University (TLU), changed its internal organisation while the project was ongoing. Terefore, while at the
beginning the Institute for International and Social Studies (IISS) was involved, later on the Department of Governance
took over. IISS is an interdisciplinary research and development institute operating in social sciences. Te activities of
IISS include implementation of scientifc projects and teaching of sociology. It is of vital importance for IISS, as well as
for TLU in general, to produce with its research work knowledge that is essential for the Estonian society as well as in the
perspective of comparative international science. Te selection of the new research themes is subject to the issues important
to Estonian society as well as global challenges. Te emphasis is placed on topics which can be managed competently in
frames of existing resources and division of work in social sciences on the national and international level. Terefore studies and
research are well integrated. Te teaching staf is made up of specialists who teach subjects well-known to them through
their research projects, and all students of IISS are ofered the possibility to participate in these projects.
Te eight partners agreed to react to the current situation where the media is a vehicle for the dissemination of
stereotypes, and to help improve the correctness of media discourse and messages aiming at fve goals:
- To develop a critical attitude in the involved local communities towards messages delivered by the mass media;
- To raise awareness in the media (starting from local media), of their contribution in disseminating stereotypes and
their potential for spreading a correct culture of diversity;
- To defne and test a methodology for difusing monitoring, creating alternative communication tools (newsletters,
blogs, web magazine) and providing feed back to the media managers and journalists,
- To involve young people and victims of discrimination directly and make them active in producing and spreading
correct information with a dedicated and specifc web based tool;
- To contribute to the spreading of independent counter-information on minorities and discriminated groups
across Europe by developing a comprehensive strategy based on a cross-community approach and direct involvement of
the victims of discrimination.
IOW has developed a European network of 7 non-professional local observatories-press units (LPUs), that includes
representatives of either ethnic or religious minorities or discriminated groups. Te network contributed to a capillary
and structured monitoring-analysis-alert-reaction system with constant monitoring of about 100 media covering all the
partners regions, detecting discriminatory attitudes, providing feedback to the concerned media and creating counter-
information based on stereotype deconstruction. Te activities directly involved diferent communities (cross-community
approach), and media at local and European levels and thus stimulate awareness and active reactions to discriminatory
attitudes. All these activities resulted in the joint implementation of a web information centre (www.inotherwords-project.
eu) and a European periodical Review called IN OTHER WORDS.
Given the diferences in the partners backgrounds, each organisation was allowed to build the local press unit
(LPU) in its own way. Some rules were set out in order to enhance international collaboration among local units and
project coherence:
- each unit was made up of 5 to 10 people with diferent cultural backgrounds and/or belonging to the groups or
minorities mainly tackling with discrimination issues;
- each unit was coordinated by a supervisor with a professional background in communication of intercultural
In Other Words 14
education in order to ensure that the work was carried out according to quality standards;
- each unit had a media partner and an advisor (a journalist or writer or media-ofcer) to ensure the efectiveness
of the communication.
Overall, except for minor diferences, partner organisations utilised similar methods and strategies to develop their
own LPUs. Te following table shows that it is minority groups who are mainly involved in the project. Te percentages
are quite high, in line with the projects objective of cross-community. Tis approach has entailed difculties for some
partners, as it requires people with diferent backgrounds to cooperate and make eforts toward mutual understanding.
Tallinn University, for instance, found it very easy to involve representatives of the minorities at frst, but difcult to motivate
them to carry on with the projects tasks and every-day work. All partners, but universities, recruited the LPU staf by
contacting local associations dealing with specifc minorities, some of whose activists have become members of the LPUs.
Te LPUs work, though, benefts also from the cooperation of other people, who do not belong to the staf or the group
of volunteers, but make up the extended network of each organisation. Such a network may include external experts,
intellectuals, other associations working to promote the rights of minorities or in similar felds. It is on these people that
each LPU can count, when it comes to producing some highly specialized contents, conducting interviews and sharing
points of view. Also, involving media professionals and associations of journalists is essential, for through contact with
these people the LPU receives feedback about its work and readdresses its attention and priorities. Te main method used
to build a network of journalists around each LPU was creating public events to which media professionals were invited,
both as speakers and part of the public. Similar examples are the conferences held within the project in Mantua, Tallinn
and Almeria, or the thematic meetings organized by IEBA and the IIT, which also organizes regular thematic public
events, some focused on the image in the media of specifc groups (Roma, migrants, etc), others on special occasions,
involving several well known journalists.
Press Unit
Staf and volunteers
(overall fgure)
Minorities involved
Percentage of people
with a minority back-
ground
Percentage of students
Articolo 3 12
Roma and Sinti, LGBT, p.
with disability, Jews, women
75% -
Eurocircle 10
LGBT, women, migrants,
Muslims
75% 20%
IIT 15
Roma, Hungarians, women,
migrants, Muslims
80%
IEBA* 9
Roma, LGBT, p. with dis-
ability, women, migrants
0% 0%
Dip. Jaen 10
ability, women, migrants,
Muslims
100% 0%
Tallinn University
25
(July 2011 -Aug 2012)
LGBT, p. with disability,
Russian-speaking p.
- 100%
15
(Sept 2012 Jan 2013)
Almeria Uni versity
40
(divided into groups of 4-7
people)
women, migrants, Muslims
50% 50%
Te project also set out some rules regarding the media monitoring. It is important to note that it was not supposed
to be exhaustive but continuous and organised with criteria that could ensure political and cultural independence. Moreover
each LPU was independent and are the crucial actors of the project. LPUs have been:
- monitoring the media,
- selecting wrong messages,
- alerting the relevant media about detected messages (and explaining the reasons why a message was bearing a
stereotype or is ofensive),
- writing short reply articles where the stereotype / prejudice was deconstructed and producing a counter-articles
or messages
In Other Words 15
- producing / publishing and delivering a regional web-based periodical newsletter where in other words the
pieces of news are delivered and where critical information was provided
- contributing to the European Newsletter.
Te freedom of actions allowed each LPU to design its own way to approach the issue, within a common framework.
Some examples may make the point clearer: on the one side IEBA had a centralised approached based on the facilitator and
monthly meetings, on the other Articolo 3 has a more horizontal approach with weekly meetings. So, for example IEBA and
its LPU facilitator have jointly decided the 10 media to be monitored (three regional newspapers: Campeo das Provncias,
Dirio As Beiras and Dirio de Coimbra and seven national newspapers: Jornal de Notcias, Dirio de Notcias,
Expresso, Jornal I, O Pblico and SOL). Te decision was later presented and validated by the LPU in its frst
meeting. Te monitoring workload was arranged as follows: IEBA monitored the three selected regional journals daily,
selecting news with stereotypes, discrimination and other negative, prejudiced, less objective and less adequate vocabulary
and/or contents. Tese articles were sent to the facilitator who was in charge of the daily monitoring of the seven national
journals. Te same person was also in charge of selecting articles within the national journals. At this point the facilitator had
a general picture of all the articles produced daily and could send a presentation of all news and a draft analysis proposal to
prepare the monthly LPU meeting. At the meeting, or in the days preceding it, LPU members made a shared analysis and
debate of the most relevant news, and analysed and discussed the draft version of the monthly newsletter. Articolo 3, on the
contrary, based its daily analysis on a pre-selection of articles produced by Data Stampa. Data Stampa is a subcontractor
that selects all articles published by the ffty regional journals containing certain keywords (Roma, Muslims, gypsy, black
people, Moroccan, etc.). Every week, the selection produces some 350 articles, which are constantly read by volunteers,
as well as Article 3 staf in order to prepare the weekly meeting. For each pertinent article (which may not be the case
for all 350 ) a brief report sheet is produced: the type of document (article, video, letter, editorial, etc.); minority group
involved (migrants, Roma, LGBT community, etc.) and the specifc minority (North African migrants, lesbian, etc.); the
presence or absence of the voice of the minority; the topic of the document (work, habitat, religion, relationship with the
majority community, legislation, best practices, statistics, criminality, etc.); the terminology utilized; the type of information
(correct, incorrect/partial, stereotyped, hate speech); the purpose of information (denounce, discrimination); the place where
the event occurred and any comments of the person doing the monitoring. Articolo 3s staf and volunteers have been
trained in order to have a common understanding of some tags, and thus classify as incorrect/incomplete articles that
dont include the point of view of the minorities and those that dont respect the criteria of the code of ethics governing
the journalism profession, or any other types of stereotyping. At the end of the week all articles are thus categorised and
the team is able to decide which are the most interesting articles (for the readers of the weekly newsletter), and those that
need specifc counter-actions.
Te following pages are organised as follows. Chapter two (Ch. 2), provides a brief presentation of stereotype construction and
difusion along with an example of stereotype deconstruction ( 2.2). Later on a description of the actual monitoring
practices developed in the six countries can be found. Tese practices are analysed as regards the institutions implementing
the actions ( 2.3), the monitoring method adopted ( 2.4) and the output produced ( 2.5). Chapter three sets out the
analytical grid with which media monitoring can be approached theoretically ( 3.1) and empirically ( 3.2). Chapter four
features an analysis of the problematic aspects regarding media communication, efective communication and civil society
at large. Te so-called Guidelines on diversity journalism and efective communication are thus presented in their complete
version, while the ffth chapter conducts a detailed analysis of the local press units set up and management. Finally, the
annexes complete the text with a set of informative documents and toolbox: A1 features the thematic literature, A2 the
relevant terminology of the feld, A3 the pejorative terms glossary and A4 the glossary table developed in six languages by
the project in order to directly help the implementation of other experiences of monitoring in native tongues.
7- For example, an article citing the city of Roma would be discharged instantly as soon as it is read.
7
In Other Words 16
In Other Words 17
Chapter 2
Te construction of stereotypes in the media and its monitoring
Maaris Raudsepp and Raivo Vetik
Tis chapter is intendedmeant to give an interdisciplinary and rather widebroad account of the essential aspects
of the construction of stereotypes about minorities in the media. Tise overview includes information about 1) classical
texts; 2) comprehensive accounts of the subject discipline; 3) top notch recent publications in the feld. ItTe overview
will cover the following interrelated questions, aiming to conceptualize the stereotype construction as a process:
How stereotypes are constructed (literature on stereotypes, stereotyping, stereotype construction etc.).
How are stereotypes are communicated? (Literature on framing, priming, media discourse, labelling, etc.).
Perceptions of stereotypes (literature on how do the people belonging to groups confronted with stereotypes in
the media perceive this content (the stereotypes), and perceive the content of media (prejudice, positioning theory etc.).
Normative issues (literature on how could discrimination and xenophobia could be avoided (dialogical civility,
refexive empathy, media ethics).
Tese four topicsquestions can be elaborated in the form of four conceptual maps, which highlight the most important
notions, related to the respective question, as well as their relationships.
Figure 1: Construction of social stereotypes
Te construction and maintenance of Sstereotypes construction and maintenance happenproceed on diferent levels.
On the individual level various cognitive and afective processes may lead to distorted and exaggerated beliefs, infexible
attributions, and other phenomena which characterize stereotypes. On the social level, stereotypes such as widely shared
beliefs about specifc groups are produced and maintained by intergroup processes like diferentiation of in-groups and
In Other Words 18
Figure 2: Negative application of social stereotypes
Stereotypes are used in mass media and internet communication. Negative stereotypes can be expressed inby various
waysmeans, such aslike false attributions, negative framing and labelinglabelling, using exclusionary language etc. (see Allports
scale of prejudice, antilocution, discrimination, hate speech, inclusive vs. exclusive language, labelinglabelling, prejudice,
racism, racial discrimination, stereotypes, stereotyping, verbal abuse, xenophobia)
Motivations for using stereotypes use. Stereotypes are used for maintaining group boundaries, for justifyingication
of power relations between groups and as an excuse for discrimination and violence.
Perception of negative social stereotypes by members of the target groups may triggerevoke negative emotional
reactions and long-lasting negative efects like self-victimization, a sense of threat, low self-esteem, etc., but it may also
produce active reactions like protest and stereotype deconstruction.
Figure 3: Consequences of using stereotypes use
out-groups, hierarchical relations between majorities and minorities, and confictual or cooperative relations between
groups. On the macro-social level certain cultural norms and ideologies may support or suppress the dissemination and
renewingactualization of stereotypes.
In Other Words 19
What are social means against the abuse of stereotypes in the public sphere? Informal norms (like political correctness), may
suppress overt stereotyping. Formal legal regulation (media ethic codes, protection of minorities, prohibition of discrimination and hate
speech), is directly targeted against various abuses. Dominant values in society or particular groups may promote cultural diversity and
equality of cultures. Educational means like promoting tolerance and intercultural competence may also reduce prejudice that is related
to ignorance and insensitivity. Providing conditions for optimal intergroup contact may reduce intergroup prejudice and stereotyping.
(See toleration, political correctness).
Figure 4: Means against the misuse of social stereotypes
2.1 How to deconstruct media stereotypes about minorities?
In Tthis section we will discuss some of the most efective methods of deconstruction of media stereotypes about
minorities. Te empirical example utilized comes from the context of Estonian power politics induring recent years,
in which the so- called Russian card, involving stereotyping of the Russian speaking people, has played a prominent
role. Te article comes from the most widely readdifused quality Estonian quality daily Postimeesnewspaper Postimees
(28.04.2007) and is entitled Tundmatu vene ptt (an unknown Russian delinquent) (see the full text of the article in the
following section). Te article was published immediately after mass-rioting in Tallinn in April 2007, which followed the
removal of the Bronze Soldier monument from the city centre of city to a military cemetery by the Estonian government.
Te strategies of stereotyping Russian speaking people, utilized in the article, are related both to the substance as
well as the language of the article. Besides, aAs mentioned above, the stereotypes are part of the ongoing party politics in
Estonia, which aims to mobilize the ethnic vote. Let us start withby analyzing stereotypes in the substance of the article.
In this respect, I would like to point out two key strategies as follows:
a) the narrative presented in the article is taken out of the actual political context, thus, it is one-sided and unfair
towards the minority group as a whole;
In Other Words 20
b) the information provided is only partly correct, i.e. it mixes real facts and rumours.
For example, the frst paragraph of the article reads as follows:
He wears Hugo Boss. In his pocket there is a sachet of sunfower seeds. And he hates fascists. Tese are probably a
few features by which Criminal and Security Police ofcers begin to identifying street robbers and thieves who participated
in the mass acquisition and destruction of strangers property in Tallinn.
It is important to mention in the analysis that the broader context toof the rioting in the centre of Tallinn was a
confict between two language communities in Estonia overwith regard to diferences in respective collective memories
over the interpretation of certain events of the Second World War, as well as the role of the Soviet army in Estonia during
and after the war. Te concrete context of the event has to do with the removal of the Second World War memorial from
the centre of Tallinn in April 2007, as well as the actions of the Estonian police forces during the events and the reactions of
the Estonian Russians, who wanted the monument to stay in the place where it was put established in 1946. In the context
of the conficting historical memories, as well as the political activities around the monument during the period 2006-2007,
one event in the chain developed into another and fnally erupted into a serious rioting in the centre of Tallinn took place.
As it now becomes clearTus, the real story behind the particularconcrete event in question is quite diferent and much
more complicated than the frst paragraph of the article, as well as the article as a whole, makes outrefers to. Let us further look
at the stereotyping strategies, which are based on certain uses of language in the article, ie.i.e., the choice of particular words
and expressions to convey the narrative. In this regard, two diferent strategies are the most prevalentwidespread in media
stereotyping:
c) the framing of the message of the article by a particular headline,
d) labelling of the minorities by stigmaticizing or ironical words and expressions.
Let us frst look at the framing strategy. Te easiest way to stereotype somebody in a media article is to use certain
type of words and expressions already in the headline, which gives a certain frame to the article as a whole. As said atin
the beginning in thisour case the headline is the Russian delinquent . It has to be pointed out that, one the one hand,
the information given in such a framing is incorrect, as about one third of the rioters in the centre of Tallinn proved to be
ethnic Estonians, as police later revealed. One the other hand, not only those who were engaged in thieving, but all the
Estonian Russians, who were against the removal of the monument, are framed as delinquents by such a headline. Te
mMajority of the Estonian Russians who were against the monument removal expressed their views peacefully and even
did not even come to the place, but withvia this type ofsuch a framing the whole Russian-speakinglanguage population
has been stereotyped as delinquent.
Let us now have a look on another example from the text of the article:
For half a century theyone fooled around the monument, commemorating the unknown buried soldier Te
press always portrayeddisplayed it always with colourful pictures as a weird clownery as bearded ladies or dancing bears
wearing exotic knickknacks.
It must be saidhas to be mentioned that forby majority of the Russian-speaking people the memorial is seen interpreted
as a sacred place. Tey regard the Second World War as one of the most important benchmarks in their collective historical
memory. Visiting the memorial is part of honouring of all those, who fought against Nazi Germany during the Second
World War. Terefore,us, one can easily imagine, in such a context, what were the feelings of the Russian-speaking minority
who read the editorial with such wordings and expressions.
Te last aspect it is important to bring up into this discussion is the relationship between stereotyping and power
politics. Tis can be regarded is one of the most important reasons why stereotyping is so widespread in so many countries.
Politicians in Estonia regularly useutilize the so- called Russian card, in order to mobilize Russophobic sentiment among
a section of their voters. Tus, deconstruction of stereotypes involves not only informing readers about the actual facts
or broader historical context behind events, but also about the role of party politics behind such stereotyping and the
mechanisms used utilized for that.
In Other Words 21
Te particular issue, I would like to discuss in this article, has to do with the mentioning of Edgar Savisaar, chairman
of the CenterCentre Party and an opposition leader for many years in Estonian politics. Let us have a look aton a paragraph
in the article, which aims to directly relate him and his party to the rioting:
In the last weeks, both Savisaar as well as the unknown Russian delinquent have lost their mask. If one of them has
been hiding in the city government while spitting out bilious messages through the chairman of the city council Toomas
Vitsuts clapper, the delinquent is boasting of on the streets simply picking a quarrell.
What are the key features of the stereotyping utilized in this paragraph of the article? First, there is a construction
of binary dichotomy of friend/enemy, which labels the minority group as an enemy to the in-group. In a sense, such a
construction can be seen already in the frst paragraph of the article, which relates certain features of Russian culture as a
whole to the characteristics of the robbers and thieves. Further, there is stigmatizing and labelling in the article of those
political parties in Estonia, which have been expressing understanding of the concerns of the Russian-speaking language
minority. For example, the wording used in this article We will survive this integration as well should be read in this
way, as the Centere Party has been advocating the need for integration policies withtowards ethnic minorities in Estonia,
instead of assimilation or separation policies. Clearly, it can be seen thatTus, the stereotyping methods utilized in this
article reproduce the culturea culture of fear in Estonian society, instead of one of cooperation. Te rationale behind this-
that is the intention to gaining from ethnic polarization.
Briefy: in order to deconstruct media stereotypes about minorities, one should do the following:
a. provide the broaderwider context behindto the facts and events described,
b. present correct information regarding what actually happened,
c. demonstrate the relationship between stereotyping and power politics.
2.2 An example: An unknown Russian delinquent
2.2.1 Face of the week: An unknown Russian delinquent
28.04.2007, Postimees (the largest daily in Estonia)
Ndala Ngu
Foto: Raigo Pajula
1. He wears Hugo Boss. In his pocket there is a
sachet of sunfower seeds. And he hates fascists. Tese
are probably a few of the features by which Criminal
and Security Police ofcers begin to identify street robbers
and thieves who participated in mass the acquisition and
destruction of strangers property in Tallinn.
2. Of course, it is not the frst time that the historical
towns cobblestones have witnessed a barbarian foray. Even
though, yes 66 years have passed since the last occasion
of a similar kind and even that took place in the context of
war. Historians have no memory of such events happening
in peacetime.
3. Ten, in 1941, the victors, whose descendants are
now stirring up the commotion on the streets, left Tallinn to
the Germans in a pathetic manner. Tey left a town robbed
blind and in fames. After four years they returned, organising
the burial of a dozen cofns in the middle of the town and
erecting a monument to an unknown soldier. Tey dont even
know themselves who they buried there, but can only guess. 4.
For half a century they fooled around the monument,
commemorating the unknown buried soldier and even
assigning poor teenagers with garrison caps, guns across their stomachs, to guard the giant. Te gas pipe that had heated
the air for decades was lit up even later by request of the elderly veterans. Apparently, those elderly vets where the ones
In Other Words 22
warmed themselves around the fre following the spring holidays, tippling and even occasionally shaking a leg.
5. Te press always portrayed it with colourful pictures as weird clownery like bearded ladies or dancing bears
wearing exotic knickknacks. Even Security Police, located across the road, chose an occasional jolly picture from those
prazniks for their yearbook.
6. For ffteen years in Estonia there has been talk about integration as some miracle thing. Ofcials and politicians
have delivered sermons on how comrades inherited from the Soviet homeland are all loyal Estonian inhabitants. Teir
descendants, on the other hand, as our own children should be engaging in language immersion and so on.
7. Had the Estonian state only demonstrated some manliness, and the retired Russian ofcers abetted a little, and
the stranger would have shown its true face at Tnisme. Behind the Bronze mask, a brand new face was revealed or a
well forgotten old one. Not a soldier or some other civilized character, but a most authentic Russian delinquent. We had
already almost forgotten about his existence.
8. Sometimes he has reminded us of his existence with a few punches in some dark night passage or the wasteland
of Lasname, yet so far he has not harmed us much. As if he lived somewhere far away, in some other world, in his own
cocoon, in the company of Russian propagandist TV-channels. For us, especially for the state, it was comfortable as there
was no problem.
9. As if that were not enough, quite a few politicians, for example Edgar Savisaar, treat that bunch in a desirable
manner. Some time ago the politicians had a clich to emit signals. Savisaar has been emitting his signals to the local
Russian population all the time, successfully competing with the Ostankino television transmitter, in a firtatious way,
without expressing a clear yes. Even though feelings, even firtation, should rather remain in a politicians private life.
10. In recent weeks, both Savisaar and the unknown Russian delinquent have lost their mask. If one of them has
been hiding in the city government while spitting out bilious messages through the chairman of the city council Toomas
Vitsuts clapper, the delinquent is boasting on the streets simply picking a quarrel.
11. Te things acquired two nights back - a new suit from a Hugo Boss store, jeans from a Marlboro store and
3000-Crown Diesel sunglasses robbed from a glasses boutique are not enough for him.
12. Te taste is in his mouth and the mind is ready, it is warm outside and retired ofcers ofer a bottle of vodka, if
necessary. Te shouts Vsio nasha everything is ours! audible in the background, they rush to destroy and loot again, at
the same time carefully and with rational calculation choosing the products to stuf under their clothes.
13. Lets then nail our windows shut with Pssi boards for a short while, lets remain alert and close the liquor
stores that are the source of their audacity. Tis would not be the frst time we defended our country. We will survive this
integration as well. And treat the unknown delinquent appropriately.
2.2.2 Deconstruction of stereotypes represented in the article
I. Strategies of stereotyping
1. Content of the article
a) Te information presented is incorrect - about 1/3 of the rioters were ethnic Estonians.
b) Te story is presented out of its social context the actual context of the event was conficting historical memories
in Estonia. So, one should provide the broader context.
2. Language of the article
a) Framing already in the headline.
b) Labelling p.3 refers to PM Ansip, who said publicly those who were buried were alcoholics and prostitutes.
P.4 commemoration is labelled fooling around. P.5 commemoration is described using the words bearded ladies and
dancing bears.
c) Mixing of truth and stereotypes p.8 it is correct that the two communities are living in diferent media spaces
this is the true part; but punches in some dark night passage is the stereotype part.
II. Relationship of stereotyping to power politics
a. p. 9 - Savisaar is the opposition leader. So deconstruction is not about informing but about politics, which makes
it much more difcult, if not a mission impossible.
b. Construction of fear culture - p.11-12.
c. Construction of the other group as enemy - p.7; and our group as good guys p. 13. Te same is done already
in p.1, which relates certain features of Russian culture to robbers and thieves.
In Other Words 23
d. Ofensive towards those political parties which regard integration of Estonian society an important policy issue
p.31 We will survive this integration as well.
e. Such a discourse has been part of the power strategy of right-wing conservative political parties in Estonia for a
long time.
2.3 Media Monitoring in six European countries: institutions and scope of analysis
2.3.1 Italy
In Italy, three main non-governmental organizations undertake this type of monitoring regularly: Osservatorio di
Pavia (www.osservatorio.it), does an overall media research, UCEI (Unione delle Comunit Ebraiche Italiane), researches
particularly the Jewish communities in the media and Articolo 3 Osservatorio sulle discriminazioni looks at religious,
ethnic and other minorities in the media.
Te monitoring carried out by UCEI is commissioned yearly to a specialized agency Data Stampa, who monitor
the media on a daily basis. Te main objective of this monitoring is not only to protect the Jewish minority in Italy, but
rather it aims to collect all news concerning the Italian and international Jewish world. Te monitoring covers the main titles
of the foreign press, looking in particular at the Italian, Israeli, English, French, Spanish and German daily newspapers and
magazines. In Italy, also all local newspapers are included in the analysis. Monitoring has been going on since 2007 and
is funded by UCEI.
Articolo 3, through the mediation of UCEI, has commissioned the monitoring it does to the same Data Stampa. In
2011, UCEI also fnanced this monitoring, but in the previous three years of activity, other sources for funding (projects),
were used. Te general aim of Articolo 3s monitoring is to fght discrimination resulting from the language, narrations,
omissions and additions used by the media to describe and narrate about people belonging to minority groups. Tere are
four specifc purposes of this monitoring: detecting the ways utilized by the press to represent Others and otherness; detecting
examples of non-adherence to the ethical norms approved by the national Order of Journalists and criminal behaviours; detecting
news about racist or discriminatory acts, of which the journalist only carries the news; detecting news about racist or discriminatory
episodes having been judged, someone having appealed to the Court or sentences having been passed. Tis monitoring has been
carried out on a daily basis, since 2008. It covers about 60 newspapers of Mantua province and Lombardy region, regardless of
their political orientations - some of them are free-press papers. Tese are all in Italian; they include the free press and have
diferent circulations (ranging from the very widely-read ones to more limited ones). Staf of the Articolo 3 leaf through the
local papers daily, while for the regional press Articolo 3 pays an agency, Data Stampa, to pre-select the relevant articles
on the basis of certain keywords.
Te people belonging to minority groups are very actively engaged in such work, both as staf (researchers/press analysts),
and as external contributors. Since its very frst day, in fact, Articolo 3 has counted among its members people belonging to
several minorities: Roma and Sinti, Jews, Muslims, people with disabilities, migrants, and Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transsexual
people work alongside representatives of the majority community. Minorities have a fundamental role also within UCEI, whose
staf is entirely made up of Jews.
Other bodies undertaking media monitoring on a non-regular basis are:
non-governmental bodies: Occhio ai Media: intercultural cohabitation and the media (www.occhioaimedia.org),
Giornalisti contro il razzismo MediaRom: observatory on Roma people in the media (www.giornalismi.info/mediarom/),
COSPE (Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti) - Media & Multiculturalit: media and cultural diversity (www.
mmc2000.net), Pari o Dispare: gender, media and stereotypes (www.pariodispare.org), Rete Lenford Osservatorio Media e
Omosessualit: LGBT community in the media (www.retelenford.it/taxonomy/term/116);
governmental bodies: UNAR (Umcio Nazionale Antidiscriminazioni Razziali): Web and Media observatory
against racial discriminations (http://93.63.216.212/Unar/mediaWeb.aspx);
academic bodies: Centro studi e ricerche Carta di Roma, Universit La Sapienza", Rome (http://www.coris.
uniroma1.it/testo.asp?id=4593) through the research project Mister Media (Minorities Stereotypes on Media), and CdA
(Centro dascolto dellinformazione radiotelevisiva).
In Other Words 24
2.3.2 France
Te High Authority for the fght against Discrimination and for Equality (HALDE), is an independent administrative
structure. It was created in 2004, at the request of the European Union, and therefore cooperates with European and other
related international institutions, gives legal advice and makes recommendations to French institutions. It mostly works with
discrimination with regard to access to accommodation, employment, work, training and education. HALDE has a keyword
research system. It also ofers some training sessions on tackling discrimination (in general or on specifc topics and areas), as
well as tool kits on stereotype deconstruction. It publishes articles and reports. Its local units identify good practices in terms
of struggle against discrimination and promotion of equality.
Les mots sont importants, (Words are important), an association that gathers sociologists and linguists, publishes
some relevant analyses of vocabulary and speeches widely used by politicians and journalists. It also delivers positive messages
in reaction to these speeches.
Te International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA), identifes racist acts and speech especially
on the internet and contributes to the drafting of an annual report on racism on the internet. Its website also ofers the
possibility to signal racist speeches found on the internet. It publishes press releases and documents, brings actions to court
and proposes collaboration with associations having the same interest (project partnership, implementation of awareness
programs, signalling of racist situations). It acts at regional and national level as well as international level.
Le Mouvement Contre le Racisme et pour lAmiti entre les Peuples (Te Movement Against Racism and for
Friendship between people), or MRAP, highlights hate speech, particularly in politics and on the internet. It publishes
press releases on each diferent type of racism and xenophobia: you can fnd on its website a section for each kind of speech
and corresponding comments or struggle: anti-Semitism, islamophobia, racism against Roma people, Arabic people, black
people, etc.
Le Centre dEtudes des Discriminations, du Racisme et de lAntismitisme (Te Study Centre on Discrimination,
Racism and Anti-Semitism), or CEDRA, is a research centre made up of several institutions which are competent in
the felds of human rights issues and the struggle against racism, xenophobia and related intolerance. Its mandate covers
investigation, research and consultancy in the felds of racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance, as well as in
broader human rights issues. CEDRA has been the French focal point for the EU-RAXEN network since 2005. It also has
experience as a FRALEX contact point in the framework of the FRA activities. It provides scientifc expertise, by collecting
and analyzing data on racism, xenophobia and related intolerance or other human rights violations in France, as well as by
conducting studies and researches on these matters. As a FRA national focal point, CEDRA collaborates on a daily basis
with the French National Consultative Commission of Human Rights (CNCDH), and is in permanent contact with civil
society actors and research institutions. On this basis, CEDRA is also a member of the FRA Fundamental Rights Platform.
SOS homophobia is an organization that defends victims of homophobia. It investigates and leads research on
homophobia. It publishes reports, awareness tools and guides to signal racist speech found on the internet and other
media. It also contributes to the Homophobia Observatory in France. Its annual report contains an analysis of the French
press.
An example of an academic media monitoring project is the one in which France was partner, implemented by
a partnership made up of TARKI (Coordinator, Hungary), University of Madrid (Spain), IRIS Institute (Paris, France),
University of Bremen (Germany), Etvs Lorand University (Hungary), Jagiellonia University (Poland), and the University of
Leeds (UK). One objective of this project was to develop and test adequate methodology for comparative media studies. It also
aimed at contributing to raising standards in journalism with regard to the coverage of issues with human rights implications
by encouraging media professionals to challenge stereotypical views, to participate in training on human rights-related aspects
of journalism, and to encourage education programs for future media professionals to include teaching human rights. Te
project also aimed at empowering media recipients to have a critical view of media reporting. Between 2008 and 2010, in each
country four daily newspapers were analyzed during four non-consecutive weeks: the two main nation-wide daily newspapers
with the highest market share focusing on political reporting (i.e. what is generally known as broadsheets), and the two main
nationwide daily newspapers with the highest market share focusing on reporting on human interest stories (i.e. what is generally
known as popular newspapers or tabloids). Te monitoring covered all principal minority groups.
In Other Words 25
2.3.3 Portugal
In Portugal, media monitoring is done by several organizations and with several regulation types: external, self-regulation
and co-regulation. Tere are also several laws that constitute the legal framework of media activity and several entities that aim
at sectorial representation and do observatory activities.
ANACOM Autoridade Nacional de Comunicaes - National Authority of Communications (www.anacom.pt), is,
since 2002, the new name for the Portuguese Communications Institute (IPC Instituto das Comunicaes de Portugal); it is
a collective person of public law, with administrative and fnancial independence and its own patrimony. ANACOM is the
regulation authority of postal and electronic communications.
ERC Entidade Reguladora para a Comunicao Social - Social Communication Regulating Entity (www.erc.pt),
started working in February 2006. It is a collective person of public law, with administrative and fnancial autonomy,
own patrimony and administrative independence. Its main objective is regulation and supervision of all media entities
in Portugal, by ensuring the respect of constitutional and legal rights and obligations, such as: freedom of press, right to
information, independence towards political and economic powers, confrontation of several opinion streams, ensuring
the that all norms applicable to media and content production are fulflled and promoting a regular and efective work of
their markets. For this, ERC ensures the respect and protection of the public, specially the youngest and most sensitive,
rights, freedom and personal guarantees and rigor, exemption and transparency in the media.
Linha Alerta Internet Segura Awareness Internet Safety Line (http://linhaalerta.internetsegura.pt), is a combined project
of awareness node and information line, co-fnanced by the European Commission Safer Internet Plus programme, implemented
within a partnership made up of UMIC Agncia para a Sociedade do Conhecimento Agency for knowledge Society; Ministrio
da Educao Ministry of Education; FCCN Fundao para a Computao Cientifca Nacional - Foundation for National
Scientifc Computation and Microsoft Portugal. Te project ended in 2010 and presently the denounce line is maintained by
FNCC. Te mission of this service is to block illegal contents on the Internet and to pursue criminal accusation of those
who publish this kind of content. Tis mission is accomplished by giving Portuguese police authorities the information
received and in collaboration with national ISPs (Internet Service Providers). To do this, this line makes available to the
general public a set of means that, totally anonymously, make it possible to present information about potentially illegal
contents. Information is received, treated and analysed by dedicated operators that forward it on to national or international
police authorities. In its frst stage this service is treating illegal contents about child pornography, violence and racism.
Among the sectorial organizations, some work by representation, some organize observatories and some ofer support
in defning policies to fght discrimination. Here are some relevant examples:
Confederao Portuguesa dos Meios de Comunicao Social - CPMCS (Portuguese Confederation of Media,
www.cpmcs.pt), founded in 1994 by several Associations of Press, Radio and TV, is the main representative of Media in
Portugal, with more than a 1,000 enterprises that own Media. It aims at strengthening and promoting the Media sector,
defending and promoting Media industry interests before national and international organizations that can infuence
this activity and its development.
2.3.4 Romania
In Romania, four main organizations/bodies carried out relevant media monitoring with regard to minorities.
Te Media Monitoring Agency-Active Watch and the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism - both
non-governmental bodies, organized this monitoring between 16th January and 31st July 2006, through a project
fnanced by the European Commissions Phare Programme 2003: Strengthening civil Society in Romania. Te
purposes of this monitoring were ethical issues and minority protection. Te analysis sought to determine the extent and
manner in which central and local newspapers report violations of minority rights. In this sense, a series of national
newspapers and several local newspapers were included in the monitoring.
Te National Council for Combating Discrimination is a governmental body which undertook monitoring with
state funding aimed at identifying the criteria of discrimination that occur primarily in print, to observe how the subjects
that occur on grounds of discrimination are treated and also to observe the media perception of the activity of the National
Council for Combating Discrimination itself. Te monitoring was carried out with the purpose of protecting the minorities,
In Other Words 26
from January to June 2006 and covered various newspapers.
Te Media Monitoring Agency- Active Watch is a non-governmental body fnanced by the European Union
through Te Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe EEA Grants. Te study carried out by the Media
Monitoring Agency between August-October 2002 monitored the image of Roma people in the Romanian media. Te
study looked in particular at the medias attitude towards repatriated people, especially those repatriated from countries
Romania has completed readmission agreements with. As an element of novelty, this study added a new parameter: the
useless mention of the ethnicity. Tis helped to identify cases when journalists mention the ethnicity of the repatriated
people, when ethnicity is not of interest within the bilateral Readmission Agreement (only the citizenship is of interest in
this respect). Monitoring covered 12 daily newspapers.
Generally, these studies do not reveal the engagement of the minorities in the monitoring process.
Te monitoring undertaken by the Romanian Institute for Research on National Minorities started in 2010 and is
expected to continue in the long-term. A governmental body, the institute carries out its monitoring with state funding and
some support from universities, and aims at monitoring the press on the following themes: inter-ethnic conficts, Romanian
legislation on minority groups, educational law - teaching Romanian as secondary language, problems of Romanian migrants
in Italy, transformation of the election system with regard to the parliamentary representation of national minority groups. Te
subject of monitoring is the online content of both Romanian language national newspapers (Evenimentul Zilei, Jurnalul
Naional, Ziua, Cotidianul, Gndul), and Hungarian language newspapers from Romania (Krnika, j Magyar Sz,
Erdlyi Riport, Erdlyi Napl), and the Transindex.ro news portal. It is important to mention that the Institute includes
researchers with minority background.
Te National Audiovisual Council of Romania is an autonomous public institution, the only authority in Romania
who can regulate in the feld of audiovisual communication. Te National Audiovisual Council monitors the audio and
video press in Romania and has the authority to apply sanctions. Te specifc article in the Audiovisual Code states that:
Any form of discrimination in audio-visual programs on grounds of race, religion, nationality, sex, sexual orientation or
ethnicity is forbidden.
2.3.5 Spain
In Spain, a public university, Universidad Autnoma de Barcelona (UAB), carried out monitoring activity under
the title Minorities in mass-media (MINORAS EN LOS MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIN). Tis activity was
funded by the university itself, it aimed at looking at the image of all minorities and lasted three years. Monitoring was
directed at all the Spanish and Catalan press.
OMECIA-Te Andalusian media observatory (OMECIA- OBSERVATORIO ANDALUZ SOBRE LOS MEDIOS),
is funded by the regional government of Andaluca and implemented in collaboration with Granada University. Te monitoring
has looked at all Spanish language media since 2008, and it is expected to continue.
FUNDACIN SECRETARIADO GITANO (FSG), does daily media monitoring for the Roma community in
Spain. We have an arrangement with them to receive the weekly press clipping from their Communication Department.
Last year, FSG edited a Practical Guide for journalists with recommendations on equal treatment and the Media and
the Roma Community in Spain. (In English.)
Te CRMF (Centro de Recuperacin de Personas con Discapacidad Fsica), and the Spanish Ministry of Health
(Instituto de Mayores y Servicios Sociales - IMSERSO), carried out a study called Gua para un uso no discriminatorio
del lenguaje en las mujeres con discapacidad. Te study was undertaken in 2009 with funding from the Ministry of
Health, and is intended to provide guidelines for the use of inclusive language in relation to women with disabilities.
Gua de estilo para periodistas: Cmo informar sobre colectivos en riesgo de exclusin social? (Style guide for
journalists: How to report on groups at risk of social exclusion?), was produced by Rede Galega contra A Pobreza (EAPN
Galicia), and by the Asociacin Galega de Reporteiros Solidrios (AGARESO). Te guide was funded by the Ministry of
Health and published at the end of 2010. It includes recommendations for the informative treatment of minorities and
also includes a chapter on the treatment of people with diferent disabilities.
All the associations involved in the Jaens Press Observatory against the discrimination and xenophobia have activated
alerts in internet searching engines (as Google, Yahoo) using keywords depending on the minority interested in each one. Te
purpose for each member in the Observatory is to select and obtain a sample of news items to be discussed in the monthly
In Other Words 27
Observatory meeting. Some of them (mainly those considered to be afected by discriminating language), are included in
our monthly newsletter including an alternative to the published text. Most urgent news is shared immediately using the
social networks (Facebook and twitter). Due to the social targets in Diputacin de Jan, the focus in the Observatory is the
protection of minorities. Te newspapers monitored include El Pais, El Mundo, ABC, La Razon, Publico, La Gaceta, Diario
Jaen, El Ideal (Jaen) and Viva Jaen, all of them are considered as quality newspapers. Tese newspapers are privately owned.
Besides that, a public TV channel Canal Sur TV is monitored.
2.3.6 Estonia
In Estonia, there are three types of institutions involved or potentially involved in the monitoring of minority representation
in the media. However, up until the In Other Words project started its activities there were no institutions or projects focussing on
such monitoring as their main function. Also, engaging representatives of minorities in monitoring activities had not been discussed
in Estonia before In Other Words started.
Te most comprehensive media monitoring of representation of minorities has been carried out by the Institute of
Communication of Tartu University, commissioned by the Integration Foundation (which is a governmental institution).
Tus, fnancing for the monitoring comes from the Estonian state, through the Integration Foundation. Monitoring is
carried out on a project basis, and is one part of a broader social integration monitoring project carried out in Estonia
by two main public universities (Tallinn University and Tartu University). Te media monitoring started in 1999 and is
repeated on a regular basis. Te main purpose of the media monitoring is to analyze how the most important Estonian
newspapers report ethnic minority issues in Estonia and the role of media in the social integration of ethnic minorities.
Te scope of the monitoring is to focus on ethical issues and also minority protection issues. It covers the major Estonian
and Russian language newspapers. Te Estonian language newspapers monitored have 40,000-60,000 readers, while the
Russian language newspapers monitored have about 10,000 readers. Te monitoring covers both quality newspapers (such
as Eesti Pevaleht), and tabloids (e.g. SLhtuleht). Tese Estonian newspapers are privately owned.
Tere is also an institution in Estonia doing occasional media monitoring, which does not focus on representation
of minorities per se, but also include this elements from time to time. Tis institution is the Estonian Newspaper Association,
which is a non-proft organization working in the common interests of the participating media organizations and is fnanced
by them. It unites 40 newspapers published in Estonia, with a total daily circulation of 510,500 copies. According to the
regulations of the organization, one of its functions is to carry out media monitoring in order to make sure that good
journalistic practices are followed.
Besides these two institutions there are a number of media companies (for example ETA - Estonian News Agency),
providing diferent kinds of services, which also include media monitoring. However, no major monitoring project, which
would focus on representation of minorities, has been carried out so far.
2.4. Monitoring methods in six European countries
In Italy, Articolo 3 conducts its monitoring work on the basis of the number of keywords selected, ranging from
words defning homosexual and transgender people, to those related to some religious belief (like Islam and Hebraism),
from the words describing an ethnic or national descent (such as Roma, Sinti and all nationalities other than Italian),
to those to do with general themes, such as immigration, racism, discrimination and memory. Insulting and vernacular
terminology also belongs to the list of keywords, since it often appears in the press.
In France, in the academic project implemented by the IRIS Institute, the minority groups (and their related issues),
coded in minority-related news items were defned as follows: Historical national minority groups with territorial/governmental
autonomy, Historical minority groups without territorial/governmental autonomy, and those who have been present in the
Member State for more than a century (e.g. Roma, Sinti, Travellers); Minority ethnic populations (immigrants who have
been in the Member State for more than two decades); Immigrants (people who entered the Member State within the last
two decades with the intention of remaining there); Temporary immigrants (people who have entered the Member State
to fulfl a specifc work contract e.g. football players); Migrants in an irregular situation; Refugees and asylum seekers;
Religious minorities; Diaspora groups (people that are attached to the country because of their nationality or ethnicity,
In Other Words 28
but who live abroad); Majority population.
In Spain, the following key-words are used in monitoring: ROMA: tanos, cal, gitanos (pejorative terms), clan,
reyerta; MIGRANTISM IN GENERAL: inmigrantes sin papeles, clandestinos, ilegales, invasin, avalancha; BLACK
PEOPLE: negrata, morenos, negros, oscuros; PEOPLE FROM NORTH AFRICA: Moro (in pejorative terms); PEOPLE
FROM SOUTH AMERICA: sudaca, panchitos, pony-payos, latinos; PEOPLE FROM ASIA: chinos (depending on the intonation
and circumstances); PEOPLE FROM EASTERN EUROPE: romanos, depending on the intonation and circumstances); JEWS:
judos (depending on intonation); GAY MEN: maricas, mariquitas, maricones, invertidos, bujarras, bujarrones; GAY WOMEN:
tortillera, boller; TRANSEXUAL PEOPLE: maricas, maricones, bujarrones, invertidos; PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITY:
cojo, minusvalido, inutiles, invalidos; PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISABILITY: tontitos, retrasados, monglicos, subnormales. Te
monitoring uses Google and Yahoo Alerts.
In Estonia, mostly the discourse analysis method has been used in monitoring. It is based not on locating certain
keywords in articles, but on analyzing larger conceptual units like sentences, frames, narratives etc. Monitoring so far has
targeted only ethnic minorities, not other types of minorities. No software has been used for gathering monitoring data.
In Romania, the keywords used for monitoring were very specifc for each of the projects. In the monitoring of central and
local newspapers with regard to the reporting of violations of minority rights, the following keywords were chosen: Gypsy/Roma,
ethnicity/ethnic minority/minority, marginalized, excluded person, handicap/disability, HIV/institutionalized/homosexual/gay/
lesbian. In the project implemented by the National Council for Combating Discrimination the following keywords were used:
handicap/disability, minority / ethnicity / nationality (the study monitored the frequency with which these words appeared in the
newspapers). In the project looking at the medias attitude towards repatriated people, keywords like begging gypsies /unemployed
gypsies /nomad gypsies were searched, while in the monitoring undertaken by the Romanian Institute for Research on National
Minorities the main keywords are ethnic minorities, migrants.
As for using specifc software in the media monitoring in the participating countries, it was either impossible to
track down the software used, or the documents or sources of information used do not mention anything about this. Te
exception was Italy, where a free on-line archive was used.
2.5 Monitoring output and further actions
In Italy, the media monitoring work by Articolo 3 produces a weekly Newsletter, containing the press review, a guide to
its reading and other contributions (articles, interviews...), often written by people belonging to the minority groups who help
deconstruct examples of bad/incomplete information and combat stereotypes with strong and documented points of view. Also,
an Annual Report is produced, containing data about the work carried out during the year, together with all Newsletters and
contributions published. Tese outputs are in Italian and available on the website. Articolo 3 keeps an archive of all articles
read, and fles them according criteria which allow them to gather statistics and build graphs. Tey show what topics and
communities the papers deal with most often; what terminology the journalists use; and what type of information they
convey. UCEI also issues a daily Newsletter, while Osservatorio di Pavia though not working specifcally on the themes
of minorities and anti-discrimination has had long-term co-operation with RAI (the Italian public service broadcasting),
for whom it has been carrying out media monitoring activities since 1994. Te data produced by the Osservatorio di Pavia
is used by the Parliamentary Commission on RAI.
In France, the monitoring implemented by the IRIS Institute within the European partnership produced relevant
results, such as the analysis of the discriminatory language in sport or the place given to certain topics correlated with the
importance of the facts presented. Te project also undertook an interesting analysis of images, pictures, drawings and
caricatures in newspapers. Te results of the monitoring were not authorized by FRAC to be published (neither online
nor printed publications), due to specifc contract terms.
In Portugal, each institution regularly puts on their websites the results of its activity, in several, non-homogenous
forms, depending on each ones competences.
In Romania, the results are generally made public. Active Watch has notifed the National Council for Combating
Discrimination of several cases of stereotypes and discrimination in the media. In the case of the monitoring done by the
In Other Words 29
National Council for Combating Discrimination, the results were used by the Council in order to improve its activity. In
the case of the ongoing monitoring project, the results are available on the website of the Romanian Institute for Research
on Minorities.
In Spain, the results of the monitoring undertaken by OMECIA are available on the internet in the form of Bulletins.
Te study done by CERMI is available online, while the study on language used to refer to women by IMSERSO is also
online, but not available in English. Te same is true of the study by EAPN and AGARESO.
In Estonia, the main output of the media monitoring is research report, which is made public either in printed
form or on the internet. Tere are a number of media campaigns organized by the monitoring teams after such reports
have been published. Te reports and campaigns target the general public, but mostly ethnic Estonians as they are mostly
produced in the Estonian language. No measurement of the efectiveness of monitoring has been undertaken so far and
the representatives of minorities have not been involved in the monitoring so far.
2.6 Comparing Methods
Te main conclusion of the comparative information provided in this paper is that the six countries involved in
the project In Other Words have very diverse practices of monitoring minority representation in the media. Italy, as the
project initiator and coordinator, has the most developed system of monitoring and the most relevant experience, while
Estonia had virtually no media monitoring of other minorities other than ethnic before the project started. Te level of
media monitoring systems in the other four countries lies somewhere between that of Italy and Estonia. Projects like In
the Other Words can contribute immensely to the spreading of the best practices in more advanced countries.
Gathering the information for this paper was carried out on the basis of a common questionnaire (see Annex 6.1), flled in
by all the partners. However, due to the fact that the media monitoring systems and contexts are very diferent in diferent countries,
it was not possible to get uniform answers to all the questions, to make the comparison coherent and comprehensive. For example,
media monitoring bodies include such diverse institutions as universities, NGOs, governmental organizations, private companies
etc. and their combination in diferent countries varies greatly. Te history, fnancing, scope and reach of these institutions are
very country-specifc. Some institutions carry out the monitoring on a regular basis, other institutions on a project basis
so, the data gathered about the representation of minorities in the media is difcult to compare. Also the minorities
covered in diferent countries are very diferent, depending on the types of minorities living in a particular country, history
of the majority/minority relationship, agenda setting practices in local politics, etc.
An important element of the current exercise is the opportunity to learn about the weakest aspects in the current state
of afairs of monitoring media representation of minorities. We can conclude, on the basis of the information gathered in this
paper, that there are major issues both regarding the institutional building of media monitoring bodies and the efectiveness
of their operation. A common problem in all countries is the lack of resources for media monitoring. Often it is not clear
exactly how the results of the monitoring should be used, what the proper output should be, who the output should target
and how the efectiveness of the monitoring should be measured. One major common shortcoming is proper engagement
of minorities themselves in the process of monitoring. Tese are some of the main issues future eforts in monitoring
media representation of minorities should take into account and for which projects like In Other Words can contribute
to fnding solutions.
In Other Words 30
In Other Words 31
Chapter 3
Media Monitoring. Observing and analysing the media representation
of minorities
Minorities are and have always been part of our societies and will remain so. Te media plays an essential
role in their integration, ensuring that issues linked to minority communities, migration, refugees and asylum seekers are
portrayed in a fair and balanced way, refecting their positive contribution to society and protecting them from negative
stereotyping.
Media professionals should be the frst to foster cultural diversity, serve entire national populations and to refect the cultural,
ethnic, religious, linguistic diversity of society. However, in reality they often reinforce stereotypes and repeat misunderstandings
of minorities, apparently unaware of the impact this has on societys unconscious mindset. Some groups of people are often
represented through stereotypes that simplify the variety of a given group into one simple category for the purpose
of delivering information quickly to a large audience. Further, media professionals frequently seem unaware of the ways
in which readers, listeners and viewers will decode and retain these stereotypes, which when repeated in the news can
easily become the reality.
In her Gender setting, Margaret Gallagher speaks of the symbolic annihilation of women, caused not only by the
non-representation [in the media] of womens points of view or perspective on the world, but also by the fact that their
representation refects the biases and assumptions of those who defne the public and therefore the media agenda .
One often fnds the same process at work when analyzing the media representation of other non-dominant communities,
such as migrant people, religious minorities, people with disability or those belonging to the LGBT community.
Categories seen as diferent from the majority are either efaced from the general discourse and public life or, when
they are allowed into such spheres, it is mainly to confrm the general publics prejudices and stereotypes. Tat is, to reinforce
the social, political and economic power structure.
Te absence of minorities from papers and screens leads to a feeling of irrelevance and a lack of sense of belonging
in these communities and, in the majority community, to the false impression that these people do not exist in the way
everyone else does. Tat is, their needs, desires, points of view and opinions can be easily overlooked when it comes to
taking decisions afecting the whole community.
Te second tendency of stereotyping minority groups when represented in mainstream media may be due to several
factors. Some can be ascribed to the reporters, in particular their cultural assumptions and prejudices, insufcient research,
the heavy preference for opinions, the ignorance of the correct terms in relation to minorities and limited time due to
commercial deadlines. Other reasons include enormous under-representation of minorities on the staf of media organizations
and too few who in positions where they can have an infuence on content, even though they have the advantage of seeing the
world from a diferent angle. Tese factors, though, are due to the general organization and shape of a society, in whose political
and economic dynamics the media are deeply embedded.
Since the media have a special role in spreading concepts and often infuencing public opinion, having a close look
at the messages they convey is particularly important not only to understand the general publics view, but also to assess
the propagandist objectives of some narratives. Tis examination allows for debate with media professionals, to introduce
a more aware and responsible way of dealing with the themes of Others and Otherness.
8- A Diversity Toolkit, http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/media-toolkit_diversity_en.pdf
9- Ibid.
10-Margaret Gallagher, Gender setting: new agenda for media monitoring and advocacy (Lomdon: Zed Books, 2001), p.3
Articolo 3, Osservatorio sulle discriminazioni
8
9
10
In Other Words 32
Te media plays a fundamental role in shaping discriminating narratives or, on the other hand, in spreading positive,
accurate and realistic images of non-dominant social or ethnic groups.
Such responsibility is shared with civil society organizations (CSOs), representing minority groups in that they are
both media consumers as well as social representatives, and, as such, can infuence the medias approach to diversity. CSOs
can thus work as media change agents at diferent levels. In order to initiate serious dialogue with journalists and program
makers, CSOs should actively monitor the media and discuss the contents and efects of their portrayal of minorities on
a regular basis. Tey should also more actively join public debates in and about the media.
What follows is a practical guide on media monitoring, aimed at CSOs, NGOs, associations and informal groups
who are willing to engage in long-term analysis of the media and its representation of specifc communities. Te information
below canvasses a range of possible questions that could be considered in formulating monitoring techniques. Following this
general discussion are some case studies of actual press units that participate in our IOW project.
3.1 Framing media monitoring
Many factors must be taken into account, when preparing monitoring work. First, a close look at the context is
necessary: this involves both the political situation in the area to be analyzed (the factors infuencing the function of the
media), and the socio-cultural context (the number and role of civil society organizations, activists and intellectuals; the
presence and role of schools, universities and research centres). Besides providing a general picture of the area and of its dynamics,
this preliminary screening allows for the creation of a database of alliances a press unit can count on for contributions, suggestions, information
and support. Also, a close look at the context must of course involve an analysis of the situation of the media in the area; gathering all information
about its circulation, reputation, political orientation, ownership, target audience (political/cultural lites, mass market, specific communities),
and appeal (quality vs. popular), geography (national, local), is essential for the press unit to decide about the type of work it will carry out.
Like the preliminary analysis, the questions to bear in mind while actually doing the monitoring work can also
be generalized, as they remain more or less the same, irrespectively of the type of media or the specifc community being
monitored. Some such questions include:
- Are news stories of very little importance reported in an exaggerated way and given disproportionate relevance
only because the protagonists of such events are people belonging to a minority group?
- Is some criminal behaviour ascribed to an entire group and described as specifc of that groups way of life?
- Are concepts belonging to popular wisdom and traditional sources taken for granted and preferred to documented
ones?
- Are details concerning the national or ethnic descent, the sexual orientation or religious belief of news story protagonists
constantly given, irrespective of their insignifcance for the understanding of an event?
- When a minority is involved in some news stories, are the protagonists points of view on the event sought and
listened to by the journalists, in order to provide readers with a complete and objective version of the matter? Whose
voices and viewpoints are heard in the story? Whose viewpoint predominates? Is there a reasonable balance of viewpoints
presented by minority representatives and by others? Are there any obviously missing voices? What might these missing
voices have added to the story?
- Are some parts of the paper/website used to spread prejudice? If, of all the letters sent by readers to a newspaper,
provocative and racist ones are chosen for publication, is this really a way to a give voice to the general public or is it a
precise choice? Is publishing such opinions a way to guarantee freedom of speech, or should the most ofensive, racist and
provocative letters be rejected, or published with the editors comments?
- Are the issues involving a marginal community sensationalized or is its interaction with the majority community
exaggerated?
Some of the most relevant aspects to which the press unit should pay particular attention include:
- Headlines: How is the story introduced? Does the headline refect the essence of the story fairly, or does it convey
a stereotype? Is it relevant to the story, or unrelated?
- Te language used in the articles to defne minority groups and to cover news involving the minorities access to
citizenship and human rights, their relations with the rest of the population, their conditions and claims. Te terminology
is often inadequate, if not vulgar; journalists tend to report the nationality or ethnicity of news story protagonists, provide
descriptions stigmatizing entire groups of people and prefer assumptions to the direct testimony of the people involved in
In Other Words 33
news stories.
- Visual images: do the images (video footage on television, photos and drawings in newspapers), illustrate the
content of the story fairly, or do they convey stereotypes? Is the image relevant to the story? Would a diferent image have
been more appropriate? In the context of the story, what is the overall message about a specifc minority conveyed by the
images? Are there jokes and cartoons, positioned near to a serious story whose sole aim is to trivialize it?
- Te position of the article within the paper, in the case of press monitoring: an article on the front page has been
given great relevance by a papers editorial staf and is going to arouse the readers curiosity and interest, more than a small
paragraph published in the inner pages. What assumptions about the importance of the story are conveyed by its placement?
Note also the context in which the story is positioned. For example, on a newspaper page what sorts of item are placed close
to a story that features minorities?
A third element from which some general conclusions can be drawn concerns the results of media monitoring. A
press unit usually encounters at least fve broad typologies of stories:
1. Hate speech: Articles in which insulting language is used against a minority group, and/or readers are (openly or
not), incited to harm people belonging to such group.
2. Blatant stereotype: Articles or images in which a minority group is presented in stereotypical roles, performing
stereotypical faults/duties; language or visual images that denigrate a specifc group, trivialize its achievements and glorify
or justify violence against it.
3. Subtle stereotype: Articles or images that reinforce notions of a minoritys characteristics/roles/faults in ways that
make this seem normal.
4. Missed opportunities/minority-blind: Articles in which there is a lack of balance between minorities and the majority
group (therefore, a lack of diversity), in sources, resulting in only one perspective being given on an issue; articles that lack a minority
perspective in every-day issues such as elections or the budget, depriving these stories of new and interesting angles, such as how cuts
in grants afect people with disability or migrant women. Stories that could have been enriched and expanded by including a wider
range of sources and viewpoints, or by shedding light on diferent implications for the majority community and a minority. You will
probably fnd many stories in this category. For instance, a story about new legislation on religious sites that includes only sources
related to the majority religion or a story about national unemployment that fails to consider the diferent impacts on nationals and
migrants.
5. Minority-aware: Tis may occur in articles and images that: challenge stereotypes and prompt debate on topical
issues from a human-rights perspective; have minority balance of sources demonstrating diferent perspectives/impact on the
minority and the majority; deal with inequality between minorities and the majority; and, highlight structures, processes and
campaigns to advance equality and mutual understanding.
Tese stories support the basic journalistic principles of fairness, balance, challenging assumptions and promoting
debate, fresh ideas and perspectives, doing no harm (respecting the human dignity and rights of sources).
Te monitoring work also allows us to detect: examples of non-adherence to the national/ European ethical codes
regulating the profession of journalism; examples of non-adherence to the national/European legislation and criminal
behaviour; news about racist or discriminatory acts, of which the journalist only carries the news; and news about racist or
discriminatory acts having been judged, sentences having been passed, someone having appealed to the Court.
3.2 Case studies
Te organizations taking part in the In other WORDS project can be divided into at least three broad categories. Most of
the partner organizations belong to the not-for-proft and social work worlds: Articolo 3 (Italy), Eurocircle (France), Intercultural
Institute of Timisoara (Romania), and IEBA (Portugal), fall into this category. Two of the partners are local institutions: the project
leader, the Province of Mantua (Italy) and of the Diputacin Provincial de Jan (Spain). Finally, the two remaining organizations are
University departments, one belonging to Tallinn University (Estonia) and one to Almera University (Spain). Te partnership is,
therefore, heterogeneous, which leads to some diferences in the set up and management of the local press units and editorial work.
In this section, we will outline how the press units were created, who the people involved in editorial activity are,
how they carry out their daily work and how the network supporting such work was created. What will emerge is that,
minor diferences notwithstanding, all of the organizations utilized similar methods and strategies to meet the projects
objectives.
In Other Words 34
3.2.1 Te people: cross-community approach
Press Unit
Staf and volunteers
(overall fgure)
Minorities involved
Percentage of people
with a minority back-
ground
Percentage of students
Articolo 3 12
Roma and Sinti, LGBT, p.
with disability, Jews, women
75% -
Eurocircle 10
LGBT, women, migrants,
Muslims
75% 20%
IIT 15
Roma, Hungarians, women,
migrants, Muslims
80%
IEBA* 9
ability, women, migrants
0% 0%
Dip. Jaen 10
ability, women, migrants,
Muslims
100% 0%
Tallinn University
25
(July 2011 -Aug 2012)
-LGBT, p. with disability,
Russian-speaking p.
- 100%
15
(Sept 2012 Jan 2013)
Almeria University
40
(divided into groups of 4-7
people)
women, migrants, Muslims
50% 50%
Te table shows which minority groups are most involved in the project and how many of the people in the diferent
LPUs belong to such groups. Te percentages are high, and satisfy the projects main objective, which is the direct participation
in the monitoring work of people from minority communities.
Te cross-community approach has entailed difculties for some partners, for it requires people with diferent backgrounds
and life stories to cooperate and make eforts toward mutual understanding. Tallinn University, for instance, has found it very easy
to involve representatives of the minorities in the frst instance, but difcult to motivate them to carry out the projects tasks and
day-to-day work.
Te frst fve organizations recruited their LPU staf by contacting local associations dealing with specifc minorities, some
of whose activists have become members of the LPUs. IEBA, for instance, involved SOS Racismo, whose work aims to fght
racism, Graal, a womens association, APAV GAV Coimbra, which supports victims of crime and violence, Nao te prives, which
combats discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and APPACDM, which fght for the rights of people
with psychical disability. Te same was done by the Diputacin Provincial de Jan, whose press unit is made up of members of
nine associations: La Muralla and Asoc. de Mujeres Progresistas contra la violencia de gnero, which works for the promotion of
womens rights and against violence; Juventud sin barreras and Fejidif, which supports people with disability; Vrtigo cultural,
which is made up of young people; Fundacin Secretariado Gitano and Mujeres Gitanas Sinando Kal, which promote the
rights of Roma people in general and Roma women in particular; Jaen Acoge, which works for the integration of migrants; and
COLEGA, a collective of gay and lesbian people. Te Intercultural Institute of Timisoara developed their LPU in cooperation
with several Roma and migrant organisations.
Te work of the LPUs benefts also from the cooperation of other people, who do not belong to the staf or the group of
volunteers, but make up the extended network of each organization. Such a network may include external experts, intellectuals,
and other associations working to promote the rights of minorities or in similar felds. It is on these people that each LPU can
count, when it comes to producing highly specialized contents, conducting interviews or sharing points of view. Also, involving
media professionals and associations of journalists is essential, for it is through contact with these people that the LPU receives
feedback about its work and readdresses its attention and priorities. Te main method used in building a network of journalists
around each LPU is the organisation of public events to which media professionals are invited, both as speakers and public.
Articolo 3 holds one big event per year, when it publicly presents its annual Report, inviting the local journalists and one
known at the national level. Similar examples are the conferences held within the project in Mantua, Tallinn and Almeria, or
the thematic meetings organized by IEBA and the IIT, which also organizes regular thematic public events, some focused
In Other Words 35
on the image in the media of specifc groups (Roma, migrants, etc), others on special days (March 21st, November 16th,
December 10th), involving several well known journalists.
3.2.2 Methodology and sources
Te theoretical grounds on which the monitoring work is built derive from the refections produced within each
LPU, those agreed on within the partnership and the European and local legal frameworks both those which regulate
the profession of journalism and the anti-discrimination legislation. Te legislation approved at the European level, and
thus shared by all the countries involved in the project, includes: the Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force 1st December 2009,
amending the current EU and EC treaties and was ratifed by all EU member states; Directive 2000/43/EC, implementing the
principle of equal treatment between people irrespective of racial or ethnic origin; Directive 2000/78/EC, establishing a general
framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation; Resolution n.1003 (1st July 1993), which deals with the ethics of
journalism; and the Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists, revised by the International Federation of Journalists
in 1986, to include art.7: Te journalist shall be aware of the danger of discrimination being furthered by the media, and shall do
his utmost to avoid facilitating such discrimination based on, among other things, race, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion,
political or other opinions, and national or social origins.
Apart from Articolo 3, which monitors the approximately 60 printed daily papers of the Lombardy region as one
of its main activities, most press units monitor 8 to 10 sources, a selection of the main local, regional or national printed
papers, and weekly and monthly magazines.
All LPUs read the sources they monitor thoroughly, with two exceptions: Diputacin Provincial de Jan has activated
alerts in the main browsers on the basis of keywords so that the editorial staf receive a preselected list of relevant articles;
and Articolo 3 leafs through the two local papers only, while it pays for a specialized agency (Data Stampa), to pre-read the
regional press, a keyword-based selection of whose articles an average of 350 articles per day appears every morning on
an on-line database: the staf then go through all the selected materials.
While Tallinn Universitys team is the only one who has chosen an exclusively quantitative method, most LPUs
have tried to combine their preference for qualitative analysis with a system to collect quantitative data as well.
3.2.3 Te case of Eurocircle
Eurocircle has designed a form which they fll in at the end of each month and which takes into account both quantitative
data (the amount of articles read for each paper) and qualitative ones, gathered on the grounds of the following criteria.

3.2.3 1he case of

Quality

Name: Date:
Magazine: Name of Article:
Name of journalist: Page of the article:
Length of the article: Picture: Yes No

What type of article is it? (for example, is it an lnLervlew, a porLralL, a parL of a serles of arLlcles. eLc?)
........................................
uescrlbe Lhe maln Loplc of Lhe arLlcle: (for example, women's rlghLs", employablllLy", LC81 - demonstration)
........................................
The article is: Positive
Negative
Neutral
........................................
.......................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
........................................
3.2.4. 1he case of
In Other Words 36

3.2.3 1he case of
an lnLervlew, a porLralL, a parL of a serles of arLlcles. eLc
........................................
uescrlbe Lhe maln Loplc of Lhe arLlcle: (for example, women's rlghLs", employablllLy", LC81
........................................
Neutral
Other
........................................

What group/minority/subject does the article concern:
.......................................
Whose opinion/perspective is presented in the article?
........................................
Whose opinion/perspective is not being presented in the article?
........................................
What is the role of the journalist?
........................................
Who is discriminated?
........................................
Who is discriminating?:
........................................
Concrete examples of discrimination:
........................................
Overall comments:
........................................
3.2.4. 1he case of Articolo 3
3.2.4. Te case of Articolo 3
Similar questions are addressed by the form developed by Articolo 3; a copy of it is clipped to each article, which is
thus fled according to: the circulation of the paper (national, regional, local); the type of document (article, video, letter,
editorial); the general minority group involved (migrants, Roma, LGBT community, people with disability), and the
specifc minority (North African migrants, Muslims, lesbians); the presence or absence of the voice of the minority;
the topic of the document (work, habitat, religion, relations with the majority community, legislation, best practices,
statistics, criminality); the terminology utilized (does the document contain any ofensive/incorrect terminology
referring to minorities?); the type of information (correct, incorrect/partial, stereotyped, hate speech); the purpose of
information (denounce, discrimination); the place where the event occurred and any comments of the person doing the
monitoring.
In Other Words 37
Te above-mentioned categories are the same layout as the Excel fle that Articolo 3 uses to fle all articles and keep
track of its work: two volunteers dedicate a couple of days a week to this archiving work, which is extremely important in
that it allows them to produce statistics.
Articolo 3 has reached a shared understanding of some tags, and thus classifes as incorrect/incomplete articles that
fail to include the point of view of the minorities (thus leading to a partial interpretation of the event), and those that fail
to respect the criteria of the code of ethics governing the journalism profession, namely impartiality, essential information,
non-discrimination and respect for peoples dignity; as stereotyped, those articles that represent a certain minority through
the use of stereotypes and prejudices (e.g. frequent cases in which Roma and Sinti are uncritically portrayed as having a
propensity for theft, as being violent and dirty, etc.); and as conveying hate speech, articles containing ofensive and violent
language against a minority, and/or more or less openly encouraging readers to harm people belonging to that group.
On the other hand, the LPU bases its judgment on the norms approved by the Italian Order of Journalists that
deal specifcally with reporting events concerning or involving minority groups. Te Charter of Rome, in particular, deals
with the way journalists should behave in regard to asylum seekers, refugees, victims of trafcking and migrants. It recommends
adopting an appropriate terminology which refects national and international law so as to provide readers and viewers with the
greatest adherence to the truth as regards all events which are the subject of media coverage, avoiding the use of inappropriate terms;
avoiding spread of inaccurate, simplifed or distorted information; consulting experts and organizations with specifc expertise on
the subject so as to provide the public with information which is clear, comprehensive and also analyses the underlying roots of the
phenomena.
Italian journalists are also supposed to respect the Journalists Charter of duties, which states: a journalist has to
respect people, their dignity and their right to secrecy and never discriminate against anyone due to his race, his religion,
his sex, his mental and physical condition or his political views.
In Other Words 38
In Other Words 39
Chapter 4
Guidelines on diversity journalism and efective communication
Communication is the basic process of sharing information, thoughts and feelings between people through body
language, speaking or writing. Efective communication extends the concept of sharing the content and requires that the
transmitted content is received and understood by a person or a public in the way it was intended by the person who
initiated the communication. Te goals of efective communication include creating a common perception and acquiring
information. Te person aiming at starting a communication will encode the information. Tis is an internal process
that information to be shared goes through before being communicated. After the encoded message is communicated
either orally or written, the person receiving the information will then decode it. Te ideal communication would be that
the encoding contains exactly the same message and feelings as the decoding. However, since no perfect communication
is possible, we will then call efective communication the most efcient way to reduce diferences between encoding and
decoding.
Considering the context of communication can improve efectiveness. Te context may take into consideration the
age, region, sex and intellectual abilities of the recipient. Te more the context is taken into consideration the smaller the
chance of there being a wide gap between encoded and decoded messages. A crucial factor to remember when it comes
to efective communication is that communication as such is often biased by the person producing and/or reporting the
information. It is not possible for journalists to control their audience, and even if certain publications are addressed to a
specifc audience, it will not be possible to control exactly how the fnal recipient understands or interprets the information.
Terefore, what will matter above all to journalists - besides the fact that they may be conscious of the type of audience they
are communicating to - is their own bias and the way they deal with them. Indeed, this is the only tangible factor on which
they can really have any infuence when producing or transmitting information.
For journalists, as with any other communication professionals, the frst goal of efective communication will be
to clearly identify the components of the specifc information they want to convey to the audience, no matter whether or
not support can be found in the written press, radio or TV. Te precise identifcation of the information to be provided is
essential. Tis requires the journalist to do in-depth research on the issue he or she is dealing with. Superfcial treatment
of the information is often the frst and main cause of the reproduction of bias and stereotypes.
4.1 What information sources are available to journalists?
Journalists usually come across possible issues via diferent channels: reading publications by other journalists, surfng
various websites, using media other than the printed press (TV, radio, etc.), discussion with other people, having their own
specifc feld of interest, etc. Once the subject or the idea for a subject has emerged, the identifcation process of the information
can also take place via diferent means, as there is no fxed rule. An initial look on the Internet or through specifc publications,
such as books, magazines or specialized articles, will often be the frst step. Searching for information on the Internet has to be
done cautiously, however. Information broadcast on the Internet does not always provide exact sources and since journalists
have to clearly identify the sources of the information they use, the Internet searches will often be done as a frst and superfcial
contact with the subject in order to get to other more specialized and confrmed sources.
It is important to remember here that the use of online sources such as Wikipedia or other encyclopaedias and
websites, which can be edited by any Internet user, should clearly be done within certain limits since the source is based
on information shared by other Internet users and is by no means really verifed, even though the content can often be
of good quality. Te work of a journalist is not as precise as the work of an academic for instance, but care with the search
Nicoletta Gomiero
In Other Words 40
and identifcation of information and sources should be done in much the same way in order to avoid wrong or misleading
information.
4.2. Has social media changed the way journalists deal with information?
Social media tools, such as Facebook or the micro-blogging platform Twitter, have clearly changed the work of
journalists, if not in terms of content then at least in terms of the information available and the speed of transmission.
Let us remind ourselves of the events before the Iranian elections in 2009. In June 2009 very large demonstrations,
run especially by young people and political opponents, took place in the streets of Teheran as well as other major Iranian
cities. Western journalists, who often face problems when trying to enter the country for professional purposes, happened
to run out of images and information. Te censorship of the ofcial Internet networks was also very harsh. However, many
individuals managed to get around the Internet blackout and/or censorship by providing other images and short texts
via mobile phones and the Internet, often via Twitter. At that time, Twitter was relatively unknown and only used by a
limited number of people throughout the world. Te events and the sudden massive use of the micro-blogging platform
in the country as well as in other countries created a tremendous boom for the network, which even became saturated at
some points.
Another previous example of the importance of social media platforms was the ban of journalists during the attack
on Gaza in January 2008. Journalists working outside the Gaza strip, who were unable to enter the country, relied only
on information provided by local journalists and on videos and visual material which was often provided by individuals
also via mobile phones and the Internet, especially Youtube. Some flms made by individuals were even broadcasted on
national TV channels.
Now these cases might appear quite extreme while refecting on the local printed press in France, but they still raise
an important issue: What should be the place given to material produced by third parties? How relevant and, especially,
how trustworthy should such information, which is often transmitted via social media platforms, be considered?
In a so-called normal situation and context, one might say that the micro-blogging platform Twitter has only
replaced, although to a much greater extent, the role of the rumour. Someone launches a rumour on Twitter and others
spread it by re-twitting the short messages published by the initiator of the rumour. Now, when facing such a rumour,
a journalist should react in the same way than he or she would normally react when physically hearing a rumour: By
checking and verifying the information. To that extent, information broadcasted via Twitter for instance is not diferent
than the information provided and shared in the non-virtual life.
Of course, when journalists are in a situation when they can only rely on information provided by Twitter, as in
the case of the demonstrations before the Iranian elections or at the early stage of the Egyptian revolution in February
2011, when interviews were done via the chat platform of the social network Facebook for example, the situation becomes
more difcult and information checking much more risky. Here journalists can only try to counter-check the information
provided by trying to get a deeper understanding of the users accounts from which the information was spread. Te risk
that the information provided is fake remains, however, quite high and the journalist might need to stress this in his or
her work.
Besides, another dimension that was dramatically shattered after the introduction of social media tools such as
Twitter is the speed with which a piece of information is made available to the general public. For instance, the Swedish
social media expert Mark Comerford often reminded us during the EuroMed Academy for Young Journalists seminar in
Alexandria, Egypt, in May 2012: Before everything was private until it went public. Now everything is public before it
gets private. Tese apparently trivial sentences underline accurately the way in which information transmitted by individuals
is perceived today. Te quasi-monopolistic position held by press agencies in relation to information has been seriously
afected by the new speed with which information becomes available and is transmitted. And last but not least, the increased
rapidity or almost -instantaneous availability of information also reduces the time available for journalists to verify and counter-verify
the accuracy of the information.
In Other Words 41
4.3 What is the importance of cross-checking information in the journalistic approach?
Te so-called contradiction of sources is a crucial step in journalistic work. Tis specifc step helps the journalist
to verify the information found. Via cross-checking information, one can verify whether information or part of it is indeed
correct or whether it contains biased or misleading information. During the roundtable organized by Eurocircle in March
31st 2012 in Marseille about Te image of Roma in the local media, the journalist Marjolaine Dihl of the local daily
newspaper, La Marseillaise, recounted a trivial incident which had occurred at her paper two years before when dealing
with the issue of Roma families in the city of Marseille. Marjolaine Dihl explained that she and some of her colleagues
had heard about dozens of Roma people who had to be expelled from the squat where they were staying. She stressed
that it actually took the journalists, including her, several days to fnally understand that these people were actually all
members of the same family. Te simple example stresses the importance of verifying information and how this can be
difcult when not going on the ground to check information sources. To take another cultural context as an example, in
Spain the politically correct expression to refer to people with a physical handicap is persona discapacitada. However,
journalists tend to use other more pejorative and actually discriminative expressions such as disminuido, incapacitado
or impedido used in the so-called common street language.
4.4 What is the importance of identifying actors and third parties in the journalistic
approach?
Apart from certain freelance journalists, who specialize only in specifc issues, many journalists, especially when working
in local papers, often have to tackle a wide range of issues, which they do not necessarily master, at least not to start with. Tis is
where the importance of searching, evaluating and selecting information is evident. A perfect situation would be one where each
paper had journalists specialized in and covering the most important matters. However, information is mostly versatile and tends
to change, especially in a world in which communication has become almost instantaneously available via the Internet and social
media tools. Terefore a paper might have some journalists who are more specialized, or more interested, in some specifc issues
(immigration, specifc communities, education, etc.), but it is often the case that some journalists have to work on an issue they
do not or only vaguely have previous information about.
In order to carry out in-depth and efcient research on any issue, the journalist has to clearly identify the actors
and third parties who are related to the issue he or she wants to cover (personalities, members of NGOs, civil servants of
governmental institutions, politicians, private individuals, representatives of communities and/or minorities, etc.).
Te primary search for information will often lead the journalist to have a general idea of some major actors, especially
when it comes to specifc issues such as the work on minorities and discrimination, for instance. However, the journalist
should not limit himself to this primary list of actors and should also try and search for other actors, who might not have
come up in other sources.
Te actors will add a direct and personal voice to the information found by the journalist. For some issues, they might also
even lead the journalist to other ideas and other pieces of information. For some specifc issues, where there is little information
available in other sources, actors might actually become the main, if not the only, source of information. When this is the case,
the journalist should be particularly careful in cross-checking the information provided by the various actors in order to check
their pertinence and relevance.
When looking for third parties, it is important for a journalist to keep in mind that the actors voices should represent
various points of view and positions on a specifc issue to avoid information being too partial. Only a large spectrum of
positions and opinions will allow the reader, the listener or the viewer to pick up the information which he or she fnds the
most relevant for him- or herself and build his or her own opinion. We must remember, however, that the journalist is not
responsible for the opinion building of his or her audience. But he or she is responsible for providing balanced and in-depth
information, ofering a wide spectrum of positions.
During the roundtable Te Image of the Roma in the local press, Romain Donda of the NGO SOS Homophobie,
stressed the importance of journalists working closely with NGOs since he assumes that they are the most well-informed
about the issue they work with on and have the most contacts.
Te role of so-called third parties is very important. Indeed one way for journalists to catch up on information
In Other Words 42
related to a specifc matter is to contact an NGO and/or a governmental institution dealing with the issue. Here, and
might be the most appropriate word, since the institution would normally provide more formal information, often in line
with government and institutional guidelines, whereas an NGO, representing civil society, would normally provide more
controversial and critical information. Of course, this is not always the case for all issues, but getting various positions on
an issue is important.
One question that comes up when contacting third parties, especially parties representing civil society, is how far
the journalist will keep an impartial, observational role. Te journalist who does not have a full understanding of an issue
might be tempted to focus more on one piece of information than the other.
4.5 More specic situations
Journalists are infuenced by a whole range of cultural, social and political bias, which will lead them to communicate
in a way that can be interpreted at some points as stereotyped and therefore non-efective. However, not all communication
containing bias has to be analyzed as distorted information.
During the roundtable organized by Eurocircle on March 31st h 2012 at La Boate, Te image of Roma people
in the French local press, the journalist Marjolaine Dihl from the local daily newspaper, La Marseillaise, pointed out a
common mistake made by journalists when writing about the Roma. She reminded us that the proper spelling of the
word Roma required a double r at the beginning, making it Rroma. Ten she explained that for the journalists aware
of this, the decision to leave out one r was consciously made in order to avoid confusion among readers, who mostly
unaware of the correct spelling of the word. Recalling this correct spelling of the word in each paper dealing with the issue
would also be too fastidious, as Marjolaine Dihl pointed out.
Additionally, so-called opinion articles and editorials do not really fall under the scope of efective communication
even though they also involve the transmission of information, as does any journalistic production. Here, the journalist
clearly selects specifc parts of the information he or she wants to highlight and openly takes a stance on the issue. In this
case, the information is clearly and intentionally biased. However, though the information is intended to be biased, the
journalist is still not protected from reproducing stereotypes and should still bear this in mind.
4.6 Communication between NGOs and the media
NGOs often report difculties in establishing sustainable contacts with the media. In the various European local
units, there were reports of difculties for instance to get journalists to attend the organized press conferences. Here we
will look at some misunderstandings from the side of civil society in the way journalists do their work. Very often, NGOs
will send a release to the main press representatives in order to invite them to attend the press conferences they organize
and are later surprised or disappointed when the media invited to do not show up.
Sending an invitation to the main newsroom a paper or editorial ofce will indeed rarely be successful. Not that
there is no journalist in the paper interested or willing to attend the press conference, but it is highly likely the information
that is sent, usually to the papers main e-mail address, will not reach its intended target, i.e. interested journalists. Te
information is often lost. In order to bypass this problem, NGOs need to identify journalists, who might be interested in
the issues they work with, either because they cover the same kinds of issues or because they have worked in the past on
these issues. A direct and personal contact is often the best way to spread information.
Te second problem is also the short deadlines most journalists are working to. Attending a press conference for a
journalist means that he or she needs to have time to do so, which is often not the case. Te timing of the press conference
and the visibility of the event are therefore very important. NGOs should bear in mind that the absence of journalists does
not mean that no journalist was interested in the event or the work of the NGO. It is often simply a lack of time. NGOs
should therefore be patient and keep inviting journalists. Here again, personal contacts and connections that will evolve
from this which are very important, but it can take time.
Inviting journalists for informal gatherings outside working hours small evening events, cocktails, etc. - can also
be a way of getting to know each other and establishing frst contacts, which over time can lead to stronger and more
In Other Words 43
sustainable connections. NGOs often sufer from a certain lack of visibility, especially if they are new in their feld. Such
events allow journalists to discover their work and informal events are more comfortable ways to establish links. But all in
all there is no magical remedy for NGOs to get in touch with journalists and contacts often come with patience from
the NGOs and the growing visibility of their activities.
4.7 Concluding remarks
Speaking of neutrality in journalism is clearly a utopia. Everything from the selection of the issue by the journalist
him- or herself or the organization he or she works for - to the use of specifc pictures, the space dedicated to the report, the
title, the vocabulary, etc., can give an indication of the journalists attitude towards the issue, even if it comes across more or
less subconsciously.
Efective communication is therefore not to try and achieve neutral articles, but to try and produce what we might
call balanced coverage. Te journalist might choose to give more space one particular actor, who is closer to his or her
own opinion. Tis should clearly give the audience the impression of the orientation of the production. However, this has
to be done carefully in order not to fall into the trap of partisan journalism. If the so-called engaged journalism can be
something that can still provide important and balanced information, partisan journalism cannot be called journalism and
can be considered more akin to political or NGO PR work, for instance. Te balance must be kept even though it might
sometimes be difcult.
Take the last presidential election campaign in France, for instance. A journalist covering the campaign or part of the campaign
of the candidate for the so-called National Front, which is the far-right party in France, and who might disapprove of the partys
politics , would still have to provide sufcient background information, as well as voices of various speakers, including personalities and
maybe private individuals in favour of such a position, to give the audience a general portrait of the issue. Te subtle proportioning
of actors voices might give an indication of the writer/papers position, but partisan journalism should be avoided by all means. Te
vocabulary should be carefully chosen in order not to force the audience to take one particular position. We must remember that the
audience is free to choose and develop its own opinion on all issues and that is why balanced journalism is so important.
Journalism is done to inform people. Tat means information is a frst step towards opinion. Te normal process should
be to collect the information and then eventually move to the forming of opinion. Te common mistake to be found
in some journalistic production is that it aims to form audience opinion before providing neutral, balanced information
itself. Since the journalist is not always free from bias or using stereotypes, his or her work will also often refect such stereotypes,
leading the audience to adopt them as sound information.
A journalist could be called a professional chooser. He or she decides what priority to give to the information he
or she has received and reorganizes it according to his or her understanding and impression of the issue. Tis cannot be
completely avoided since a journalist, like any other human being, also refects his/her own understanding and re-translates
information he or she has previously received in order to make it as tangible and understandable as possible. However, the
personal touch, which can take the form of the priority given to specifc third parties, for instance, cannot be totally left
out. Tis is why two journalists working in parallel on the same issue will never produce the same result.
4.8 Some examples of best practices
Here some articles encountered in the monitoring of the project LPUs are presented. Nonetheless a full account of
them as well as more information can be found on the project website (download section).
Example from Spain (Almeria)
El corazn de muchas familias, rumbo al desierto del Sahara, published in Dirio de Almera on 31st August
2012.
Te article describes the departure of 81 children that returned to their home of origin in the Saharawi refugee
camps in Tindouf, Algeria, and can be considered as an example of the good use of information on marginal groups.
Te article refects the reality. In one part of the article the journalist says that children give more than they receive,
In Other Words 44
and have earned an afection that makes them part of their lives. Te article does not show empathy, but refects objectively the
long, hard journey back for these children to the Saharawi camps of origin, for they will have to travel hundreds of kilometres
by road.
Example from Portugal
Positive aspects well-argued, concise, use of background information and relevant testimonials.
An article in the Portuguese daily newspaper Jornal de Noticias (13/04/2011), challenges the myth that women
have achieved full equality, beginning by stating that, although there are more women in Justice, their presence in the
high court is not yet a reality (see the translation of the article below). We argue that the article is concise, reafrming
that sexism in the justice labour sphere does not constitute an exception, rather, on the contrary, it refects a wider social
structure, in which change will not come only with the passing of time. Besides giving background information, showing
data and producing an informative text on the issue, the journalist also gives voice to a very well-known Portuguese Judge
and to a university teacher and investigator.
Jornal de Noticias (13/04/2011)
Female magistrates rise slightly in the career
Tere are more women in Justice, but not in higher courts
Schedule giving birth to children during judicial holidays, was one of the recommendations given by the Judicial
Studies Centre, when review judge Teresa Fria did her training there. Tis was just one example given by the magistrate
in a meeting yesterday in Lisbon to state that prejudices that exist in society are found among magistrates.
In 2009, the number of women in frst instance courts, Relation and Supreme Courts of Justice was 1040 (53%),
out of a total of 1970 judges. Te percentage of female judges is higher in the frst instance, but diminishes in the higher
court.
Is not true that women will proceed in their career to higher courts as a matter of course, highlights Teresa Fria. If
this were the case, she adds, that would have been a reality in countries like France and Italy - who opened their magistracies
to women in the 1940s - and the international courts would be fooded with women.
In those courts, the female average is loudly low with the exception of the International Criminal Court (57%),
whose statutes say that there must be parity.
Te review judge was one of the spokespersons in the Seminar Women in Portuguese Magistracies, organized by
the Centre of Social Studies. Besides discrimination against women in their careers, participants also questioned whether
court decisions were infuenced by gender.
Its inevitable that a judges life experience infuences (decisions). I dont know if the sole fact of being a woman
contributes. In fact, problems of equality generate diferent experiences, considers Maria dos Prazeres Beleza, counsellor
judge of the Supreme Court of Justice.
For the president judge of Alentejo-Litoral judicial district, Maria Joo Barata, there have always been situations
when I have concluded that it was more difcult to act being a woman: when sexual crimes or domestic violence are at
stake. My perspective is that women have more difculties while exercising the profession and in using maternity rights,
she concludes.
[In frst person]
At the district attorney we have 400 magistrates, of whom 67% are ladies. Tere are districts in which this fgure is
higher, as in Torres Vedras, where 85.7% are women. Tere still exists some diference in positions of leadership. In the dis-
trict, of a total of 12 there are six women coordinators. At Lisbons DIAP (Department of Investigation and Penal Action),
there is only one woman leader. Francisca Van Dunen, general attorney of the Lisbon district.
I dont deny there is strong discrimination against women. We can only understand this if we dismantle it. Why
are maternity protection rules about what is deviant? In the discussion on equality, there is always a hierarchy. Teresa
Pizarro Beleza, university teacher and researcher.
Example from Estonia
http://www.postimees.ee/627106/erki-pehk-kampaania-erinevus-rikastab-voiks-aidata-enamuse-poolt/
In Other Words 45
Article selected from the web source Postimees.es, 8/11/2011
Te article appeared due to the campaign Diferences enrich. It is a neutral and descriptive article, which contains the
comments of sexual minority representative and campaigner, Erkki Pehk, who doesnt believe that this campaign would be able
to change the prevailing attitude towards homosexuality, but hopes that the sexual majority will become more confdent in
demonstrating tolerance.
I believe people will become more tolerant and I dont mean that sexual minorities will be braver. It would be
wonderful if this campaign helped those of the sexual majority, whose life is quite simple and is considered to be normal.
Tese people do not wish to see other peoples problems, whether they are Russian, or black, or overweight.
According to Erkki Pehk, fear is the cause of prejudice against homosexuals and bisexuals, because not many deal
with people of diferent sexual orientation in their everyday lives.
Te article does not justify sexual minorities as such nor does it emphasize the existence of homophobia. Nevertheless,
even though the article is neutral, accusations towards the author of the article of hatred and the discrimination of heterosexuals
can be seen clearly in the readers comments.
Example from France
In December, the French observatory Autrement Dit decided to carry out monitoring and analyzing the regional
printed press on the issues of Roma. In order to provide the readers with a general overview of the coverage, we have chosen
to focus on articles published during the summer 2011, since various events receiving widespread coverage took place during
the months of July and August in Marseille and the surrounding area.
In an article dated July 25th 2011 and published in the independent local major, La Marseillaise (Roma, one year
later), we can see the confusion between the terms Roma and gitans. Roma means people belonging to the broad
gypsy community, originally from Bulgaria and Romania, whereas the French word gitans (which can be trivially
translated as gypsies in English), stands for the people who live in Portugal, Spain and Southern France. In its newsletter
of November, Autrement Dit published a recap of the diferences between Roma and the French administrative category
of gens du voyage (travellers), which is not necessarily related to the belonging to any ethnic community. Journalists often
put all these people together in one basket, even if unintentionally, out of a lack of knowledge. Te result is the production
of clichs and stereotypes, as well as a stigmatization of all gypsy communities.
On July 29th 2011 a report was published in the other regional daily major La Provence (Roma: Highway to
hell). Te article was meant give various testimonies of people involved in the everyday life of some Roma families living
in the area of Marseille. However, the focus was on the testimonies given by local residents, whose opinion was clearly
negative towards the Roma families and whom they mainly considered to be extremely dirty. Tere was even a text box
with quotes by some of the residents, such as When you pass them, you feel like throwing up. In theory, this is part of
the journalistic work to try and report on the opinion of all actors, but proportions have to be respected in terms of the
length and place of quotes. Te disproportional importance given to the residents extremely negative quotes (especially
those highlighted in the quote box), gave readers the general impression that these Roma families are indeed very dirty
and that the whole text is based on this idea. Titles have to be chosen carefully too. In this case, the title used was part of
a residents quote, which again leads to this feeling that the entire article is based on the assumption that Roma are dirty.
Te same publication, La Provence, published on August 15th 2011, a photo documentary (Tis is how Roma live
today), showing diferent aspects of the everyday life of Roma families in Marseille. Te pictures highlight the extreme
distress of these people, presenting unsanitary housing conditions, people sleeping on the street and barefoot children.
Tere is also a picture showing a woman lying on a blanket in the street, for instance, when a young man walks past by
without even noticing her. Another picture stresses the disproportional balance of power between a police ofcer, wearing
almost a kind of armour, and a father, pushing a pram, surrounded by several very young children. Beyond the simple
presentation of poverty, the message of the documentary is also social and political in some places.
One cannot say that the coverage of the Roma issues in the regional press is always discriminative, since one can
fnd positive and more elaborate articles. But it is important to stress the prejudices revealed in writing habits, which can
go from generalization to stigmatization.
In Other Words 46
In Other Words 47
Chapter 5
Guidelines for local unit creation and management
Alejandra Ainz Galende Agustn Galiana Fernndez Purifcacin Garca Prez Mara Jos Gonzlez Moreno Antonio Jos Macas
Ruano Mara del Mar Martnez Fernndez Rubn Martnez Reche Rosa Mara Rodrguez Vzquez Jess Muyor Rodrguez Encar-
nacin Pelez Quero Ascensin Rodrguez Fernndez Jos Luis Ruiz Real Carmen Salvador Ferrer Antonio Segura Snchez
Local press units (LPUs) are the core of the Project In other WORDS. Local units can be considered the frst
step in building the European network of grass-root antidiscrimination. Te seven units are non professional local
observatories - press units that include representatives of ethnic or religious minorities or discriminated groups. Te
network contributes to a capillary and structured monitoring-analysis-alert-reaction system with constant monitoring of
a about 100 media covering 7 regions in 6 European Countries, detecting discriminatory attitudes, providing feedback to
the media concerned and creating counter-information based on the deconstruction of stereotypes. Globally, about 100
media are monitored and provided with feedback; 7 local monthly newsletters are designed and delivered for a period of
one year, and there is a quarterly EU Review. All publications, along with selected articles, news and blogs are available at
www.inotherwords-project.eu.
Te are several objectives in this section:
To make available to a wider audience the possibility of creating their own Local Unit for Press Monitoring
To introduce the project to local stakeholders in order to involve them as part of the local units
To share the experiences of the seven Local Units built as part of the European Network
To take into account the work which local associations, local social movements, universities, and local stakeholders
have already done in media monitoring and stereotype deconstruction
To provide enough perspectives to local units so they can work from a local point of view but simultaneously from
a generalisable European standpoint.
5.1 LPUs: Group composition and sourcing volunteers
It is very important to confgure each local unit in the most diverse manner as possible. It will be necessary to
organize several informative meetings in the beginning in order to provide detailed information on the objectives and
methodology. Te initial meetings will be public meetings which interested people and organizations will be invited
to attend. For example: youth associations, human rights organizations, organizations for disabled people, migrant
organizations, political parties, local councils, local TV station, local radios, local newspapers, CSR departments, etc.
Te meetings should be public, so that general public interested in the topic can participate.
Te participants in the meetings will be invited to become volunteers working in the local units.
Te number of volunteers should ideally be between 15 and 25 and the diversity of the group should be ensured
in terms of cultural background (culture, religion, migrants, other minorities or discriminated groups), and professional
background (psychologists, sociologists, philologists, professors, social workers, media experts, human rights experts, etc.),
as well as gender, age, etc.
Tere is a big diference between the organisations which are directly related to the educational world (school,
universities etc.) and those which are not. In the frst group, university students are a very interesting group to include
in the project. Tey are active people, who are supposedly interested in social issues and have many contacts. Teachers
are able to explain the aims and benefts of participation in a local unit for press monitoring. Tis will allow volunteers to
join in and work hand in hand with them, taking on the roles of coordinators. In addition, students participation can count
towards their university evaluation, especially for courses related to the areas involved in the project, which are wide-ranging
and intersect into many subject areas.
For those organisations which are not related to schools or universities, volunteers can be identifed through
diferent organizations and institutions. One possibility is to address participants on other courses that are not part of
In Other Words 48
university education.
Professional training courses - Tese courses have overarching themes, like gender equality, with committed students
(they can be aimed at unemployed people or people in work).
Workshop schools, Employment workshops and Skills Houses - maintained by the Work Councils of regional
governments. Te workshop schools, employment workshops and skills houses are mixed work and training projects.
Teir aim is to achieve the employability of unemployed people, especially those who have greater difculties in
entering the labour market; such as young people, people who have been unemployed for a long time, women, or
people with disabilities. More concretely, and to refer to preferential groups, these actions can be aimed at:
- Women
- Long-term job-seekers
- Ethnic minorities
- Immigrants
- Applicants for documentation at risk of deportation
- People with disabilities
5.2 Local Unit set up - the partners experiences
In order to create a local Unit the frst steps we suggest are to arrange several meetings with the team-members to
brainstorm on the local Unit. Below you can fnd some details about how the local units were set up in several cities that
are part of In Other Words Project.
Tallinn University
First they arranged several meetings with internal team-members to brainstorm about the local unit. Tey then contacted a
number of minority organisations and discussed the issue with them, to see how they would view such a unit and what their needs
and expectations would be. Initially they worked with fve diferent groups, but in the process several dropped out (for example the
Muslims, as their number in Estonia is very small). Tree minority groups appeared to be interested in carrying on with the project
members of the Russian language group, members of the LGBT group and people with disabilities. Its main working method
was to hold a workshop, in which they simply met together at Tallinn University and discussed the issues. A very important aspect
of their work was the fact that they knew several active minority representatives from previous collaborations, so it was easier to
establish contacts and to convince them that the project was worth pursuing. It is very important to involve as many organizations
representing the most relevant minorities as possible.
IEBA
Portuguese Local Press Unit was built on the involvement of organisations representing the most relevant minorities in
Portugal: immigrants, Roma, women, people with disability and LGBT. IEBA chose organisations located in Coimbra, the
largest city in the Centro (Centre) region, which is near Mortgua (where IEBA is located) It has around 143,000 inhabitants
and one of the oldest European Universities.
Te second step was to contact the selected associations by email, giving a brief explanation about the In Other Words
Project and setting up a meeting. Meetings were held with 5 associations that work on racism, with immigrants, women
(especially immigrant women), victims of crime, LGBT and people with disabilities. With the creation of the local unit,
a group facilitator was selected. After some internal debate, IEBA decided to look for someone with a professional profle
combining academic work in the feld of minorities and discrimination with social participation and activism in defence of
the cause. Te person selected holds a degree in Anthropology, is attending a Master on Migrations, Inter-Ethnicities and
Trans-nationalism, has relevant feld work on Roma issues and collaboration in research work on racism issues, is an active
member of SOS RACISMO and has good competences in facilitating and mediating groups. It is crucial to fnd a balance
between academic work and social participation. It is also very important to make a good selection of experts.
In Other Words 49
Eurocircle
Eurocircle selected the freelance journalist, Elif KAYI because of her area of expertise, her knowledge of journalistic
communication and her motivation to work on anti-discrimination issues.
Te selection of volunteers was made in accordance with the project criteria: gender, minority representation,
number and area of expertise. Due to the fact they would be working as volunteers, the recruitment of press unit members
proved to be no easy task. Firstly, volunteers availability is limited by employment, University studies, exams and other
volunteer work, and, secondly, it was difcult to get people to commit to a long term project lasting more than one year.
Because of all these difculties EUROCIRCLE set up 4 diferent ways to commit to the local press unit: students
training as part of their studies, French civil service, volunteers and occasional collaborations, such as interviews or articles
on specifc issues, local events, etc.
Eurocircle organized the frst training session for the local unit with 16 participants. Tis training consisted of
two modules: in the morning they started with a presentation of the project, then learnt about French legislation against
discrimination with Maissara MDRABI, a jurist of Comirrian origins, and, fnally, there was a presentation of Roms et
Tzinganes, Gens du voyage et Manouches by the Rencontres Tsiganes Association. Te afternoon module dealt with the
French press and journalistic language. A frst example of article analysis was provided. Finally, EUROCIRCLE set up the
calendar of regular meetings, planned a weekly meeting of the local unit and set up the daily observatory activities. After
a few months a second training session was organised.
Te actual make up of the press unit meets the expected criteria. However, the teams composition constantly
changes throughout the project, depending on the selected issues and the availability of team members. EUROCIRCLE
also relies on their NGO local network and previous experience for the recruitment and selection of volunteers as well as
the selection of thematic issues. To ensure the motivation of volunteers, they coordinate the activities and share the tasks
among the team according to individual interests and expertise (journalism, minorities and local network, graphics, article
editing, interviews, etc.)
Articolo 3
Articolo 3s local press unit was created well before the beginning of the project, but it has been enlarged over the
years, depending on the people they have met and the funding received. At the beginning, the press unit consisted only of
two staf members, two members of the board of directors and a few volunteers. Articolo 3 monitored only the local press
(i.e. two daily papers), at the time, so not many people were needed to carry out the work. While the two members of the
staf have remained and now work on a full-time basis, the volunteers have come and gone. At present 12 people engage
in the press monitoring: 5 members of staf and 7 volunteers (our president included). Most of them have a minority
background, related to their ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion, or they have a disability.
Te recruitment of volunteers does not work on a scientifc basis at Articolo 3: since they are now pretty well
known in the area of Mantova, there are always people willing to come and help, be it for their own interest and curiosity
in the issues being dealt with, be it for purposes of research and study (students and young researchers), to support the
cause of antidiscrimination (activists and people already engaged in social and militant work on behalf of other associations),
or just for the pleasure of sharing a life-time of work experience with others and doing something useful with their free
time (retired people). In some cases, new volunteers have come to Articolo 3 because someone who already works or volunteers
there has told them about the work; in other instances, they have come to know about the work after attending a workshop or
a meeting we held in their school; or, again, some of the volunteers belong to other groups or associations who know and work
with Articolo 3, and have decided to get involved in their activities as well. Te process of recruiting and managing the volunteers
is, in general, very informal and built on personal relationships. Te people who work with them at the LPU are friends and
people they trust and care about, before being colleagues, and this facilitates the process of working together.
As for the method of work, that too has been set up and improved over time in quite an empirical way. Articolo 3
started its monitoring work looking only at the local press, which used to be read daily. Since the sources to be monitored
have extended to the entire regions press, this method is no longer feasible, so the service of Data Stampa agency which
preselects the articles on the basis of chosen key words has become essential: it allows the LPU to focus on the articles
which will be of interest to them, without having to leaf through more than 60 daily papers. As the work increased, they
realized that they needed to keep track of it and collect quantitative data as well as qualitative data. Terefore, Articolo 3
have designed a small table, which is attached to each article, and which subsequently allows them to fle every document
In Other Words 50
into an excel table, and at the end of the year know how many articles have been looked at, the topics dealt with, the
language used, the minorities talked about and so on. Tis archive work is a recent project is which is only possible thanks
to the work of two volunteers, who dedicate two days a week to it.
Other changes have included the weekly newsletter they have been sending out since the early months of Articolo
3s existence. While they initially sent it to their mailing list as an attached pdf fle (which was time-consuming for both
them and their addressees), since the IOW project has started, they now rely on an online service, and an electronic news-
letter is sent to their mailing list which looks better and is easier to read.
Jan
Te Local Press Unit was presented in a public meeting at a ceremony chaired by the Hon. Member of Equality
and Social Welfare Area of Diputacin Provincial, Sofa Nieto. Te event was attended by representatives of associations
of ethnic, sexual and religious minorities of Jan, in addition to the general public and media. Te objectives of the project
were presented during the event and requested the collaboration of the various associations present to begin work with the
local press unit against discrimination and xenophobia.
As a result of this presentation, nine local associations of Jan manifested their desire to be part of the Local Unit
of Jan. All of them are made up of volunteers representing all the minority groups in Jan. Monthly meetings of the local
unit are organised.
5.3 Local units and the media
It is crucial to involve to the local and national media in the local unit. Below are some examples of the experiences
of In Other Words project partners.
IEBA invited local and national media to all meetings; invitations were made publicly, via Facebook and e-mail, to
the newspaper contacts they have. In the public session organized on 13th January 2012, 2 local newspapers participated
and 2 articles were then published (one in each newspaper).
Articolo 3 has always tried to work closely with the local media, which basically amounts to two daily papers, inviting
and involving them on the occasion of the presentation of the yearly Report and in other initiatives they put on. Articolo 3
has a close relationship with many local journalists, and this allows for exchange of feedback and opinions even though they
feel they should seek this more direct mediation more often. Articolo 3 have also developed contacts with the president of
the National Order of Journalists, and participate as panellists in several conferences, seminars and events targeted at media
professionals, which are always good occasions for meeting journalists working at the national level and spreading the results
of the work.
Tallinn University contacted local media after the frst round of media monitoring, was carried out. Tey knew a
number of local media people from previous projects. Te feedback from the local media was generally very supportive
and they agreed that such a project would also be important for them as there are problems with stereotyping in the media.
Te local media were invited by Diputacin de Jans Communication Department to attend a public presentation.
Local newspapers Ideal and Dirio Jan came. Te frst meeting of the Local unit was attended by the Regional TV
Canal Sur TV. Regarding the local press unit, it is important to know that each association has activated diferent alerts
in the main internet search engines, so every time any media publishes information in which certain keywords appear, the
browser automatically sends an email message to the association. At the same time, each association has informed its mem-
bers about the objectives of the project. Each member works as an antenna on the watch out for news - in newspapers
and on the radio and television - that they consider may be of interest to the local unit. If a member of the Local unit has
knowledge of information of importance for its xenophobic or discriminatory character he/she can publish an urgent link
to this information in any of the web 2.0 tools which we have been put in place. Tese are mainly Facebook and Twitter
accounts created for In Other Words Jan. Both tools allow a rapid dissemination of the messages and an alternative
wording, as well as feedback from the media.
In Other Words 51
On the other hand, if there is no urgent information, the association can notify all members of the Local unit of
fagged up news pieces by e-mail and discuss how to include them on the Facebook timeline or in the Monthly Newsletter
during the next meeting of the Local Press Unit. Local unit meetings are used as a forum to comment on and evaluate the
diferent information collected by each association.
5.4 How to manage a cross-community approach
IEBAs strategy was to involve organisations representing minorities and/or discriminated groups in order to engage
the local unit in a more efective way: giving more professional, expert and fundamental contributions and gaining wider
dissemination. A Facebook page was created in order to disseminate general information about the project, the work and
the results of the local press unit. Tematic events were organized in order to ensure cross-community involvement. Te
frst was the public presentation of the project and the local unit. For the second event, IEBA invited a university teacher
and researcher who works with media discrimination issues to give a seminar which was attended by 30 people (teachers,
researchers, university students, workers in partner organizations and only one journalist who was working at the time
on a doctoral thesis). Te topic of the session was Media and (Non)Discrimination. Tere was a panel with all the local
unit partners, where IEBA presented the In Other Words project and all 5 partners presented their organizations, their
work and stated the relevance of local unit work and results; the second part of the seminar was a lecture given by Professor
Maria Joo Silveirinha, from Coimbra Universitys Faculty of Arts on Te world in black and white: representations and
common suspects. After the lecture, there was a debate with the audience, with IEBAs moderation and the participation
of Professor Maria Joo Silveirinha and the local unit facilitator. Two more public events were organized before the end of
the project aiming at opening the discussion on media discrimination issues to a wider audience from a cross-community
standpoint; promoting the involvement of stakeholders, namely journalists also from a cross-community viewpoint; pro-
moting the In Other Words project and the work of the local press unit; contributing to a more scientifcally grounded
and enriched discussion between the local unit participants; creating specifc knowledge that can be used in future training
and research, by documenting, gathering and publishing summaries of the sessions and video recordings.
Te experience of Eurocircle highlights the importance of context. A communitarian viewpoint is not used in
France at present since the French law doesnt allow classifcation on the basis of origins or ethnicity. Communitarianism
is a controversial term, used in France to describe the attitude or, more often, the lifestyle of a minority community in
the name of a right to be diferent claimed by these minorities for which the republican, egalitarian and secular principles
should theoretically prevail.
Taking into consideration that at a European level a cross-community approach is widely accepted, the team tries
to deal with specifc issues according to diferent points of view of all the minority groups concerned. EUROCIRCLE
planned an issue-based research. Te press unit observes the media with a special focus on the most relevant issues and the
newsletter focuses on the same issues. Depending on recent events and local news research is adapted to the main topics.
Te experience of Tallinn University was some-what problematic at the beginning, because diferent types of minorities
were not used to working together in Estonia. For example, representatives of the Russian language minorities admitted that
Russians in Estonia tend to be much more traditional compared to ethnic Estonians and that is why working together with
LGBT people was somewhat strange for them at frst. However, in the process they came to realise that such cooperation is not
as problematic as they expected. Still, they are aware that in the broader public homophobic attitudes are strong and they need
to take this into account while working within the project.
As for Diputacin Provincial de Jan one of the main motivations to manage the multicultural Local unit is the
involvement of all its members in the diferent meetings. Tey have established a timetable of collaborations so that each
association participates every month in the contents of the magazine, alternating between an interview and an opinion
article. Tis way of working also means that at each meeting of the Local unit, a diferent Association is responsible for
explaining their particular vision of their treatment in the media.
In Other Words 52
5.5 Standards and working methods: suggestions and experiences
Te IEBA suggests we analyze all the local models and create a typology from the best models implemented and
their characteristics, giving examples from the 7 LPUs.
Te main working method of Tallinn University is organizing workshops and meetings with the project partners. In
this case it is important to have an established organizational structure. In their, case functions were allocated to diferent
minorities (head of the local unit, editor of the newsletter etc.). It is very important to have regular contact with media
people and discussion of the results of the monitoring.
Te experience of Diputacin Provincial de Jan shows that it is very important that each association participates
every month in the contents of the newsletter, alternating between an interview and an opinion article. At each meeting of
the Local unit, a diferent Association is responsible for explaining their particular vision of their treatment in the media.
Articolo 3s experience highlights personal relationships (i.e. for the recruitment of volunteers), and this can be
adapted to any context and organisation, in which the people who start the work can function as magnets for the involvement
of other people, and so on.
On the other hand, the working method needs to be as fxed and stable as possible. Tis includes: designing a
weekly timetable, to be respected by everyone; assigning precise tasks and responsibilities to the team members, according
to their abilities and preferences; setting the bar high, in order to motivate the team; building a database of external experts/
contributors they can call on.
Eurocircle chose to concentrate on the local printed press, and watched two local daily newspapers, the local editions of
two free newspapers, a weekly local newspaper and a monthly local magazine. Tey also try to monitor local news websites. Te
team of volunteers monitors the local newspapers on a daily basis (they have acquired the printed and the online subscription).
At the beginning of each month, they choose a specifc issue related to discrimination (Roma, racism, homophobia, sport,
youth, women, etc.), and the volunteers collect articles related to this issue. Each week, they organize a team meeting
to discuss the selected articles and select the ones found to be the most appropriate to comment on. Tey can be either
general articles dealing with the issue, articles reproducing stereotypes or good examples of positive articles, which are free
from discriminating comments and stereotypes.
In the case of an article reproducing stereotypes or containing discriminating comments, they try to underline
what was problematic in the article (the type of language, the way the minority or the target group is portrayed, the use of
wrong pictures, etc.). Tey also try to suggest ways on how to improve the article (paying attention to the words used to
describe people, putting efort in the selection of pictures, avoiding shocking headlines and subtitles, etc.).
With positive examples, they try to show what was positive and how the journalist had managed to avoid the reproduction
of stereotypes (by giving sound background information, use of specifc and adapted vocabulary, etc.).
5.6 Local network creation: experience and suggestions
During the whole period of media observation, Eurocircle cooperated with various local partners who provided
them with important information and material on specifc topics. Tey have started cooperating with Rencontres Tsiganes
and MRAP 13 (Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour lamiti entre les peuples), as well as other Associations coordinated
by Maison Mditerranenne des droits de lhomme, SOS Homophobie, etc.
Eurocircle plans to deepen their cooperation with other local partners involved in the defence of minority groups,
such as people with disabilities and youth work. Events with local NGOs were organised (a conference on the image of
the Roma in the local press and a workshop with the NGO MRAP on the issue of media and discrimination), with the
aim of getting in touch with people confronted with discrimination and exclusion, as well as with the general public, to
inform them on the issue.
Te network of Diputacin Provincial de Jan is based on partnerships that integrate the Local unit and especially
In Other Words 53
the work of their volunteers. Volunteers have activated alerts on internet search engines and await the reports in diferent
media, with a great response capacity (via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail to the project coordinator).
Articolo 3 considers networking essential for this type of work, as it ensures cooperation and fresh ideas. Te network
(which is constantly growing), consists of several associations working in related felds (antiracism, human rights, intercultural
dialogue and communication); several associations representing minority ethnic and religious groups, or women; individual
people interested in our projects (volunteers, intellectuals, friends friends!); media professionals (local journalists, members of
national bodies such as the Order of Journalists or the National Press Federation); members of local and national authorities
(the Municipality and the Province of Mantova; UNAR National Ofce Against Racial Discrimination); international
networks (such as ENAR European Network Against Racism).

IEBA created a network of 5 associations representing several minorities and discriminated groups and involved them
directly in the local units monthly meetings for sharing analysis and debate of the pre-selected articles, and to analyse, debate
and validate the draft version of the monthly newsletter and disseminate the monthly newsletter.
Tallinn University frst created an email list for all the participants, to keep everybody informed. Besides regular
workshops, several training sessions on media monitoring for minorities were organized. Altogether, the training activities
are divided into three groups (media strategy, practical lessons on preparing news and implementation of the monitoring).
Tey are an important element of networking as representatives of diferent minorities became better acquainted with
each other in the process.
5.7 Diculties, special circumstances and problems encountered by the local press units,
regarding dierent contexts and situations
For the IEBA the most difcult thing was to defne the strategy of the local unit. A great deal of time was spent on
debates about how the local unit would be created: should it be made up of volunteers or representatives of organisations;
each option had its advantages and disadvantages and opting for one of the formats would have consequences on the
results. IEBA decided to establish a local unit made up entirely of organisations representing discriminated minorities / so-
cial groups. Te reason behind the choice is that it gave them the possibility to work with organisations that are legitimate
and recognised as representative of the minorities. Te experts from these organisations would be able to give professional
contributions and disseminate the work more widely. At the same time, the work could be done during working hours
which would facilitate the conciliation between professional and family time for all participants.
Once this model was established, another difcult issue was the selection of the participating organizations. A thorough
online research was made in order to identify the most relevant organisations. Some were easier to fnd than others. Around
8 institutions were contacted, from which 5 positive answers were received. Another important issue is related to the group
facilitator, who should have the following profle: a good scientifc background, and practical experience outside the university either
in social causes / social activism or in journalism. IEBA interviewed 2 people: one from a science/journalism background and the other
from a science/social activism background. Tey went for the latter. Another important decision the IEBA took was the choice
of the media to be monitored. Tey decided to monitor only printed press, because they would always have access to the
sources chosen and they are more stable. Among the newspapers, it was decided to make a mix between regional (Coimbra
and surrounding area) and quality national newspapers.
Bearing in mind the concept of quality newspaper, the IEBA identifed 3 quality regional newspapers: Campeo das
Provncias (www.campeaoprovincias.com), Dirio As Beiras(www.asbeiras.pt) and Dirio de Coimbra (www.diariocoimbra.pt)
and 7 quality national newspapers: Jornal de Notcias (www.jn.pt), Dirio de Notcias (www.dn.pt), Expresso (www.expresso.
sapo.pt), Jornal I (www.ionline.pt), O Pblico (www.publico.pt) and SOL (www.sol.sapo.pt). Tis decision was presented
and validated by the local unit during its frst meeting. With these decisions taken, the IEBA started the PLPU work in January
2012 and new decisions had to be taken. After sharing thoughts with local partners, the LPU decided the meetings would
occur monthly in the APPACDM Tea House in Coimbra, usually on the 3rd Friday of each month. Te Tea House was
created by APPACDM (our PLPU partner), in partnership with Coimbras Municipality - being a social entrepreneurship
project with highly relevant public impact, as it highlights the competences of people with disabilities that work there.
Te choice of this place fts the IN OTHER WORDS project objectives perfectly - the fght against discrimination and
In Other Words 54
promotion of minorities - by giving public visibility to the project and allowing wider participation, since LPU meetings
are open to the public and to anyone or any organization interested. Tis was also the place where the project and LPU
public presentation happened on 13th January 2012.
One of the most difcult things for Tallinn University was to motivate representatives of minorities to participate in
the project. It was quite easy to get started and to carry out training, which was of great interest to them, as they understood
that would be useful for them in future. However, carrying out routine tasks (newsletter etc.), proved to be much more
problematic.
Te main difculty for Articolo 3 concerns funding. In particular, their most urgent need is to have access to sources of
funding which could guarantee their independence. Tat is, non-national and non-local funding opportunities. A more stable
fnancial situation would allow them to engage more actively on the legal level (thus infuencing the creation of case-law), to
employ more staf and to widen the area they cover to include a national or even international outlook.
Te experience of Diputacin Provincial de Jan shows that the main difculty was in motivating all the participating
associations and involving them in the goals of the project. Te problem was solved by ensuring their participation in the
activities of the Local unit and providing leadership opportunities in the diferent editions of the monthly Newsletter, which
has allowed them to express their diferent points of view about the way they are treated in the media.However, important
eforts were made to make sure that the local unit does not divert from its original objectives. Some associations consider that
the project must denounce racist or discriminatory attitudes rather than to make recommendations.
Eurocircle met some difculties in the recruitment of volunteers in the long term. Te need for concrete incentives
(an ofcial letter of recommendation, ofering an internship, etc.), is very important to motivate volunteers to get involved
mid- and long term. One suggestion would be to have a kind of ofcial certifcate that all local units could give to their
volunteers as proof of their involvement and work.
Working closely with NGOs is a way to get in touch with people facing discrimination as they can often feel reluctant to
work on the issue if they are not already involved in civil society activities. Tere is also a need to establish ofcial cooperation
agreements with NGOs in order to be able to work with them in the long run.
In Other Words 55
Annexes
In Other Words 56
In Other Words 57
A1 - THEMATIC LITERATURE
A1.1 How are stereotypes constructed?
Racism, intergroup relations
Azzi, A.E., Chrissochoou, X., Klandermans, B. & Simon, B. (eds.), 2011, Identity and participation in culturally
diverse societies: A multidisciplinary perspective: Wiley
Lorenzi-Cioldi, F., 1998, Group status and perceptions of homogeneity. In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.),
European Review of Social Psychology (vol.9, pp. 31-75). Chichester: Wiley.
Crisp, R.J. (ed.), 2010, Te psychology of social and cultural diversity: Wiley
Giles, H., Reid, S., Harwood, J. (eds.), 2010, Te dynamics of intergroup communication: Peter Lang
Michael A. Hogg, Dominic Abrams, 2001, Intergroup relations: essential Reading: Taylor and Francis
Te Evens Foundation (ed.), 2002, Europes new racism: causes, manifestations, and solutions: Evens Foundation
Wal, J., Verkuyten, M., 2000, Comparative perspectives on racism: Utrecht
WEB: Rodolpho Mendoza-Denton, PhD, Inside the science of prejudice, stigma and intergroup relations, Are we
born racist?
Psychology today, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/are-we-born-racist
Prejudice
Allport, Gordon, 1954, Te nature of prejudice: Addsison-Wesley
Dovidio, J.F. (ed.), 2005, On the nature of prejudice. Fifty years after Allport: Wiley.
Watson, Peter, 2007, Psychology and race: Transaction Publishers.
WEB:
www.prejudiceinstitute.org
www.understandingprejudice.org/apa/english/page3.htm
Stereotypes
Dovidio, J.F., Hewstone, M., Glick P., Esses M. V. (ed)., 2010, Te SAGE Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping
and Discrimination, London: SAGE Publication Ltd.
Hunyady, Gyrgy, 1998, Stereotypes during the decline and fall of communism: Routledge.
McGarty, C., Yzerbyt, V.Y. & Spears, R. (eds.), 2004, Stereotypes as explanations: Te formation of meaningful
beliefs about social groups: Cambridge University Press. Category formation, subjective essentialism, illusory correlations,
stereotype consensus
Nadler, A., Malloy, T.E., Fisher, J.D. (eds.), 2008, Te social psychology of intergroup reconciliation: Oxford Uni-
versity Press.
Nelson, T.D. (ed.), 2009, Handbook of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination. NY: Taylor and Francis. Founda-
tional ideas, classic theory and latest developments. A chapter on racism in the 21 century, self-regulation of prejudice etc.
Schneider, D.J., 2009, Te psychology of stereotyping. Te Guilford Press. Categorization, schema theories, in-
groups and out-groups, development of stereotypes, change of stereotypes, content of stereotypes
A1.2 How are stereotypes communicated?
Labelling theory
Becker, Howard, 1963, Outsiders: Free Press.
Berman, L. (1999). Positioning in the Formation of a National Identity. In: Rom Harr and Luk van Langen-
hove (eds), Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
Carbaugh, D. (1999). Positioning as Display of Cultural Identity. In: Rom Harr and Luk van Langenhove (eds),
In Other Words 58
Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
Davies, B. and Harr, R. (1990). Positioning: Te Discursive Production of Selves. Journal for the Teory of Social
Behaviour, 20 (1), 43-63. Rpt. w/modifcations as Ch. 3 in Rom Harr and Luk van Langenhove (eds), Positioning Teory:
Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell. Harr, R., Van Langenhove, Luk, (eds.), 1999, Positioning theory:
moral contexts of intentional action, Malden: Blackwell.
Harr, Rom and Moghaddam, Fathali, eds. (2003). Te Self and Others: Positioning Individuals and Groups in
Personal, Political, and Cultural Contexts. Westport: Praeger.
Harr, R et al., Recent advances in positioning theory, Teory Psychology February 2009 vol. 19 no. 1 5-31
Harr, R. and Van Langenhove, L., 1992, Varieties of Positioning. Journal for the Teory of Social Behaviour, 20,
393-407.
Harr, Rom and Van Langenhove, Luk (eds), 1999, Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action.
Malden: Blackwell.
Howie, D., 1999, Preparing for Positive Positioning. In: Rom Harr and Luk van Langenhove (eds), Positioning
Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
Howie, D. & Peters, M.A., 1996, Positioning Teory: Vygotsky, Wittgenstein and Social Constructionist Psychology,
Journal for the Teory of Social Behaviour, 26, 1: 51-64.
Luberda, James, University of Connecticut, Unassuming Positions: Middlemarch, its Critics, and Positioning Teory
(online essay available at http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~jbl00001/positioning/luberda_positioning.htm)
McKenzie, Pamela J. and Robert F. Carey, 2000, Whats wrong with that woman? - Positioning theory and Information-Seeking
Behaviour. Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference, Canadian Association for Information Science.
Moghaddam, F., Harre, R., Lee, N., 2008, Global confict resolution through positioning analysis: Springer.
Moghaddam, F. M., 1999, Refexive Positioning: Culture and Private Discourse. In: Rom Harr and Luk van
Langenhove (eds), Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
Moghaddam, F., Harre, R., 2010, Words of confict, words of war: How the language we use in political processes
sparks: Praeger.
Peters, MA & Appel, S., 1996, Positioning Teory: Discourse, the Subject and the Problem of Desire, Social
Analysis, 40, September: 120-145.
Riva, Giuseppe and Galimberti, Carlo, 1997, Te Psychology of Cyberspace: a socio-cognitive framework to
computer-mediated communication. New Ideas in Psychology, 15 (2), 141-158.
Sabat, S., Harr, R., 1995, Te Construction and Deconstruction of Self in Alzheimers Disease. Ageing and Society,
12, 443-61. Rpt. w modifcations as Ch. 7 in Rom Harr and Luk van Langenhove (eds), Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts
of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
Tan, S. L. and Moghaddam, F. M., 1995, Refexive Positioning and Culture. Journal for the Teory of Social Behaviour,
25, 387-400. Rpt. w modifcations as Ch. 13 in Rom Harr and Luk van Langenhove (eds), Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts
of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
van Langenhove, L. and Bertolink, R., 1999, Positioning and Assessment of Technology. In: Rom Harr and Luk
van Langenhove (eds), Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
van Langenhove, Luk and Rom Harr, 1994, Cultural stereotypes and positioning theory. Journal for the Teory
of Social Behaviour 24(4): 359-372.
van Langenhove, L. and Harr, R, 1995, Positioning and Autobiography: Telling Your Life. In N. Coupland and
J. Nussbaum (eds), Discourse and Life-span Development. London: Sage. Rpt. w modifcations as Ch. 5 in Rom Harr
and Luk van Langenhove (eds), Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
van Langenhove, L. and Harr, R., 1999, Positioning and the Writing of Science. In: Rom Harr and Luk van
Langenhove (eds), Positioning Teory: Moral Contexts of Intentional Action. Malden: Blackwell.
Psychology of mass communication
Harris, R.J. (2004) A cognitive psychology of mass communication. Lawrence Erlbaum, Media portrayals of
groups: distorted social mirror
Media representations (of minorities)
Fairclough, Norman, 1995, Media Discourse: Arnold. (A classic on media discourse and discourse analysis in general)
In Other Words 59
Mastro, D. E., Greenberg, B. S., 2000, Te portrayal of racial minorities on prime time television. Journal of Broadcasting
& Electronic Media. 44(4): 690-703 (A general assessment of the issue of stereotyping/discriminating minorities in the media).
Merskin, Debra L., 2010, Media, Minorities and Meaning: A Critical Introduction: Peter Lang (Excellent and easy-to-read
overview of diferent construction mechanisms used in the media: media functions and construction of social reality, myths, stereo/
archetypes, metaphors, cinemyths, articulation theory, semiotic myth deconstruction, othering, schema theory, categorization, etc.
Talbot, Mary, 2007, Media Discourse: representation and interaction: Edinburgh University Press (Another textbook-like
overview of media discourse and discourse analysis covers several angles signifcant in stereotype/discrimination analysis).
Agenda setting, priming and framing
Scheufele, D. A., 2000, Agenda setting, priming and framing revisited: Another look at cognitive efects of political
communication, Mass Communication & Society 3(2&3): 297-316.
Scheufele, D. A., David Tewksbury (2007) Framing, agenda setting, and priming: Te evolution of three media
efects models. Journal of Communication 57(1): 9-20.
Framing
Brosius, H-B., Eps, P., 1995, Prototyping through key events: News selection in the case of violence against aliens
and asylum seekers in Germany. European Journal of Communication 10(3): 391-412
Entman, R. M., 1993, Framing: Towards clarifcation of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication 43(4):
51-58.
Gofman, E., 1974, Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. New York: Harper & Row.
van Gorp, B. (2005) Where is the frame? Victims and intruders in Belgian press coverage of the asylum issue. European
Journal of Communication 20(4): 484-507
Gunew, S. M., 1994, Framing marginality: Multicultural literary studies. Carlton: Melbourne University Press.
Hallahan, 1999, Seven Models of Framing: Implications for Public Relations. Journal of Public Relations Research.
11(3): 205-242. (Proposes diferent types of framing (valence framing, semantic framing, story framing etc), and diferent
objects framed (situations, attributes, actions, issues) and strategies used).
Nickels, H. C., 2007, Framing asylum discourse in Luxembourg. Journal of Refugee Studies 20(1): 37-59.
Pan, Z., Kosicki, G. M., 1993, Framing analysis. An approach to news discourse. Political Communication, 10:
55-75.
Scheufele, D. A., 1999, Framing as a theory of media efects. Journal of Communication, 49(1): 103-123. (Good
overview of the development of framing theory (both media frames and individual frames).
Priming
Tulving, E., Schacter, D. L., 1990, Priming and human memory systems. Science 247(4940): 301-306.
Domke, D., Shah, D. V., Vackman, D. (1998) Media priming efects: accessibility, association and activation.
International Journal of Public Opinion research 10(1): 51-75 (A good overview of theoretical development. Claims that
the impact of priming depends also on long-term variables and is thus not overarching in society.)
Graham, S., Lowery, B. S., 2004, Priming unconscious racial stereotypes about adolescent ofenders. Law and Human
Behaviour 28(5): 483-504.
Valentino, N. A., Hutchins, V. L., 2002, Cues that matter: How political ads prime racial attitudes during campaigns.
American Political Sciences Review 96(1): 75-90.
Agenda-setting
McCombs, M. E., Shaw, D. L. (1972) Te agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly
36(2): 176-187.
McCombs, M. E. Shaw, D. L., Weaver, D. (Eds) (1993) Communication and Democracy: Exploring the intel-
lectual frontiers in agenda-setting theory. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers. (re-assessment of the
agenda setting theory with contributions on various aspects and arenas of agenda-setting)
Miller, R. E., Wanta, W. (1996) Race as a variable in agenda setting. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
73(4): 913-925. (a rather rare study of minority bias in agenda setting. In general, the focus in agenda setting issues tends to
be on policy processes and minority participation)
In Other Words 60
A1.3 Perceptions of stereotypes
Gerard Delanty, Ruth Wodak, Paul Jones, 2011, Identity, Belonging and Migration
Stephanie Greco Larson, 2006, Media and Minorities. Te Politics of Race in News entertainment.
Olga Bailey, Myria Georgiou, Ramaswami Harindranath (2007) Transnational lives and media: re-imagining diaspora.
Simon Cottle (2000), Ethnic Minorities and the Media: Changing Cultural Boundaries. Open University Press
Valerie Alia, Simone Bull, 2005, Media and Ethnic Minorities. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
A1.4 Normative issues
Dialogic civility
Cheney, G., May, S., Munshi, D. (eds.), 2011, Handbook of communication ethics. Routledge.
Ronald V. Arnett & Pat Anderson (1999), Dialogic civility in a cynical age. Community, hope, and interpersonal
relationships. State University of New York.
Moroco, Laurie,Respect, Relational Dialectics, and Dialogic Civility as Unconventional Intersections between
Personal and Public Life Paper presented at the annual meeting of the NCA 94th Annual Convention, TBA, San Diego,
CA, Nov 20, 2008.
Poulos, Christopher N., Disruption, Silence, and Creation: Te Search for Dialogic Civility in the Age of Anxiety,
Qualitative Inquiry August 2004 10: 534-547
Roberts, K.G. & Arnett, R. (eds.), 2008, Communication ethics. Critical intercultural communication studies.
Peter Lang.
Ronald C. Arnett, Dialogic civility as pragmatic ethical praxis, an interpersonal metaphor for the public domain,
Communication Teory, vol.11 (3), pages 315338, August 2001
Hester, Joseph P. and Killian, Don R, Te Moral Foundations of Ethical Leadership, Te Journal of Value-based
Leadership, Vol. 3 (1), Winter/spring 2010
Refexive empathy
Arnold, Roslyn, 2005, Empathic intelligence. University of New South Wales Press.
Bandura, Albert, Refexive empathy: On predicting more than has ever been observed, Behavioural and Brain Sciences
(2002), 25: 24-25, 2002 Cambridge University Press, DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X0226001X, Published online: 2003
Morrell, M.E. (2010) Empathy and democracy: Feeling, thinking and deliberation. Pennsylvania State University Press.
Weber, B., Marsal, E., Dobashi, T. (eds.), 2011, Te politics of empathy. New interdisciplinary perspectives on an
ancient phenomenon. LIT Verlag Dr. W.Hopf.
Media ethics
Rivers, William L.; Schramm, Wilbur; Christians, Cliford G. Responsibility in Mass Communication. 3rd ed.
New York: Harper and Row, 1980 (A classic text on media ethics frst published in 1957. Argues for social responsibility
theory, which means freedom from government and from business constraints in order to serve society through principles
of fairness and truth. Includes a case study on minorities and makes recommendations for the government, media, and
public.)
Johannesen, Richard L. Ethics in Human Communication. Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 1975; 2nd ed., 1983; 3rd ed.,
1990; 4th ed., 1996 (Outlines several perspectives within which students can make ethical judgments about communication - political,
dialogical, situational, and religious, for example. Ranges across interpersonal, organizational and mass media forms. Includes chapters
on codes of ethics, feminist contributions and intercultural communications. Worthwhile case studies, footnotes and bibliography.)
Denzin, Norman K. (ed) (2010) Qualitative Inquiry and Human Rights. California: Left Coast Press (In this volume
of plenary papers from the Fifth International of Qualitative Inquiry in 2009, leading qualitative researchers show the various
dimensions of human rights work being done by scholar/activists in the social sciences, education, health care, social services,
cultural studies, and other felds.)
Christians, Cliford D., Fackler, Mark, Brittain Richardson, Kathy, Kreshel, Peggy J., Woods, Robert H. (2011)
Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning, Ninth Edition
In Other Words 61
Additional literature
Bailey, O. G, Georgiou, M. and Harindranath, R., Transnational lives and the media: re-imagining diasporas,
Macmillan Publishers, 2007
Balestrieri A. and Bracalenti R., (eds.), Dizionario sulla discriminazione. Le parole per comprendere e contrastare la discriminazione
etnica e razziale [Dictionary of discrimination. Words to understand and tackle ethnic and racial discrimination], EditoreEdUP, 2009
Consani, M. and Camera, G., Deontologia: istruzioni per luso [Deontology: instructions for use], Ordine dei
Giornalisti della Lombardia (http://www.odg.mi.it/)
Consani, M. and Camera, G., Regole e sentenze: massimario disciplinare [Rules and judgements], Ordine dei
Giornalisti della Lombardia (http://www.odg.mi.it/)
Cottle, S. (ed.), Ethnic minorities & the media, Open University Press, 2000
Dines, G. and Humez, J. M., Gender, race and class in media: a critical reader, SAGE Publications, 2010
Downing, J. D. H. and Husband, C., Representing Race: racisms, ethnicity and the media, SAGE Publications,
2005
Faso, G., Lessico del razzismo democratico [Vocabulary of democratic racism], Derive Approdi, 2009
Greco Larson, S., Media & minorities: the politics of race in news and entertainment, Te Rowman & Littlefeld
Publishing Group, 2005
Guadagnucci, L., Parole sporche. Clandestini, nomadi, vu cumpr: il razzismo nei media e dentro di noi [Illegal
immigrants, nomads, wanna buys: racism in the media and within us], Altreconomia Edizioni, Milano 2010
Jianu, C. Imaginea minoritatilor refectata in presa timisoreana [Te image of minorities in the press from Timisoara],
Timisoara, Institutul Intercultural Timisoara, Waldpress 2002
Maneri, M., Meli, A., Un diverso parlare [A diferent way of speaking], Carocci, 2007
Natale, R., La Carta di Roma: la dignit dello straniero, in Partipilio, M. (ed.), La deontologia del giornalista [Te
journalists deontology], Centro di documentazione giornalistica, 2010
Nobili, P. (ed.), Insulti e pregiudizi: discriminazione etnica e turpiloquio in flm, canzoni e giornali [Insults and
prejudices: ethnic discrimination and obscene language in movies, songs and newspapers], Aracne, Roma 2007
Tolcea, M., Rus, C. Presa i tolerana [Press and tolerance], Institutul Intercultural Timioara, 1998
Reports
A diversity toolkit for factual programmes in public service television, EBU, 2007
Diversity, EBU Report
Masood, Eshan, British Muslims Media guide, 2006
Media 4 Diversity Taking the pulse of diversity in the media, March 2009
Racism, xenofobia and the media Towards respect and understanding of all religions and cultures, Vienna, May
2006
Razzismi quotidiani: la voce degli stranieri e dei media su razzismo e discriminazione, Cospe
Reporting Diversity How journalists can contribute to community cohesion
Minoritati in mass media: manual de instruire si resurse pentru jurnalisti [Minorities in Mass-Media: Training
Manual and Resources for Journalists], Centrul pentru Jurnalism Independent, 1999
Good practices guide to minorities in Romanian press, 2001
Colourful but not colour blind http://roma.glocalstories.org/about/

A2 - A GLOSSARY OF THE RELEVANT TERMS
Maaris Raudsepp and Raivo Vetik
Allports Scale of Prejudice and Discrimination or Allports Scale of Prejudice. It was devised by psychologist Gordon
Allport in 1954. Allports Scale of Prejudice goes from 1 5.
1. Antilocution: Antilocution means a majority group who freely makes jokes about a minority group. Speech uses
11- Te defnitions are mostly based on respective articles found in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org).
11
In Other Words 62
negative stereotypes and negative images. Tis is also called hate speech. It is commonly seen as harmless by the majority.
Antilocution itself may not be harmful, but it sets the stage for more severe outlets of prejudice. (E.g. Ethnic jokes)
2. Avoidance: Members of the majority group actively avoid people in a minority group. No direct harm may be
intended, but harm is done through isolation. (E.g. Social exclusion)
3. Discrimination: a minority group is discriminated against by denying them opportunities and services and so
putting prejudice into action. Behaviour is intended to do harm to the minority group by preventing them from achieving
goals, getting education or jobs, etc. Te majority group actively tries to harm the minority. (E.g. Apartheid)
4. Physical Attack: Te majority group vandalizes burns or destroys minority group property and carries out vio-
lent attacks on individuals or groups. Physical harm is done to members of the minority group. Examples are lynching of
blacks, pogroms against Jews in Europe and British Loyalists in the 1700s.
5. Extermination: Te majority group seeks extermination or removal of the minority group. Tey attempt to eliminate
either the entire or a large fraction of a group of people (e.g., the Indian Wars to remove Native Americans, American lynching,
the Final Solution to the Jewish Question in Germany, the Rwandan Genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia).
Antilocution is a term defned by the psychologist in his book Te Nature of Prejudice, 1954. Antilocution is defned as verbal
remarks against a person, group or community, which are not addressed directly to the target. Generally referred to as talking behind
someones back, the impact of this is often overlooked. However, because antilocution creates an environment where discrimination
is acceptable, it frequently leads to other more damaging forms of prejudiced behaviour. Its use is overshadowed by the more modern
term hate speech which has almost the same meaning.
Blatant discrimination is when someone knowingly and consciously takes action or makes a policy intending to
exclude an ethnic group.
Discrimination prejudicial treatment of an individual based solely on his membership in a certain socially undesirable
group or social category.
Within sociology, discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group
or category. Discrimination is the actual behaviour towards members of another group. It involves excluding or restricting members
of one group from opportunities that are available to other groups. Moral philosophers have defned it as disadvantageous treatment
or consideration. Tis is a comparative defnition.
Te United Nations stance on discrimination includes a statement that: Discriminatory behaviour takes many
forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection.
Hate speech is against the law it includes any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of
some characteristic such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristic.
In law, hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence
or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual
or group. Te law may identify a protected individual or a protected group by race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual
orientation, or other characteristic. In some countries, a victim of hate speech may seek a redress under civil law, criminal law, or
both. A website that uses hate speech is called a hate site.
Inclusive language (vs. Exclusive language) inofensive language usage.
language that avoids the use of certain expressions or words that might be considered to exclude particular groups
of people, ex. gender-specifc words, such as man, mankind and masculine pronouns, the use of which might be
considered to exclude women.
language that avoids careless discrimination against some people because of gender, class, ethnic group, etc. in the
words and descriptions used.
Intercultural communication the ability to successfully communicate with people of other cultures.
Intercultural competence - a multifaceted intra- and interpersonal process taking place both on a situational and
developmental level in encounters of people with diferent cultural backgrounds.
Social intolerance is a process by which one person or group hates or shuns another person or group due to diferences
they possess.
Toleration the practice of deliberatively allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves.
John Rawls theory of political liberalism conceives toleration as a pragmatic response to the fact of diversity. Diverse
groups learn to tolerate one another by developing what Rawls calls overlapping consensus: individuals and groups with
diverse metaphysical views or comprehensive schemes will fnd reasons to agree about certain principles of justice that will
include principles of toleration.
In Other Words 63
Labelling - the act of a society using a word or phrase to describe or ostracize a person.
Labelling theory (Howard S. Becker 1963) discriminational categorization of minorities and the use of stereotypes.
Linguistic tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from norms.
Originating in sociology and criminology, labelling theory (also known as social reaction theory), was developed
by sociologist Becker. Labelling theory (synonymous to identifying against), holds that deviance is not inherent to an
act, but instead focuses on the linguistic tendency of majorities to negatively label minorities or those seen as deviant from
norms. Te theory is concerned with how the self-identity and behaviour of individuals may be determined or infuenced by
the terms used to describe or classify them, and is associated with the concept of a self-fulflling prophecy and stereotyping. Te
theory was prominent in the 1960s and 1970s, and some modifed versions of the theory have developed. Unwanted descriptors
or categorizations (including terms related to deviance, disability or a diagnosis of mental illness), may be rejected on the basis
that they are merely labels, often with attempts to adopt more constructive language in its place.
Political correctness (adjectivally, politically correct; both forms are commonly abbreviated to PC), is a term which
denotes language, ideas, policies, and behaviour seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional ofense in occupational,
gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,
and doing so to an excessive extent.
Prejudice is a prejudgment, an assumption made about someone or something before having adequate knowledge to be
able to do so with guaranteed accuracy. Te word prejudice is most commonly used to refer to preconceived judgments toward
people or a person because of race, social class, gender, ethnicity, homelessness, age, disability, obesity, religion, sexual orientation,
or other personal characteristics. It also means beliefs without knowledge of the facts and may include any unreasonable attitude
that is unusually resistant to rational infuence.
Racism is the belief that there are inherent diferences in peoples traits and capacities that are entirely due to their
race, however defned, and that, as a consequence, justify the diferent treatment of those people, both socially and legally.
Moreover, racism is the practice of the diferent treatment of a certain group or groups, which is then justifed by resource
to racial stereotyping.
Racism involves the belief in racial diferences, which acts as a justifcation for non-equal treatment (which some regard
as discrimination), of members of that race. Te term is commonly used negatively and is usually associated with race-based
prejudice, violence, dislike, discrimination, or oppression; the term can also have varying and contested defnitions.
Racial discrimination typically points out taxonomic diferences between diferent groups of people, although anyone
may be discriminated against on an ethnic or cultural basis, independent of their somatic diferences.
Te UN does not defne racism, however it does defne racial discrimination: According to the Nations Convention,
the term racial discrimination shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, colour, descent,
or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or efect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on
an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other feld of
public life.
Tis defnition does not make any diference between discrimination based on ethnicity and race, in part because
the distinction between the two remains debatable among anthropologists. Similarly, in British law the phrase racial
group means any group of people who are defned by reference to their race, colour, nationality (including citizenship),
or ethnic or national origin.
Some sociologists have defned racism as a system of group privilege.
Stereotypes - overgeneralizations applied to an entire group of people.
A stereotype is a popular belief about specifc social groups or types of individuals. Te concepts of stereotype and
prejudice are often confused with many other diferent meanings. Stereotypes are standardized and simplifed conceptions
of groups based on prior assumptions.
Stereotyping. When a person is stereotyping, they are thinking in terms of infexible categories. Tis is linked to the
psychological mechanism called displacement, which is when one has feelings of hostility or anger toward objects that are
not the origin of those feelings. Many people blame scapegoats for problems that are not their fault. Tis is common when
two deprived ethnic groups compete with one another for economic rewards. Tis is normally directed against groups
that are relatively powerless, because they make an easy target. It frequently involves projection, which is the unconscious
attribution to the others of ones own desires or characteristics. Our stereotypes (the negative images about a group), are
a basis for prejudice (negative attitudes about a person based on sole group belonging). Te action undertaken based on
prejudice is discrimination.
In Other Words 64
Tokenism is defned as the practice of making only a token efort or doing no more than the minimum, especially
in order to comply with a law. It is a false appearance of inclusion practices (e.g. including a member of a minority on the
council of an institution, but not listening to his/her opinion).
Verbal abuse (also known as reviling), is when someone uses word(s) and/or mind games to instil self-doubt in the
victim and to build the abusers sense of dominance and control. Verbal abuse is a pattern of behaviour that can seriously
interfere with a persons healthy emotional development. It leads to signifcant detriment of a persons self-esteem, emotional
well-being, and physical state.
Xenophobia is defned as the hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture.
Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an in-group towards an
out-group, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to
secure a presumed purity. Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an uncritical exaltation of another culture in
which a culture is ascribed an unreal, stereotyped and exotic set of characteristics.

A3 - GLOSSARY OF PEJORATIVE TERMS
A3.1 Italian
Roma
Zingari and Nomadi: the most common terms used in Italy by both the media and the public opinion to describe
Roma and Sinti people, these words are heteronyms whose origins date back in time.
Tere are several explanations of the etymology of zingari: one links it to cingar, a restless bird that never nests;
another traces it back to zinkali (derived from Sindh and kali), the black-skinned men of Pakistani Sind. However, the
most popular explanation about the words origins maintains that zingari derives from the ancient Greek verb thinganein
(to touch) and the noun athinganoi (untouchables), which defned a heretical sect of VIII-century Anatolia; the term
was adopted in the XII century to label the groups entering the Byzantine empire from Asia Minor, and then spread all
over Europe, so much so that most European languages feature similar nouns: tsiganes in French, zigeuner in German,
ciganin in Bulgarian, Croatian and Serbian, cigano in Portuguese, cygan in Russian Terefore, since their very frst
arrival in Europe, these groups have been defned and distinguished from the rest of the population primarily by their
untouchability.
Nomadi has a more recent history. It was utilized for the frst time in 1889, when Adriano Colocci wrote in his
book Gli zingari: Nomadism in the higher man lifts his spirit, teaches him insights [] In the inferior man, such as the
Gypsy [] it stirs up character instability, restlessness, gets him out of the habit of working and makes him greedy of oth-
ers belongings and women. In the inferior man, Nomadism destroys all ideals of the homeland. Nomadi, therefore, in
the 19th and early 20th centuries served the purpose of marking the diference between the patriotic and geographically
stable population and the Others, who did not share the same values and habits. Since the 1980s, Nomadi has come
to substitute Zingari in ofcial and administrative discourse, as it sounds more politically correct and does not recall the
racist implications contained in Zingari, which echoes the Nazi period and the Zigeuner Lagers. Tough Zingari is still
frequent in many of the right-wing papers and broadcasts, the media today generally use Nomadi.
But this is not a neutral label. Besides not having much to do with reality (the oxymoron nomadi sedentary, stable
nomads is used to defne 80% of the Roma and Sinti populations ), the term carries a number of political implications.
As scholars like Nando Sigona, Leonardo Piasere and Tommaso Vitale have shown, the process of labelling the Roma as
nomads has always had direct consequences on the policies local and national governments have adopted when dealing
with this minority group. Te meaning of the word nomadi is so broad and general that it escapes all precise defnitions,
allowing for a readjustment of its sense according to the political needs of the moment. Te term carries with it the echo
of centuries-old prosecutions and bans, serving the double purpose, on the one hand, of repudiating and misreading the
cultural complexity of the Roma and Sinti communities and, on the other, of justifying temporary solutions and endless
12- A. Colocci, Gli zingari, p. 162, quoted in N. Sigona, Figli del ghetto. Gli italiani, i campi nomadi e linvenzione degli zingari, Civezzano: Nonluoghi Libere
Edizioni, 2002, p. 27.
13- T. Vitale, Rom e sinti in Italia: condizione sociale e linee di politica pubblica, Approfondimenti ISPI n.21, October 2010, p. 2.
14- L. Piasere, Comunit girovaghe, comunit zingare, Napoli: Liguori, 1995 and I rom dEuropa. Una storia moderna, Laterza, 2004.
12
13
14
In Other Words 65
violations of rights.
Both Zingari and nomadi, as ofcial labels stuck on the Roma and Sinti by the so-called majority community, function
as tools in the hands of the power system; boundaries that, while expressing someones power to label others, defne the space
within which those others can exist and act.
Migrants
Clandestini: the term can be translated as undocumented migrants, meaning migrant people with no residence
permit. But the word conveys further meanings, as coming from the Latin Clam, in secret, secretly it suggests an
idea of secrecy, seclusion and links with criminality, that in turn suggests fear and suspicion of someone who is hiding and
conspiring against everyone elses security.
Te term can refer to people who could not obtain or renew a residence permit, people who entered Italy with a
tourist visa (which then expired), or people who avoided all legal procedures to obtain a visa of any kind in their home
countries. Tis defnition is extremely common and is often used by the media to describe migrants in general, before
their actual status is verifed it is the case, for instance, of many asylum seekers waiting for their request to be answered.
Te same explanation applies to the Spanish term Clandestinos.
Extracomunitari: it literally indicates people coming from countries not belonging to the European Union, but
is never used for US, Australian or other rich countries citizens. Tus, it came to defne and stigmatize people coming
from poor countries, underlining their extraneousness from Italy and Europe (extra being a prefx conveying an idea of
exclusion). Besides being incorrect from a literal point of view, the term has also acquired a disqualifying connotation. Te
same explanation applies to the Spanish word Extracomunitarios.
Vu cumpra: this is a mispronunciation of the question Vuoi comprare?, Wanna buy..?, as supposedly pronounced
by migrant (usually African), sellers who walk up and down Italian beaches and streets with loads of goods and try to convince
people to buy something. Tis expression has spread widely and has started being used as a noun, referring mostly to African
pedlars, but also to African migrants in general.
It is utilized mainly at a popular level, but examples of its use can be found in the media as well, or in public/political
populist discourse targeting a low-status, uneducated audience.
Black people
Negri: the term Negros is utilized in Italian, as in many other languages, to defne people of Sub-Saharan origins.
Tough being claimed by some groups (i.e. rap bands), as an autonym, underlining a history of racism/discrimination
and resistance/pride, in Italian the term still contains a pejorative meaning, suggesting contempt and an air of superiority.
Te same explanation applies to the Spanish Negros.
Chinese people
Musigialli: literally meaning yellow snouts, the term refers to the skin of people of Chinese origins, which popular
wisdom claims to be yellow. Tis defnition is not very common.
Occhi a mandorla: the expression literally means almond-shaped eyes and is sometimes used as a noun, as if
synonymous of Chinese.
Muslims
Fedayn, terroristi, talebani: the three terms, referring to some aspect of the Islamic world, have come to defne
Muslims in general, in highly popular and/or racist environments.
All of them recall concepts such as jihad, terrorism, oppressive and obscurantist regimes, drawing a parallel between
Islam and some of its most violent and extremist fringe groups, as if the two concepts coincided.
Te same explanation applies to the Spanish Talibn.
Jews
Tere are many ofensive terms used especially in the past to defne Jews: sorci, topi, pidocchi (literally mice and
15- Sigona, Figli del ghetto, p. 32.
15
In Other Words 66
louse), which are not utilized in public discourse or in the media nowadays. In everyday language, a colloquial expression
is quite common: essere un rabbino (being a Rabbi), which means to be avarice with evident reference to the practice
of usury, which conventional wisdom believes to be/have been the typical occupation of Jews.
Gay men
For the centuries, prejudice and discrimination against homosexuality was fed primarily by the conviction that
monotheistic religions (Hebraism, Christianity and Islam), perpetuated, based on their so-called word of God (Leviticus,
Genesis, Ecclesiastes, etc...). In fact, what the Scriptures tell us refers to habits and customs of times when what mattered
was to ensure ofspring, people to work in the military and in the felds, and the primacy of men over women. Tis legacy
has tied itself to the history of Jewish civilization, but especially to that of Christianity and all of its political and cultural
structures (the empire, feudalism, nation states, the church, social organization). It is said that homosexuality (sodomy),
was frst condemned as a form of rejection by man (male), against his predestination as a ruler, a strong and virile worker,
a soldier, a master.
In Italy, all the derogatory, joking, teasing terms, which were introduced and are still used nowadays, are based to
some extent on this pattern: derision and mockery serve the purpose of assimilating the gay man to the role of a female,
that is, to a condition of inferiority, as such a male-oriented society understands it.
Culattone: in northern Italy culo (ass), but also the augmentative culattone (big ass, or big ass hole), indicate
the gay man, recurring to a strong synecdoche (appointing a part, in this case the ass, for the whole, i.e., the homosexual
man). But this could also be called a metaphor, a metonymy; a fgure of speech which consists in using, instead of the term
that would be more correct, another word, which somehow refers to or reminds the user of the correct word.
Frocio: froscio is a word from Roman dialect that has become common also in Italian, but it comes from the French, who
have always been seen as dainty and refned by Italians. A combination of machismo, inferiority complex and petty-bourgeoisie
ignorance led us to be suspicious of, and consequently to ridicule, what appears to be unnecessary culture and style. Te idea
that masculinity must necessarily be accompanied by roughness of manner and ostentatious ignorance is still quite common.
Uncomfortable with the necessity of fnding the right balance between masculine toughness and politeness, Italians have often
turned to teasing others. Tus, Franse (French), with a comical slip of the S, becomes fransc. Pronunciation: fronsc. Hence
fag and faggot. Making fun of a foreigner is necessary to alleviate the tension, when the stranger comes to your house to lord it
over you: in 1825, all foreigners resident in Rome were defned as fags, including the papal Swiss militia, who wore the famous
uniforms, apparently designed by Michelangelo, and which were as colourful as a womans holiday attire. Faggot increasingly
took on a negative meaning, until it became synonymous for a despicable man, regardless of the persons nationality. In 1910,
the mob used it to mean efeminate. Post-war Italian cinema and literature, from Moravia to Pasolini, contributed to giving
this word the meaning we ascribe to it now all over the country.
But there is another version of the story of the word. During the tragic sacking of Rome in 1527, the German militia
in the pay of the emperor is said to have raped both men and women. For this reason the Romans, who were terrifed, called
them feroci (ferce): from here, froci (fags).
According to other scholars, frocio derives instead from froge (nostrils), the wings of the nose of these mercenaries
that enlarged and reddened when they were drunk. Te link with the nostrils, however, could be yet another: there seems
to have been in Rome a fountain of the nostrils, where the citys homosexuals used to meet.
Another theory traces frocio to froscio (limp), Spanish fojo. Because of changing the l to an r, which was typical
and very common in Roman, foscio (foppy) becomes froscio. And then poof, passive, with no backbone. If, as seems
highly likely, the word fagot began to circulate only in the early 900, the poor troopers were accused unjustly. For once.
Finocchio: during XIII century, spices of all sorts came from the East by sea: these were unknown smells and tastes,
which added favour to dishes. Tat is why they cost so much. To add favour to food (especially meat), Mediterranean
cuisine already used a wild plant, typical of southern Italy (Sicily, Calabria, Puglia and Sardinia): wild fennel. Te fennel
(fnocchio), was in fact a kind of homemade spice, which cost very little. Given its extremely low value, fennel was deemed
perfect by Italian macho culture to describe a man who is worth very little, the homosexual. According to linguists and
historical scholars, this would be the most accepted explanation for fnocchio becoming a defnition for homosexual.
Tere is another theory, though, which is less likely but more imaginative and suggestive. In the Middle Ages, in addition
16- By Davide Provenzano (Articolo 3 and Arcigay La salamandra).
16
In Other Words 67
to women suspected of witchcraft, homosexuals were also burned at the stake, as they were considered emanations of the devil:
the corruptors, the deniers of God. To mitigate the stench of burning fesh emanating from the fres, some say that several
wild fennel plants were thrown on, or even bundles of faggots. Faggot comes also from old French fagot, which means bundle,
bundle heavy. Metaphorically: boring woman, petulant. Tis term is used in a derogatory sense to indicate homosexual men,
to refer precisely to their irksomeness and their alleged boringness. To be exhaustive, we provide a highly unlikely etymology of
fennel stems, for phonetic similarity, from Latin fenor culi, selling bum.
Ricchione: meaning big ear, it is the word used in southern Italy to describe a homosexual male. According to
some scholars, in Naples, which has always been a seaport, at the time of the Spanish viceroys, sailors from overseas were
a common presence (especially from the Spanish territories in Central America). Tese sailors wore earrings, according to
ancient Inca customs, and this made them look like women. When you stop to think about it, many of them were forced
to go to sea for months, far away from any women, and so they had learned to look after themselves sexually. To confrm
the link between the ear and the queer, theres a gesture typically used by the people of southern Italy: the tips of fngers
brushing against one ear lobe, as if wanting to rub it. It is a gesture of understanding between two people who know the
meaning, used to hint at the homosexuality of someone in front of them.
Checca: many girls, recorded at the registry ofce as Francesca, are known by the nickname Chicca, or ancient
Checca, names that sometimes remain well into adulthood. When referred to a man, it means: youre a sissy, ridiculous
and grotesque.
In other countries there is the habit of using a womans name to mock a man who is not considered as such: in Spain
widely used are marica and maricon, probably derived from Mary. Te insult checca is reserved for particularly efeminate
homosexuals.
However, some argue that checca has a clear and certain origin. In Rome, the name Francesco is frequently abbreviated
to Cecco, sometimes Chicco, and more often Checco. Te latter diminutive was a peddler of granite (homosexual), of
Trastevere, a hilarious guy, who was well known for his efeminate ways. Tus, it was almost automatic that Checco ended
up being called Checca, which lost its capital letter along the way and came to indicate homosexuals with feminine gestures
and attitudes.
In addition to this, the grattachecca was a sort of ante-litteram slush, sold in the summer in Rome. It was called so
not because it was invented (or sold for the frst time), by a homosexual, but for another reason. In Rome, until the late
50s, the block of ice used to keep food cold in the famous icehouse was called checche. Te blocks of ice were delivered by
the ice man who would carry it on his shoulder: often, to save time, he took two at a time. But since they weighed a lot,
he had to move cautiously, taking small steps, keeping his buttocks and thighs closed, as if wearing a tight skirt. In short,
he walked like a woman, or someone trying to imitate one. Hence the nickname checca became linked to the block of ice
(a huge box), that forced him to walk with such a characteristic gait.
Transgender people
Viados: is very common in the media, when it comes to defning transgender people. Viados is borrowed from Portuguese
and was originally used to refer to Brazilian transgender people, prostituting themselves on Italian roads; it then became a general
defnition, used for all transgender people of non-Italian origins. Te term clearly associates transsexuals with prostitution.
Travestiti: equally common and literally meaning disguised/cross-dressed, the term should be used to indicate
men who dress up like women; actually, the term is often used to defne transsexual people, and contains a hint of derision.
Te same explanation applies to the Spanish Travesti and Travestidos and the Portuguese Travesti.
People with physical disability
Handicappati: the term clearly indicates something missing a handicap in the people referred to, thus conveying
an image of incapacity, inability, incompleteness and natural disadvantage. It is also often used as an insult for people who
have no disability at all: You look handicapped/you look like a cripple!, You walk like a handicapped person/cripple!
A3.2 Spanish
Roma
Gitanos: Tis is the most common word used to describe Roma people. In Spain there is a common double distinction in
In Other Words 68
relation to this ethnic group. On the one hand are the Roma people who have been living in Spain for centuries: they have
created their own villages and have been traditionally governed by their own codes of social and family conduct, proud
of belonging to this ethnic group. People belonging to this ethnic group are usually proud of being called Gitanos. After
discussing with members of Roma associations in the Local Unit of Jan, it seems that the most correct term to defne this
group is Roman (but it is very uncommon).
Te second ethnic group is made of Romenian Roma, whose presence has increased in recent years and whose risk
of exclusion is greater than that of native Spanish Gitanos, because of barriers such as language and the absence of their
own organizations to protect their rights. To distinguish between the two groups, the latter are called gitanos rumanos
(gitanos from Romania).
Tis term is still used at every level, from popular, every-day discourse, to political and public discourse. In most
cases people using it are not aware of the pejorative connotation it carries.
Te pejorative connotation occurs mainly in the context of the sentence and the intention of the speaker. For instance,
it is pejorative when referring to a person (generally a man), who does not belong to the ethnic group saying, He is a Gitano.
In this context, gitano is used as a synonym for a thief, a homeless person, or, at best, the patriarch of a large family group. In
the case of women, defning a non-Roma woman as gitana means that she is a dirty woman, and has a low educational level.
Te Royal Spanish Academy of Language (Real Academia de la Lengua Espaola), includes a defnition of Gitano
in its dictionary that equates the term to a person who acts fraudulently.
Person who works with deception or fraud.
In Other Words 69
Migrants
Ilegales: the term can be translated as illegal/undocumented migrants, meaning migrant people with no residence
permit. Meaning illegal/outside the law, it sounds dangerous.
For Clandestinos and Extracomunitarios, see above (Italian section).
Black people
Negruzcos/ negratas: it is a pejorative term, whose use implies a complete lack of consideration and respect for black
people. It is a very bad word.
Morenitos: it is a pejorative term, which is sarcastic and negative.
Negros: see above (Italian section).
Chinese people
Chino: Te term refers to the people of Chinese origins, and Oriental origin in general. Tis term is very common
and includes people from Oceania, Phillipines and South East Asia (except Australia).
Amarillos: the word literally means yellow.
Muslims
Moro : the word comes from the Latin maurus and this in turn from the Greek mauros (black or brown), which
described the inhabitants of former Mauritania. Even today in modern Greek mavros-mavri is the masculine-feminine
adjective for black. Te etymological meaning of dark is reserved in Spanish for the related shade moreno, although
it is retained in set phrases such as nightshade (solanum nigrum), whose fruit is black, to refer to the dark fruit of the
blackberry itself or for a type of horse hair (black with a white spot on the forehead and shoes on any leg).
Tere is no etymological relationship of the word moro with the words morabito and Almoravid, which do, however,
sound similar and belong to semantic felds which are close. Te former refers to a kind of Muslim hermit and his place
of retreat. Te DRAE traces its origin to from the classical Arabic murbit, Member of a rbida. Tis use resulted in the
second term, although the DRAE specifes that this word comes from the Hispanic Arabic almurabit, and this in turn from
the classical Arabic murbit.
According to the Roman historian Sallust, the Moors (mauri) were one of the peoples who formed part of Hercules
army on his trip to the western Mediterranean, along with Persians, Armenians and Medes. After this mythological origin,
they reportedly mixed with local populations of Gaetuli (zenatas, the current Maghreb Berber groups), settled in the
mountains of Morocco, the Algerian Aurs, Libya.
Tis term is used to refer to people from North African countries and Islamic/Muslim countries in general.
Troughout history, the term moro did not always carry a pejorative sense. Depending on the context it could be
positive and even admiring. Today, moro is a popular colloquial term with pejorative connotations, used to refer
to a rather indistinct group of people, without referring to any specifc religious, ethnic or cultural belonging. Te
term is used to indicate the natives of North Africa and the Maghreb and generically any Muslim, regardless of their
origin. Used by Greek and Roman authors to designate the inhabitants of North Africa and the ancient Roman provinces
of Mauritania, since the Middle Ages the term moro has been used, even in polite literature, to refer to imprecise Muslim
groups: the Spanish (Andalusians, during the extensive period of history known as the Reconquista, in XV-XVIII centuries),
Berbers, Arabs or Muslims from other areas (who are also referred to in other now obsolete terms: buckwheat, Hagrite,
Ismaili, etc.), blacks (like Shakespeare in Othello), or any person of dark complexion (as in the nickname of condottiero
Ludovico Sforza, called Ludovico il Moro).
Te territory dominated by Muslims was called the Land of the Moors, especially in medieval Muslim Spain, but
also in any other place or time, a usage equivalent to the Islamic concept of Giving al-Islam .
In the 18th and 19th centuries ethnographers used the term moro to refer generically to the populations of the
Maghreb (with more or less precision in terms of skin colour more or less moreno or dark hair colour more or less
black and curly cephalic index or other anthropometric measures).
17- http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moro
17
In Other Words 70
Te use of the terms moro or mora race fell into disuse with the advance of science and do not have any scientifc
validity in recent Ethnography. However, the words remains widely used, even in ofcial speech, to name very diverse
population groups over a wide area of Northwest Africa, and also in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali and Niger. In other parts
of the world, such as Sri Lanka and the Philippines, the term moro is used to denote populations of the Muslim religion,
without any ethnic connection to the Maghreb.
Jews
Judios: Depending on the context and intonation used, it can be an ofensive term, synonymous with greed and
usury. On the other hand, the same term also defnes the followers of the Jewish faith. In every-day language, a colloquial
expression is quite common: eres un judo (you Jew!), means the person is avaricious with evident reference to the
practice of usury, which conventional wisdom believes to be/have been the typical occupation of Jews.
People from South America
In recent years the number of South American immigrants arrived in Spain has greatly increased, attracted by the
idea that the use of a common language will facilitate their social integration. One pejorative term is common and is used
independently of these migrants country of origin: sudacas, people from the South. Specifc terms are used for Indian
people (Colombians, Hondurans, Salvadorans), and people with African roots (Dominicans, Haitians and Caribbeans
in general), panchitos (clearly referring to Scarlett OHaras maid in Gone with the wind). Another pejorative term is
pony-payos, an expression used by Spanish Gitanos to designate people of Indian descent, such as Colombians, Hondurans,
Salvadorians, Ecuadorians, Bolivians, referring to their small body-size.
Gay men
Most bad words defning homosexual men refer to their efeminate condition: marica, mariquita (diminutive of the
former), maricn (in the superlative), all come from the name Maria. Other inappropriate terms are culo-roto (broken
ass). Other names refer to their being somehow invertidos (inverted). Tere are plenty of other nicknames, which are
impossible to translate but equally vulgar and extremely ofensive: bujarras, bujarrones, muerde-almohadas, gente con
pluma
Gay women
Te most common ofensive words defning homosexual women refer to the world of baking or cooking: bollera,
tortillera. Bollera is a woman who makes biscuits and cakes, while tortillera is a woman who is devoted to cooking tortillas
or omelettes. In both cases these terms are pejoratives.
Te most extended and popular explanation for these terms links them to the public ovens, present from the Mid-
dle Ages to the early 20th century in Spanish towns and cities. Women gathered at the ovens to bake bread or whole meals
(bollos, tortilla), and this was the only time of the day when they could interact with each other, while they did their
baking. It was not uncommon for some women to hide behind the four sacks and end up covered in four at the end of
the day.
Another explanation for the origin of the word bollera (or boyera), goes back to ancient times, when priestesses on oxcarts
(in Spanish ox = buey), held ceremonies which involved only women; these were religious feminist rites, according to which
women represented the Earth, the only and most ancient goddess who had loved humanity until the male dethroned it. Tese
female cults were residues of a matriarchal period in which religion was in the hands of women. Te rites had an astronomical
character; the constellation of Bootes (formerly called Boyera, who then became male), was represented by a priestess pulling an
ox cart.
Tortillera (a woman who cooks omelettes), is a reference to a false omelette, where there are no eggs (in reference to
the male genitalia). Its origin is in a novel called Maitreya (1978), written by the Cuban novelist Severo Sarduy (Cuba
1937- Paris 1993).
Transgender people
See above (Italian section).
In Other Words 71
Minusvlido, disminudo: the terms clearly suggest the idea of something missing a handicap in the people
referred to, thus conveying an image of incapability, incompleteness and disadvantage. Currently, it seems correct to
defne disabled people according to their specifc disability (for example, manco for those who only have one arm, cojo
for people who only have one leg or ciego for people with reduced visual acuity). A large number of people with reduced
mobility prefer to be classed according to their type of disability, rather than being included in the euphemistic handi-
capped people with reduced mobility.
According to associations in Spain, it is correct to avoid any term that refers to decreased value of the person, such
as the words (hich has been used for years), minusvala (minus value) and discapacidad (defciency or disability).
Currently, Spanish legislation includes the term disability to refer to people with these types of singularities, but
this term is not appropriate according to the associations. Associations have asked for it to be replaced by the term people
with functional diversity (in Spanish: personas con diversidad funcional). Tis functional diversity would be sensorial,
physical, motor or intellectual, depending on the singularity of each person.
People with mental disability
Te most usual pejorative terms are subnormales, retrasadosmentales, tontitos or monglicos (the latter is used to
refer to people afected by Down Syndrome).
A3.3 Portuguese
Roma
Ciganos: it is the most common term used to describe Roma people. Tis term is used by everybody and also by
the media and it is the correct term, but it can be pejorative when used in some contexts, such as referring to someone
who steals or to describe someone who dresses badly. It is also used in popular culture, through idiomatic expressions (e.g.
to keep one eye on the donkey and the other eye on the cigano), and to intimidate children (using cigano instead of big
bad wolf, for instance).
Romenos: Te term means people from Romania and it is linked to the stereotype that the majority of immigrants
from Romania are Roma people.
Black people
Preto (black), pretinho, pretito (both diminutives of preto), Negro (nigger), Pessoa de cor (coloured person):
these terms are used to describe people from Africa. Despite being terms used by a large number of people, they have a racist
connotation and transmit an idea of inferiority. Nevertheless, the three main terms carry diferent degrees of strength and
impact: preto, negro and pessoa de cor. Te frst is the strongest and most discriminating, and is related to poverty and
crime; the second is lighter, is considered more appropriate, has a more positive connotation and is more middle class;
the third expression is the most gentle and upper class term. Tese variations in language cut across the diferent forms of
exclusion and those considered less aggressive are used by people who do not intend to be openly discriminatory, but who
also do not sufciently question the most common prejudices. Te two diminutive forms of preto, pretinho and pretito,
reveal intent to be gentler and less negative.
Escarumba: the ofcial defnition of this word found in many dictionaries is man of black race; this word
became more generalized as part of the legacy of the Portuguese colonial war, referring to the natives of the African
countries that had been under Portuguese control until the mid-1970s and, afterwards, to the people from those
countries who immigrated to Portugal.
People from North Africa
Monh: this term is used to describe people from India and from North Africa in a pejorative way. It is also linked to
people who walk the streets selling things and bothering tourists. Te word comes from a dialect spoken in Mozambique.
In Other Words 72
Qu-fr: this is a mispronunciation of the question Queres for?, Want a fower?, as supposedly pronounced by
people from North Africa, who walk the streets and go into restaurants to sell fowers. Tis term is connected with their
most common occupation as sellers. Tis term conveys the idea of someone who always bothers tourists by insisting they
buy something.
Chinese people
Chino, chinoca, chinesisse: these are derivations of the word chins (Chinese), and are pejorative and stereotypical
words to describe people (chino, chinoca) and things (chinesisse) from China. In recent years there has been an increase of
people from China in Portugal, due to trade and business, especially in retail stores spread across the whole territory, from
large towns to small. Tis competition within the trade sector is considered unfair (due to the lack of quality and low prices
of the goods sold and to the opening hours of the Chinese stores), and has encouraged discrimination of this minority.
De olhos em bico: to have beak-shaped/pointy eyes. Tis expression is related to the typical shape of the eyes of
Oriental people and is also commonly used when someone from the West stares or squints at something strange or odd,
making their eyes beak-shaped.
People from Eastern Europe
Ucranianos: Te term means Ukrainian. It is due to the fact that, initially, the majority of immigrants who came
from Eastern Europe were Ukrainian. Tis term is connected with the stereotype of migrants from this part of Europe, as
being pale-skinned and fair-haired. It is also associated with criminality and disorder.
Gay men
Bicha, bicheza, maricas, larilas, maricono, panisca, paneleiro, panasca: these words are commonly used and are ofensive.
Te closest translation would be faggot or queer (before the term became politicized). Tese words are related with stereotypes
of female characteristics such as being easily frightened and being weaker than men. Very rarely do these expressions appear in the
media, but they are used by people in general.
Pedflo: in the past there has been a dangerous mixing of the terms homosexual and paedophile, particularly used
in the context of sexual abuse of minors in which the abuser in the case of same-sex abuse was often referred to as
homosexual. Tis became very common in 2002, in the aftermath of the Casa Pia scandal.
Gay women
Fufa, camionista, machona: these words are common and extremely ofensive ways to describe lesbians. Te closest
translation would be dyke. Tey are linked to the popular stereotype of gay women looking masculine and behaving in
a manly way.
Transgender people
See above (Italian section).
Aleijado (cripple), aleijadinho (diminutive of aleijado), invlido (invalid), incapaz (unable), defciente
(disable), def (abbreviation of defciente), portador de defcincia (disability carrier): these terms are connected
with the inability to perform certain tasks. Tey can also be used as an insult for people who have no physical disability
at all, but show some difculty in performing a task.
People with mental disability or mental illness
Atrasado (retarded), atrasadinho (diminutive of atrasado), atrasado mental (mentally retarded), mongoloide
(Mongolian), mongo (abbreviation of mongoloide), retardado (retarded), louco (mad), doido (crazy), maluco
(mad), maluquinho (diminutive of mad), paranoico (paranoiac), degenerado (degenerate), perturbado (disturbed/
18
18- Text adapted and translated from: Hugo Lopes, A construo meditica da sade mental e da doena mental: o caso do Pblico e do Correio da Manh entre 1990
e 2010 (Mediatic construction of mental health and mental illness: the case of Pblico and Correio da Manh between 1990 and 2010), Master Dissertation in Com-
munication and Journalism, presented to the Faculty of Letters of the University of Coimbra, 2011, pp. 33, 35, 42, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 113-115.
In Other Words 73
sick), doente (ill), doente mental (mentally ill), doente do foro psicolgico (psychological patient), doente psiquitrico
(psychiatric patient), autista (autistic), esquizofrnico (schizophrenic), psictico (psychotic), psicopata (psychopath): all
these words are connected with people who sufer from mental illness or have some form of mental disability.
Mongoloide and mongo are vulgar and ofensive expressions to defne a person with Down Syndrome; the origin
of these terms is related to the association of the facial expression between the inhabitants of Mongolia with the facial
expression of people who have Down Syndrome.
In general, research on the medias representation of mental health and mental illness shows the medias treatment
of this tends to be overwhelmingly negative and inaccurate. Tis is a serious problem as the media plays a crucial role
in forming public opinion about mental health issue. Te media promote a negative image of mental illness and of those
sufering from mental illness, a picture which often associates mental illness with violence and madness.
Te relationship of the media with issues relating to mental health is based on several factors, particularly because
mental health is news for various reasons, and not always the fairest or most positive reasons. One reason has to do with
market imperatives, which recognize that violence and madness sell news; another is that health promotion is a strategy
pursued systematically by various institutions and social actors who seek, through the media, to educate the public in the
challenges and attitudes involving issues related to mental health. Another reason is that the value judgments made during
the selection of what is a newsworthy event are strongly infuenced by public expectations with regards the newsworthiness
of mental illness.
Mentally ill acts as a label, like many others used daily by the media, such as mad, retarded or disabled - apparently banal
terms, but with adverse implications. In fact, people sufering from mental disorders are one of the few groups for which slang
language is used on a large scale in the media. Terefore, some authors, such as Wahl, argue for the need to replace slang with the
technical terms, which do not cause confusion and ignorance and provide more correct information on this subject, without
hurting susceptibilities. Labelling is closely related to stigma and has also been heavily theorized. Labels defne categories and
require borders; they are, therefore, means of construction of a social world by imposing categories to divide individuals.
We can then say that the stigma regarding mental illness remain in the media because they need to use categories that
serve as points of reference for the public. According to Morris, for example, the main reason for the media to continue to use
stereotypes and stigmatization in mental health is motivated by a preconceived idea that the impact on the audience is larger
and more appealing, as stories are more exaggerated and distorted.
From the viewpoint of psychiatry, according to Harper, in discussions of mental sufering, abundant contradictory
terminology and misunderstandings regularly involve the use of incorrect diagnostic categories. Te media repeatedly
confuse the terms psychosis and psychopathy, whereas disorders such as schizophrenia are confused with split personality
or identity disorder. Tis view is widely discussed by Wahl; he argues that terms like schizophrenia are used out of context, referring
to diseases that have nothing to do with it, or even in political and social contexts, as synonyms of multiple personality disorder or
diference. Tis inadequate use leads the public to confuse schizophrenia with personality disorders, which are completely diferent
diseases. In this way, other terms such as psychotic and psychopath or mentally retarded and mental illness are confused and used
interchangeably by the media.
For Wahl, it is only a very short step from stigmatization to labelling and consequent discrimination against the
stigmatized. In previous work, the author has produced a number of factors indicating that stereotypes about mental
illness in the media persist. First, the constant search for proft and audiences; and madness appeals strongly to public
interest. Secondly, the ignorance of writers regarding mental illness contributes to the perpetuation of negative images.
Moreover, there are also historical factors involved in this process. Many of the images, conceptualizations and representations
of people sufering from mental illness come from many centuries ago and the media have not realized that changes have occurred.
Finally, psychological protection also plays a part in this process. Portraying people who sufer from mental illness as diferent or
dangerous works as a shield for us, the normal people, in relation to them. Mental illnesses afect only the others, the
19- O. F. Wahl, Media Madness: Public images of mental illness, New Bruswick: Rutgers University Press, 1995, pp. 21-22.
20- G. Morris, Mental Health Issues and the Media, New York: Routledge, 2006, pp. 51-52.
21- S. Harper, Madness, Power and the Media: Class, Gender and Race in Popular Representations of Mental Distress, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009, p.21.
22- Wahl, Media Madness, pp. 20-21.
23- O. F. Wahl, Telling Is Risky Business: Mental Health Consumers Confront Stigma, New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1999, p. 102.
24- Wahl, Media Madness, pp. 110-131.
19
20
22
23
24
21
In Other Words 74
diferent ones. One last factor to conclude the list is the absence of feedback. Te media in Portugal do not receive feedback
from readers or viewers about the mistakes they make when transmitting these negative images.
Te frst studies on the medias portrayal of mental health and mental illness were conducted by researchers connected
to the feld of psychology and psychiatry, who were, in general, very critical about media discourse, and considered it extremely
stigmatizing. Te anti-stigma critics defended the intervention of external regulators that obliged the media to adopt the
technical language of psychology and psychiatry, to convey a more correct image of mental illness and the mentally ill and
to counter the stigma. Tis was meant to bring in the use of what was called more positive images in the speech, that is,
speech related more to the treatment of mental illnesses and policies aimed at improving the living conditions of these
people.
Nevertheless, in more recent studies it was verifed that the specifcity of such technical language that researchers call
correct was also a construction, which has historically been gaining power as truth speech and should not be referenced as
a construct of positive or negative images. Tis is because there is, on issues related to mental health and mental illness,
not only one valid and indisputable discourse, but rather a plurality of more or less dominant discourses, whose validity
should be discussed and which are permanently under construction. Terefore, the power of psychiatric discourse must
also be questioned, because it too contains negative cultural efects, such as the need to legitimize the psychopharmacological
industry.
As market forces afect the media itself, these institutions also produce a specifc product, namely news, which must
sell. Trough the systematic study of news production, generally encompassed in the concept of news making, it has been
possible to capture the way the media reconstructs events in the marketplace framework. Te target of our criticism is, frst
and foremost, the fact that the media focus on that which is out of place, on what is deviant and unpredictable. Hence, the
association of mental illness to violence should be seen as a strategy that interconnects with background media dynamics.
As a result, the media ends up contributing to the strengthening of wrong ideas that already exist in society, such as the
idea that people sufering from mental disorders are predisposed to committing violent acts Te mentally ill are repeatedly
made out to be dangerous, violent, unpredictable and criminal, which reinforces and perpetuates the stigma towards people
who sufer or have sufered from mental illness when, in fact, these events are rare. Tis issue is much more present in the
popular press than in mainstream press, which is rather more moderate.
Besides the stigma associated with violence, there is another kind of stigma related to the inability of recovery, rehabilitation
and reintegration into society of people who sufer or have sufered from mental illness. It is noticeable that these people do not have
a voice in the media, as there is always someone who speaks for them or hides the opinion of those who have actually experienced the
problems, leaving out the most important subject of these issues. Tis is one of the aspects that could be changed in the media,
simply by consulting experts or representatives, and not only that, but also by actually speaking to the people sufering
from mental illnesses who are not deeply ill and are perfectly capable of making their own contributions to journalistic
pieces. Te media could also report on cases of successful recovery or improvement as they happen, and d so in the frst
person.
It was found that in Portugal between 1990 and 2010, there was a decrease in the number of articles on mental
health and mental illness, and there was a slight increase in the number of pieces on mental health and mental illness
published on the front pages, which shows that newspapers were highlighting these issues more.
In general, it appears that newspapers continue to label people who sufer from mental illness, and see them, as if
they were another species, with no power or active voice. Tese social agents appear in the press via the representations
made for them and about them by specifc entities, and which contribute to articles constructed in particular ways.
Jews
Judeus (Jews): depending on the context and intonation used, it can be an ofensive term, and is synonymous with
greed and usury. On the other hand, the same term also objectively denotes the followers of the Jewish faith. In every-day
language, there is a common colloquial expression: fazer judiarias (to do Jewish things), which means to do evil or cruel
things to another person, based on the common prejudice that Jewish people are bad/evil people. Tis prejudice is based on
25- S. Harper. Media, Madness and Misrepresentation: Critical Refections on Anti-Stigma Discourse, European Journal of Communication, (20) 4, 2005, pp.
460-483; S. Harper, Madness, Power and the Media.
26- N. Rose, Te Politics of Life Itself, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2007.
25
26
In Other Words 75
several other stereotypes, prejudices and associations: Jewish people were considered to be greedy, avaricious, gluttonous
and thieves (evidently referring to the practice of usury, which conventional wisdom believes to be/have been the typical
occupation of Jews) and were also Jesus Christs murderers.
Muslims
Mouro: Tis term is used to refer to people from North African countries and Islamic countries in general. Used by
Greek and Roman authors to describe the inhabitants of North Africa and the ancient Roman provinces of Mauritania,
from the Middle Ages the term mouro has been used, even in polite literature, to refer to imprecise Muslim groups. Te
people of the Iberian Peninsula were at war with mouros during an extensive period of its history known as the Christian
Reconquista (Reconquest), which started in the VII century. Te Reconquest of all the peninsular territory was only
concluded in the XV century, but in Portugal, the Reconquest had ended earlier - in 1253 and her borders have been
mostly stable since then. Later on, with the Portuguese maritime expansion, which started before with the conquest of
some North Africa territories, was partially considered a continuation of the Reconquest process.
A3.4 Estonian
Roma
Roma is the common ofcial name for Roma people. Another term used is mustlane, pl. mustlased meaning
black, but one should note here that this is an ofcially accepted defnition.
Migrants
Ofcially, one uses migrand (pl. migrandid), or commonly sisserndaja (pl. sisserndajad). Tis latter term means
literally coming in. Tere is also the version vlismalane (pl. vlismalased), which means foreigners, from abroad. Te
pejorative form is tulnukas (pl. tulnukad), also meaning he that comes.
Black people
Te ofcial version is mustanahaline (pl. mustanahalised), and means of black skin. Tere is also the word must
(pl. mustad), meaning black. Pejoratively, the word neeger (pl. neegrid), is used, meaning negro, and also rtipea (pl.
rtipead), meaning wearing a headscarf , as allusion to the people of North Africas way of dressing.
According to the explanation given by the Estonian Language Institute, the word neeger lacks pejorative meaning in
Estonian. However, they do not recommend using it as it is perceived negatively by many black people. Tus, in everyday usage
the term must (black), is the most common now. Tere is still a kind of irony to the term neeger as the words leheneeger and
IT-neeger suggest.
Te term neeger in Estonian can be compared to the terms murjan and moorlane, which were common in the past
in Estonia, but which over the years gained a pejorative connotation and are not in active usage any more.
People from Asia
Te only pejorative form largely used is pilusilmad, which means long-eyed and refers to the almond-shaped eyes
of people from Asia.
Russians
Tibla (plural: tiblad), is an ethnic insult in the Estonian language, which refers to a Russian or a Soviet. Te word
possibly originates from the pejorative Russian form of address ty, blyad, rt, nxt or ty, blya, rt, nx literally meaning
you whore. An alternative explanation for the origin of the word is that it comes from Russian builders during World
War I, who mostly came to Estonia from the Vitebsk County. Tey were called tipski, which later became tibla. The
Estonian Press Council offers the opinion that the term tibla is mostly applied to a Homo Sovieticus, which is a
person who is lacking in culture, is uneducated, and holds an imperialist worldview.
Te word has been actively used in the Estonian media since the 1990s by a character called Ivan Orav, created by
27- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibla
27
In Other Words 76
Andrus Kivirhk. According to Orav the word tibla has nothing to do with Russians but instead are small, pink creatures
that frst appeared in Estonia in June 1940.
Te 2006 European Network Against Racism Report mentions the recent use of the word tibla in the Estonian-language
media as an example of inappropriate language. In 2002, the Estonian Press Council settled the case when the newspaper Eesti
Pevaleht printed an advertisement: Dont you read the Pevaleht? You must be a tibla then. Be a true Estonian and become
a reader. In 2008 the usage of the word in the media caused controversy, when Estonian TV aired the flm Airheads, in
which the insult retards was translated as tibla (a completely diferent meaning). When confronted, the translator, a
well-known linguist, apologized, saying that she had been careless. Te word tibla is commonly used today for a person
from another ethnic group (inc. Russians), and/or language group, who ignores and/or does not respect the state, its laws
and citizens of the country in which they live. Today, the meaning of the word has lost much of its link to chauvinism.
Te etymology word is not entirely clear, but it does refer to the likely obscene origin. It was previously a derogatory word
used by nationally-oriented Estonians to insult either Russians or any unpleasant person.
A3.5 French
Chinese people
Niaouk: often used in French for people of Asian descent in general, niakou (spelling varies), is a term which comes
from the Vietnamese word (Nguoi), nh qu (farmer, villager). In the Vietnamese language it underlines the contrast between
peasants/urban people. In France, the word was popularized during the French colonization of Indochina. Today it is rarely used,
but still exists.
Jaune: this term clearly refers to the skin colour associated with Asian people. Like the term noir/ negro, it is a
derogatory and discriminating word, based uniquely on physical and subjective features. Te same connotation can be
found in the term face de citron (literally lemon face).
Chintok: another commonly used and discriminatory term referring to all Asian people without any distinction
between their specifc origins. It is made up of the term China and the sufx -toc/tok which refers to the poor quality of
Chinese products.
European nationalities
Italians: Te word Rital is a popular slang term for a person of Italian origins. Tis term once had pejorative and
racist connotations, but today it is much less used although still signifcant.
Tis name was given to Italian immigrant workers who arrived en masse before and after World War II to work in
France and Belgium.
British: Te word Rosbif comes from the success of roast beef in 1711 and due to the British origins of the dish,
this term has been used to refer to the English since 1836.
Another common term is roast beef (1774).
Germans: Te use of the word Boche meaning the Germans dates from the XIX century. It is an abbreviation of the
slang word Alboche (a wooden head). At the time, it meant a person with a strong character and rather obtuse attitude.
For some time, this nickname was used to describe all these Germanic neighbours as rather stubborn people. Tis term
frst appeared in eastern France and later extended to the whole country.
Te word chleuh, which derives from the name of a Moroccan tribe colonized by the French in the early twentieth
century, refers to people facing French troops in the colonies, whose language the French did not understand. During
World War II, this nickname was given to German opponents because the French troops did not understand their language
either.
Today, these pejorative terms are no longer used much, but they are still well known.
Russians: Russkofs is a French slang term referring to the termination of many Russian family names (-ov), com-
bined with the ethnonym Russian (pyccxn - russki).
Jews
Juif: people of Jewish origins or belonging to the Jewish community. Tis term can be used with a pejorative con-
notation suggesting that the person is stingy or selfsh: for example, Juif or feuge.
In Other Words 77
Youpin: this term comes from the Jewish Yehuda (Jew), with the sufx - pin. It is a purely pejorative and ofensive
word used against the Jewish community by racists and anti-Semitic people.
Gay men/women/transgender people
Homo, Tapette: the term homo is an abbreviation of the word homosexual. A deliberately insulting name, tapette
comes from the word tape, which was the wooden plug used to close the holes in the front of ships for the passage of the
anchor chain. Today it is generally a derogatory word to refer to (male), homosexuals.
Lesbienne (gouine, camioneuse): on the Greek island of Lesbos, the powerful emotional poems of Sappho about
women have often been interpreted as expressing homosexual love. Te term became common in the nineteenth century
to describe female homosexuality after the rediscovery of the works of Sappho. Tere are also more familiar and derogatory
terms, such as gouine, whose etymology is unknown but remains ofensive, or the term camioneuse (female lorry driver),
suggesting that some kinds of jobs are not suitable for women and gives the idea that women doing such jobs have a diferent
sexual orientation.
Transexuel or trans: these terms defne people who feel they do not belong to their biological sex (from the Latin
trans, beyond). Tese terms are commonly used to defne transsexual people and they can have a pejorative connotation
in certain contexts.
Migrants
Sans-Papier: it literally means without documents and it refers to all people of any nationality living illegally in
France. Tey are often stigmatized as they are thought to be the cause of many problems in French society.
Clandestin: a person who enters French territory illegally. Te clandestins are the sans papier who have not yet
reached French soil. Tis term is generally strong and pejorative since it refers more directly to the idea of a second-class
person who enjoys fewer civil rights than French citizens.
Immigr: this defnes people who were born abroad as non-French citizens and have settled in France. Tis term
can have sometimes a pejorative connotation which makes a distinction between them and other French citizens. It is
commonly used in the media in this way: gens issus de limmigration, which means people who have immigrated.
Muslims
Arabes: it refers to people of Arab origins. Many diferent terms defnes Arab people in France, especially North
Africans such as bougnoules, melons, ratons, bicots.
Bougnoul is a popular pejorative term, which appeared at the end of the XIX century in the jargon of the navy
and the colonial infantry and means an individual duty. Tis term is borrowed from the Wolof language (Senegal), where
bou-gnoul means black and was used (pejoratively), by Europeans to refer to the Senegalese.
Tere are also terms such as melons, ratons, bicots that are very ofensive forms of referring to the Arab population,
but whose origins are less well known.
In the 80s the term beur appeared. It is a political neologism which is widely known and has been used in France
recently meaning French people of second or third generation North African origin. It frst appeared with the creation
of Radio Beur in 1982 and it originates from the inversion of the syllables a-ra-beu which becomes beu-ra-a, and its
shortened form beur. Tis term is part of the spoken language and has become rather pejorative, indirectly referring to the
fatty matter beurre (butter). In journalistic language the expression beur de service is commonly used and refers to the
idea of the children of Maghreb immigrants, who try to be successfully integrated in France. Nowadays with the advent
of Verlant (speaking backwards), the term reubeu has also appeared.
Handicap: this term is used to describe people with a mental or physical disability which prevents them from exercising
a profession or a having a normal social life. Tis term is used pejoratively to defne a person without any disabilities.
Invalide: frst used to describe people with disability in general, it is used today more specifcally to defne a person
unable to perform daily tasks due to a mental or physical problem or disability.
Roma
Roms: the most common word to defne Roma people as well as other minorities such as Tsiganes, Manouches,
In Other Words 78
Romanichels, Bohmiens, Sinti ou Gens du voyage. Despite this, the proper defnition of Rom indicates the Roma people
from Eastern Europe, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria. Even though it is commonly used and is considered correct,
it can be pejorative, depending on the context. Te media are generally not aware of the misuse of these terms, as well as
the ethnic and terminological distinctions between them.
Tsiganes: term of Greek origin which is commonly used as an indistinct way of describing Roma people in their host
countries. Te Greek term Atsinganos means who doesnt touch or who doesnt want to be touched, literally untouchables.
It originally referred, most probably, to a Manichean sect. Te term Tsigane appeared in France after World War II and it was
commonly used by the Nazis. It has its origins in Liuvvui / Sigynnai, used by Herodotus to defne a group of nomadic people
circulating in Europe at that time (ffth century BC). Recent research has proven the presence of these groups at the time who
were traders. Since 2008 the Union franaise des associations tsiganes has gathered these groups of people, allowing them to
have a social and political legitimacy.
Romanichel: this term comes from the adjective romani (rom), and the term el (people, community).
Gitans: term of Spanish origins which comes from the word egyptiano. It referred to the people from Little
Egypt, a Greek province. Tese populations are now living mainly in Spain and in the south of France. Recently, this
term has become gradually but increasingly misused to substitute the term Tsiganes.
Gens du Voyage: it is a legal category in the French administrative legislation, which is peculiar to France. In 1969,
the French government created the administrative category Gens du voyage to describe all people who lived in mobile
shelter (caravans, mobile homes), without a permanent, fxed residence. Tis legal category only exists in France.
Manouches: Roma settled in eastern France and on the banks of the Loire since the XV century. It is a pejorative term,
which is incorrectly yet commonly used to describe homeless people living in bad, unhealthy conditions. Another pejorative
term for to these people is voleur de poule which means chicken thief . Te Sanskrit and Hindi word manushya means
man, human being. In France, this term defnes people sharing many features with the Sinti community. In the music, the
manouche style of jazz is well known.
Bohmiens: the term has been used in France since the XV century. It was widely used during the XVI to XVIII
centuries, until the term tsigane started to spread into the public sector.
A3.6 Romanian
Roma
Te most problematic issue related to the use of pejorative terms in the Romanian media referring to minority groups
concerns the use of the term igan (read tzigan), to refer to Roma people. igan is a heteronym with a strong pejorative
meaning, refected in common expressions and proverbs, etc. In the middle ages, it was also a synonym for slave (Roma had
the status of slaves for almost 500 years in Romanian principalities). Te term Roma is the name members of the Roma
communities, who speak the Romani language, use to refer to themselves. Although its use in public discourse dates back
to the period between the two world wars in the XXth century, the majority of Romanians believe it was artifcially imposed as
a politically correct term after the revolution of 1989, which ended the communist regime. Tis followed a period of around
50 years, during communist rule, when Roma where totally absent from public discourse, as they were considered a socially
disadvantaged category, and not an ethnic group.
Indeed, immediately after 1989, Roma were recognized as a national minority and Roma leaders made a strong
claim for the use of the autonym Roma to replace igan. Tis was resisted at all levels, from ordinary people to journalists
and politicians, with two major arguments: (1) that the whole society was used to the term igan and (2), that the use of
Roma may lead to confusion between Roma and Romanians, particularly at the international level. Another argument
used was that igan is also an autonym for some groups: there are Roma communities who have been partially assimilated
and where the Romani language is not spoken; in these communities the term igan is commonly used. In this context,
two measures were taken in the early 1990s by the Romanian ministry of Foreign Afairs. Te frst, was to choose ROU
(from the French, Roumanie), instead of ROM as the international three-letter country code for Romania (this also appears
on passports). Te second was an internal order given by the ministry in 1993 for all diplomatic missions of Romania to use
igan in all documents, to prevent confusion between Roma and Romania.
It was only at the end of the 1990s, and even more so after the year 2000, that the term Roma came into common
use in public institutions, mainly associated with strategies and policies for Roma inclusion required by the EU in the
framework of Romanias joining process, based on the Copenhagen criteria. Te use of Roma was also enhanced in the
In Other Words 79
public discourse, including in the media, after 2002 with the application of the EU antidiscrimination directives and the
setting-up of the National Council for Combating Discrimination. In this framework, and with the increasing public
presence of Roma organisations and of NGOs promoting the use of Roma, the media gradually started to use Roma more
commonly in their news reports. Tis process was reversed after 2006-2007 due to incidents confusing Roma with Romania
in Italy, and so more and more journalists using the term igan again. A relatively new trend is the use of the term Roma with
a pejorative meaning and the mixing of Roma and igan in the same article.
A recent public debate was based on the request of a group of Roma NGOs to change the defnition given to igan
in the ofcial Romanian Language Dictionary published by the Romanian Academy. Tis request, which also included
the word jidan, a pejorative word for members of the Jewish community, was accepted and the dictionary defnitions were
changed.
Migrants
Migration in Romania is a new phenomenon and there are three terms mainly used: NGOs developing projects
providing support to refugees or for the integration of migrants commonly use the term migrant (see for example the
magazine Migrant in Romania, also available online at www.migrant.ro). Te ofcial terminology, only used in technical
documents, to refer to migrants from non-EU countries is resortisani ai rilor tere (translated literally from the French
ressortissants des pays tiers, meaning coming from third-world countries or third-country nationals). Tis is rarely used
in the media and its meaning is often not understood. Te term immigrants (imigrani), is now being used increasingly in
the media, particularly in articles quoting press releases of the Border Police or authorities in charge of combating irregular
employment or illegal commercial activities. Te expression illegal immigrants is also used.
Black people
Negri: the term means black. Te meaning is not pejorative. In the past, the term de culoare (of colour), was
also used by the media. African community is also sometimes used.
Chinese people
Tere is no specifc term except for chinez. In recent years, a negative stereotype has emerged, associating Chinese
people with organized crime and with barbaric practices based on an isolated case, when the body of a murdered Chinese
man was chopped up and carried in a suitcase by another Chinese person.
Muslims
Although no specifc pejorative term is used in the ordinary media, sometimes a negative stereotypical image is presented,
mainly when refecting the situation in countries of the Middle East and North Africa, or Islamic extremist movements in
Western Europe and terrorist attacks. Sometimes the term Arab is wrongly used as a replacement for Muslim. References to
Muslim communities are more frequent and less problematic in the South-East of Romania, where there is a large minority
of Turkish and Tartar descent.
Jews
Evreu is the autonym and jidan is a pejorative term used in the past, mainly by members of anti-Semitic groups
and movements. Except in some small extremist newspapers and websites, this term is not really used in the media. Its
defnition in the dictionary has been recently updated to specify its pejorative meaning.
LGBT
Te terminology referring to LGBT people has been largely defned as a result of advocacy campaigns initiated by
the national LGBT association ACCEPT. Homosexual is also commonly used besides LGBT (mostly Gay and Lesbian).
We could not identify other terms in our monitoring.
Handicapai (handicapped, or people with handicap), is a common expression, besides persoane cu dizabiliti
(people with disability).
In Other Words 80
Neo-protestant Christian groups
Pocii (penitents) or sectani (sects), are terms used to describe members of the various neo-protestant Christian
groups and usually have a pejorative meaning.
In Other Words 81
A4 GLOSSARY TABLE
A4.1 Italian
A4.2 Spanish
Correct
defnition(s)
and
autonyms
Rom, Sinti Migranti
Neri, per-
sone di
origine
africana
Persone di
origine
nordafricana
Persone di
origine
sudamericana
Persone
di origine
asiatica
Persone
di origine
cinese
Commonly-
used
defnition(s)
Zingari,
nomadi
Immigrati,
stranieri, extra-
comunitari
Neri, persone
di colore
Marocchini Latini - Cinesi
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Zingari
Clandestini,
Vu cumpra,
extracomu-
nitari
Negri Fedayin - -
Musi gialli,
Occhi a man-
dorla
Correct
defnition(s)
and autonyms
Persone
originarie
dellEuropa
dellEst
Musulmani,
persone di fede
musulmana
Ebrei, persone
di fede ebraica
Uomini gay,
omosessuali
Lesbiche, donne
omosessuali
Persone
transgender
Persone con
disabilit
Commonly-
used
defnition(s)
Albanesi, Slavi
Ebrei, Mu-
sulmani,
Islamici
Gay, omoses-
suali
Gay, omoses-
suali
Lesbiche Trans
Ritardati,
Disabili, diver-
samente abili,
portatori di
handicap
Pejorative
defnition(s)
-
Fedayn, terror-
isti, Talebani
Giudei, topi,
sorci, pidocchi
Culattoni,
froci, perver-
titi, fnocchi,
busoni, rec-
chie, culorotto,
rotti in culo,
checche,
pederasti
Lesbicone
Viados, traves-
titi, tranvioni
Handicappati,
mongoloidi
Correct
defnition(s)
and
autonyms
Romani,
Gitanos
Inmigrantes
Subsahariano/
Persona de
frica Central,
Sudafricano.
Magreb,
norteafricano,
marroqu,
tunecino,
sahariano
Persona de
origen Hispano
Americano,
Latinos,
Hispanos.
Personas
procedentes
de Asia
Persona del
Este de Europa,
Europeos del
Este.
Commonly-used
defnition(s)
Gitanos
Inmigrantes,
extranjeros, ex-
tracomunitarios
Africanos
Norteafricano,
Moro, Magrebes
Latinoamerica-
nos, Latinos
Chinos, Asiticos
Rumanos, Alba-
neses, Eslavos
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Cal
Inmigrantes sin
papeles, clandestinos,
Ilegales
Negro, Moreno,
Gente de color
Moro
Sudacas, Panchi-
tos, Latinos
Chinos
Gitanos ruma-
nos, gente del
Este
Correct
defnition(s) and
autonyms
Musulmn
(persona de f
musulmana,
seguidor del
Islam), islamita
Ebreo, persona
de f Ebraica
Gay, Homo-
sexual
Gay, Lesbianas,
homosexual
Personas trans-
sexuales
Persona con
movilidad
reducida
Persona con
capacidad
intlectual lmite
o reducida
Commonly-used
defnition(s)
Moros, Mu-
sulmn, rabe,
Musulmanes
Judo, Ebreos Gays Gay, Lesbianas Travest
Discapacitados,
Minusvalidos
Subnormales, de-
fcientes mentales
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Moros, Sarra-
ceno, Talibanes
Judo
Invertidos,
Maricas,
Mariquitas
Tortillera, Bollera
Maricas, Maricones,
Bujarrones,
Invertidos,
Travest
Cojos,
Minusvalido,
Inutiles, Invali-
dos, Lisiados
Retrasados men-
tales, mongoli-
cos, subnormales
In Other Words 82
A4.3 Portuguese
A4.4 Estonian
Correct
defnition(s)
and autonyms
Pessoas de Etnia
Cigana
Pessoas de
origem africana
Pessoas oriun-
das do Norte de
frica
Pessoas de
origem Chinesa
Pessoas oriun-
das dos pases
de leste
Muulmanos
Commonly-used
defnition(s)
Ciganos
Negro, pessoa
de cor
Marroquinos Chineses Ucranianos Mouros
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Ciganos, rome-
nos
Pretos, negros,
pretinhos, preti-
to, escarumba
Monhs, qu-fr
Chinocas, chino,
chinesisse, de
olhos-em-bico
Ucranianos Mouros
Correct
defnition(s) and
autonyms
Hebreus Homossexual
Homossexual,
lsbica
Transexual
Pessoas com def-
cincia fsica
Pessoas com
defciencia
intelectual
Commonly-used
defnition(s)
Judeus
Homossexual,
Gay
Lsbica Transexual
Defciente,
invlido
Defciente,
atrasado
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Judeus
Bicha, bicheza,
maricas, larilas,
maricono, pa-
nisca, paneleiro,
panasca.
Fufa, camionista,
machona
Travesti, veados
Invlido, def-
ciente, incapaz,
aleijado, alei-
jadinho, def,
portador de
defcincia
Atrasadinho,
atrasado mental,
mongloide, mongo,
retardado, louco,
doido, maluco,
maluquinho,
paranoico, degen-
erado, perturbado,
doente doente
mental, doente de
foro psicolgico,
doente psiquitrico,
autista, esquizof-
renico, psictico,
psicopata.
Correct
defnition(s)
and auto-
nyms
Roma Migrandid
Mustanahal-
ised
Mustana-
halised,
Neegrid
Asialased Hiinlased Slaavlased
Commonly-
used
defnition(s)
Mustlased
Sissernda-
jad, Vlis-
maalased
Mustad Neegrid Asialased Hiinlased Slaavlased
Pejorative
defnition(s)
- Tulnukad - Rtipead Pilusilmad Pilusilmad
For Rus-
sians: Tiblad,
Venkud
Correct
defnition(s)
and auto-
nyms
Moslem Juudid Gei Lesbid
Transsexu-
aalid
Puudega
isikud
Vaimuhaiged
Commonly-
used
defnition(s)
Moslem Juudid Gei, homo Lesbid
Transsexu-
aalid
Puudega
isikud
Hullu-
meelsed
Pejorative
defnition(s)
- - Pede Lesbar - - Hulled
In Other Words 83
A4.5 French
A4.6 Romanian
Correct
defnition(s)
and auto-
nyms
Rom Migrants
Black, per-
sonne noire
Maghrebins,
personne de
lAfrique du
Nord
Sudameri-
cain, per-
sonne de
lAmrique
du Sud
Asiatiques Chinois
Population
de lEurope
de lEst
Commonly-
used
defnition(s)
Gens du voy-
age, Tsiganes,
gitan man-
ouche
Immig,
tranger
Noir, gensde
couleur
Arabe,
Maghrebin,
gens de
couleur
Sud-amric-
ain, latino
Asiatiques Chinois
Slaves, gens
de lEst
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Gitans,
credo, man-
ouch, rou-
man, voleur
de poule
Clandestin,
immigr de
merde, sans
papiers
Negre, negro,
Africain, gris,
macaque,
carlouche,
bougnoule
Beur, voleur,
rebeu, bicot,
bougnule
-
Boul de riz,
jaun, niaouk
Jaunes, chin-
tok, brid,
niak
Chaudasse,
alcoolique,
gens de lEst,
espce de Ko-
sovar
Correct
defnition(s)
and auto-
nyms
Musulman
Juif, personne
confession
braque
Homosexuel
Lesbienne,
homosexuelle
Transexuel
Personne
mobilit
reduite, in-
valide
Personne ayant des problmes
psychologiques
Commonly-
used
defnition(s)
Musulman,
islamique
Juif, hiddish
Homosexuel,
gay, homo
Broteuse
de pelouse,
broute mi-
nou, mange
moules,
guine
Transexuel
Handicap,
invalide
Inapte
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Taliban,
terroriste,
barbous, sale
arabe
Vupin
Tapette,
PD, folle,
sodomite,
tarlouze, gay
-
Monsieur
ou madame,
il ou elle,
sodomite
Handicap,
mongolito,
mongolien
Fou, attard, neuneu, imbecile
Correct
defnition(s)
and auto-
nyms
Romi
Migrani,
imigrani
Chinezi Evrei
Brbai gay,
homosexuali
Lesbiene
Persoane
transgender
Persoane cu
dizabiliti,
persoane cu
handicap
Commonly-
used
defnition(s)
Romi, igani
Strini,
resortisani ai
rilor tere
Chinezi Evrei
Gay, homo-
sexuali
Lesbiene Transsexuali
Persoane cu
dizabiliti,
persoane cu
handicap
Pejorative
defnition(s)
Tigani - - - - - - Handicapai
In Other Words 84
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN MEDIA MONITORING POLICIES
December 2012
In Other Words
Grant Agreement n. JUST/2009/FRAC/AG/1092 30-ce-
0377097/00-01 with the European Commission
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