‘Seeking Safe Haven’ - Plight of World Refugees and Media Voicing: Glimpses of American and Pakistani Media

Abstract

Security threats due to ongoing civil wars and persecution in different parts of the world have forced millions of people to evacuate their homes, rendering them vulnerable. Most of them are fated to take dangerous voyages to seek a safe place in other countries. Being voiceless in their miseries, the media can play a greater part in highlighting the unheard plight of refugees. This study focuses on the depiction of world refugees and the role of the media in this regard. The news items from American (The New York Times, The Washington Post) and Pakistani (Dawn and The News) newspapers have been studied over a stretch of 12 months during 2017-2018. Findings of the content analysis reveal that both Pakistani and American newspapers give positive coverage of refugees. The Pakistani press has been more frequent in portraying refugees under the positive (+) category. However, American newspapers give more diverse but less positive and impartial coverage of the issue when compared with Pakistani media outlets. All the news items used credible sources, including UNHCR..