Page - 234 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Round Table Discussion | Worst Case and Best Practice 234 all are – then what will happen when it comes to the point that in reality they are only normal guys and no better guys? That must lead to a special disappointment and I think this is very dangerous, too. So I think the best practice is not to portray them in a very good and friendly way, but in a way which shows that they can have all roles which are possible in a normal society. Leen d’Haenens Journalists should avoid extremism then, too positive and too negative portrayal. Petra Herczeg I think too, journalists are not the better people. And I think it is a case of fair reporting. It is better to show both sides. No one is the perfect good guy, and no one is the perfect bad guy. From the audience I would say that journalists should reflect reality. That's the most important point to me. We're not politicians, we don't have to create a picture of how migrants are. The only job we have to do is to show what reality is like. And another comment: I agree with you that the representation of migrants in the media is very important. So the topic of “having journalists with a migrant background” is the most important issue to me. But it's only one function, the other is the broader perspective on reality, which you mentioned – to me it is not a broader perspective but the only correct perspective on reality. Those people live in our society; they shape society, so this must be reflected in the media. I give you an example: Whenever I hear the term “German taxpayers” in our radionews, I phone the newseditor, because it's incorrect. We have taxpayers in Germany, we don't have German taxpayers. And I think journalists with migrant backgrounds help to remind us that we have sometimes an ethnic perspective and don't realize this. This is why migrant journalists are important in our business. Augie Fleras I would like to comment on the notion that the primary role of the news media or journalists is to report reality. Think about a hypothetical situation. As an investigative reporter you collect a story on a daycare in the inner city. A positive story about children getting a head start involving minorities. The other