Visualizing Refugees

Abstract

The Syrian refugee crisis is one of the major issues affecting Lebanon in the past decade. The media played a huge role in shaping public perception and faced challenges to balance political ownership and objective reporting. The purpose of this study is to get a better understanding about the challenges journalists faced during pre-election periods and their editorial processes in dealing with sensitive topics such as the Refugee crisis. To achieve this, this study conducted a quantitative and qualitative research methodology covering two major newspaper establishments in Lebanon who are considered contradicting their views. After analysis of both newspapers content one month before the 2018 elections, this research concluded that each establishment tackled the topic from a different point of view but both faced similar challenges that ranged from balancing biased views linked to political ownership and backlash from the public due to preconceived concepts.