Reporting at the Southern Borders: Journalism and Public Debates on Immigration in the U.S. and the E.U.

Undocumented immigration across the Mediterranean and the US-Mexican border is one of the most contested transatlantic public and political issues, raising fundamental questions about national identity, security and multiculturalism―all in the glare of news media themselves undergoing dramatic transformations.

This interdisciplinary, international volume fills a major gap in political science and communication literature on the role of news media in public debates over immigration by providing unique insider’s perspectives on journalistic practices and bringing them into dialogue with scholars and immigrant rights practitioners.

After providing original comparative research by established and emerging international affairs and media scholars as well as grounded reflections by UN and IOM practitioners, the book presents candid, in-depth assessments by nine leading European and North American journalists covering immigration from the frontlines, ranging from the Guardian’s Southern Europe editor to the immigration reporter for the Arizona Republic. Their comparative reflections on the professional, institutional and technological constraints shaping news stories offer unprecedented insight into the challenges and opportunities for 21st century journalism to affect public discourse and policymaking about issues critical to the future of the transatlantic space, making the book relevant across a wide range of scholarship on the media’s impact on public affairs.

Giovanna Dell’Orto is an assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota and a former immigration reporter with The Associated Press (AP) in the United States and Italy. She received her Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Minnesota. Her AP articles have appeared in all major U.S. newspapers, including The New York Times, and in the international press, including the International Herald Tribune. Her research and teaching interests focus on the role of the news media, mediated discourses and national identity in international affairs, especially in transatlantic relations, historically and currently.

Vicki L. Birchfield is an associate professor in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology and director of the study abroad program on the European Union and transatlantic relations. She served as Director of the European Union Center of Excellence from 2008 to 2011, and currently co-directs the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies. Birchfield received a DES from the Graduate Institute of International Studies from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Georgia. Her research and teaching specializations are European politics, the European Union, comparative politics, and international political economy. Other research and intellectual interests include the interplay of capitalism and democracy, social movements and the politics of globalization, and transatlantic relations. She has been a visiting scholar at Sciences Po, Paris and the University of Bordeaux and has been bestowed the honor of "Chevalier dans l’Ordre national du Mérite" (Knight in the National Order of Merit) by the French government.