Only in Denmark

URL: http://www.b.dk/english/minorities-misrepresented-in-media

Ethnic minorities are generally ignored in ‘Danish’ domestic news stories.

According to a new study, Immigrants from a Media Perspective, ‘new Danes’ represent no more than 5 per cent of sources for Danish news coverage even though they form 10 per cent of the population – and when they are asked to comment it’s usually in connection with criminality, social benefits, or forced marriages. 23 year old Samira Nawa, head of the Danish Youth Council, who was born and raised in Denmark, called it a ‘dangerous trend’.

“Media outlets should be more aware that there’s a lot of people out there reading newspapers or watching TV and if the only reference to non-Danes is as outsiders, in stories concerning criminality, Islam, or violence, then that’s the image that sticks,” she said. ” All immigrants aren’t like that and have views about many other topics than integration and Islam.”

Aydin Soei, head of the ‘Responsible Press’ association, said to Politiken that the media should be better at using minorities as ‘everyday cases’. “One of the main reasons that minorities mistrust the media is because they are often unable to recognise the image that’s portrayed. They could be highly professional people yet as a group they’re generally dismissed as criminals”