The image of refugees in the communication mass media: A source of conflict or cooperation?

Abstract

In the most countries among the contemporary youth audience electronic media have become the most popular. Available technologies allow the online publications to widely use photographic coverage or so-called combined texts commenting upon the relevant subjects. The tendency of actualization of visual aids in the mass-media does not get round the materials dealing with the challenges of migration processes. The reports on the migration crisis are often available in the form of combination of texts, in order to attract additional attention, raising the level of receptivity to information and the level of emotional perception by consumers. The article analyzes conflictogenic potential of impact on the youth audience with visual constituent of media text in electronic media about contemporary migration crisis in Europe. Based on the results obtained during applied study, the main informative components / subjects of visual messages and their influence on the perception of the nature of the audience communication message object, i. e. migrants have been highlighted. Empirically feelings and attitude of audience towards refugees, caused by different visual subjects, the level of conflictogenic potential of photos, as well as the influence of visual imagery on perception of the information component of the media message have been identified. The media sphere can have both constructive and destructive influence on the processes of building up a dialogue and interaction between the host community and migrants, the processes to ensure sustainable socio-economic and political development of society. Thus, conflictological measurement of visual component of media communications in terms of visualization and virtualization of the present-day world has a practical application.