A longitudinal comparison of the representation of migration in the British and Romanian press before and after the Brexit referendum

The United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in a referendum held on 23 June 2016. Immigration was perhaps one of the most debated arguments by supporters of both the Leave and Remain camps. Newspapers and politicians warned against the threat of economic migrants from countries such as Romania, and, thus helped shape, to an extent, the voters' beliefs and decisions regarding the Brexit vote.
The proposed research project aims to carry out a study of the representation of Europe and the EU, with regard to immigration, in a corpus of British and Romanian newspapers. The study will use a combination of linguistic approaches to investigate the relationship between media and democracy. It will focus on the connection between media and citizenship, by studying the role played by the media during the election, but also on the ways in which the media affect our understanding of migration and mobility.
This research project will address the hypothesis that immigration was portrayed negatively in Britain, particularly after Romania's accession to the EU, and that the representation of migrants in Romania will differ substantially from its UK counterpart. The study consists of an under researched topic, the Romanian media landscape, and the consequent engagement with the ways in which a country conceptualises people's mobility. It will also allow for a comparison of the ways in which the Brexit referendum was received in the UK and abroad. The research is multidisciplinary and its findings could challenge racism, prejudice and discrimination in society.