Neprispôsobiví Rómovia a slušná väčšina? Spravodajský diskurz po násilných udalostiach na severe Českej republiky 2011
Unadaptable Roma and Decent Majority? News Discourse After the 2011 Violent Incidents in the North Part of the Czech Republic

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyses the news discourse on Roma minority during the violent incidents and the following anti-Roma protests in the north part of the Czech Republic in 2011. It focuses on news reports relating to the Roma in three most-read Czech newspapers between August 8, 2011 and September 8, 2011. The study adheres to the discourse analysis and is undertaken in three stages. In first step we introduce a general characterization of the news and the context of the unrests as presented by the media. This is followed by the analysis of the extent to which the media emphasize the ethnicity and generalize the “Roma” criminality. In third step a dichotomy in relation to the majority and the Roma minority (us vs. them) is analysed. The analysis points to systematic „othering“ and stereotyping of Roma minority in the selected newspapers. Results show that the media emphasized the ethnicity of Roma actors involved in the attacks and generalized given incidents as continuing „Roma“ criminality. Moreover, the newspapers tended to present the situation either as „the last drop“ of the tensions between two groups (majority population and Roma minority) or as a consequence of the problems with the criminality of „unadaptable“ citizens, meaning the Roma. These discursive practices can lead to deepening of racial stereotypes in the society, but they can also contribute to the formation of favourable discoursive opportunity structure, hence favourable context for parties of the far right, which are characteristic of their nationalistic, racist and xenophobic rhetoric and actions.

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