Between an Acknowledgment of Immigration and Neglect? Assessing Interculturalism and Media Integration in Luxembourg

Abstract

Luxembourg is a de facto multicultural country, with 179 different nationalities represented. It is, however, complex to identify who among the latter is perceived as an immigrant by public opinion. In the same vein, immigration stories rarely make the headlines of some of the most prominent outlets of Luxembourg’s mainstream media. This study covers the print content of some of Luxembourg’s dominant media outlets in the search for the representation of (im)migrants and refugees. It thus takes a perspective whereby media act as a vehicle for a quintessential aspect of interculturalism, that of local meaningful interaction. Its overarching question regards the role that both local mainstream and minority media sectors can play in promoting integration through intercultural dialogue. It is hereby argued that immigrants are foremost represented and given a voice in media outlets created for the immigrant and cross-border communities as well as in mainstream media with more local (Tageblatt) and independent political views (D’Lëtzebuerger Land). In stronghold media such as RTL Lëtzebuerg and Luxemburger Wort, immigrants are, instead, scarcely represented.