“Farmers need illegal immigrants ‘to pick the crops’” : Examining News Values on immigration Discourse in CNN and Fox News

Sammanfattning: Media outlets play a pivotal role in the shaping of society's perception on different matters. The research of this thesis consists of 20 articles in total from two of the larger media outlets in the US, CNN and Fox News. Each dataset contains 10 articles consisting of 5269 words, for the former, and 4516 words, for the latter. The analysis categorized how CNN and Fox News utilize linguistic devices when constructing newsworthiness in their depiction on immigration with news values. Both CNN and Fox News exhibited variations in the utilization of news values. CNN emphasized personal narratives, utilizing names and locations, while Fox News leaned towards highlighting elite figures and frequently labeling immigrants as "illegal." These differences in narrative strategies could potentially shape public perceptions of immigration, influencing attitudes and policy discussions. Understanding these media portrayals is critical in comprehending how news influences societal views on this topic and highlights the importance of diverse and balanced media representation in discussions on immigration.