Shrinkage and migration: problem or not?

Abstract

This thesis examined the way Dutch regional newspapers reported on the topics of shrinkage and migration in Dutch shrinking areas. The framing of and discourse on both these topics influences the way people think about shrinkage and migration in their local area, which in turn has an impact on policy. A better understanding of the role of regional news media in forming the discourse on these topics helps us be more critical news consumers and look at topics we care about with more nuance. Finally this could lead to a more informed public and contribute to a healthy democracy. For this research the northern region of Groningen-Drenthe, with the newspaper ‘Dagblad van het Noorden’ and the southern region of Limburg, with the newspaper ‘de Limburger’ were looked at. Both regions are classified as shrinking areas by the Dutch government. A news media analysis of newspaper articles from these two Dutch regional newspapers over the period of 2015 until 2022 showed that the frames and discourses on both the topics of shrinkage and migration were roughly similar in both newspapers, likely due to key similarities between the two regions. The newspaper de Limburger framed migrants slightly more negatively in comparison to the newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden. What stood out was the large number of articles on refugees; although being the smallest group of migrants coming to the Netherlands, this group was overrepresented in articles in both newspapers. Both newspapers were mostly similar in their reporting on the topic of shrinkage and its effects. The dominant discourse posited shrinkage as a problem. A counter-discourse, mostly found in opinion articles in both newspaper challenged this negative framing often stating that the problems of shrinkage were exaggerated. A significant part of the discourse on shrinkage concerned the ageing population, a problem which both regions face.