ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to describe the representation of ethnic minority groups in contemporary Western news media, outline important concepts and theories for understanding these representations, introduce key thinkers and research that has analyzed the representation of Muslims, and explore the methodologies of the studies, before outlining future directions for research. The chapter shows how, using a case study of Muslims, due to the context in which news is produced; minority groups are Othered in the news. Identity politics have been central to populist groups who have used this as a rallying point to shore up support for their political projects, by emphasizing the negative effects of diversity, blaming immigrants and ethnic minority groups for a variety of social problems. There is a political, economic context to current attitudes to Islam that has given rise to a “clash of civilizations” thesis which dominates media discourse.
