http://mediamatters.org/blog/201110270012October 27, 2011 10:52 am ET by Solange Uwimana
Today, Media Matters released a study confirming that Fox News is indeed an anti-immigrant network. An analysis of Fox News guests from April 2010 to June 2011 found that of the guests chosen to discuss immigration issues, more than 60 percent took anti-immigrant positions or held anti-immigrant views. Our data show that anti-immigrant guests outnumbered those with a pro-immigrant point of view by a whopping 3-to-1 margin. This data is especially troubling in light of the fact that during that time, immigration was a paramount issue (and still is), as a number of states were passing or were considering adopting harsh laws against undocumented immigrants.
But that was hardly the only way Fox News influenced the tone of the immigration debate. The network's hosts, correspondents, contributors, and guests constantly employed certain words known to elicit negative feelings about immigrants. Fox News rhetoric abounded with the slurs "illegals," "anchor babies," and "illegal aliens," words news organizations have campaigned against because they can "skew public debate." Indeed, on September 27, the Society of Professional Journalists voted to recommend that newsrooms ban the use of "illegal alien," arguing that "only courts can decide when a person has committed an illegal act." The SPJ resolution also encouraged "continuous discussion and re-evaluation of the use of 'illegal immigrant' in news stories." The term 'illegal immigrant' is the preferred usage recommended by the Associated Press style guide.
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