Past Experience, NOS news coverage on refugees during the Yugoslav and European Refugee crises compared

This thesis sets out to analyse the news coverage of the 2015 European refugee crisis and the Yugoslav refugee crisis of the 1990s by the Dutch national broadcaster, the NOS, and compare the reporting on the crises. This was done by analysing NOS news bulletins dealing with the two refugee crises, paying special attention to the depiction of demographics, how the nationalities of the refugees came into play and how the amounts of refugees coming to the Netherlands were reported on. Furthermore the NOS’ portrayal of the Dutch domestic response is examined by looking at how the crises were framed, the spokespeople employed and what themes came to the fore in the NOS coverage. Clear differences are found in the way the NOS covered the Yugoslav and 2015 refugee crises. Next to differences between themes and spokespeople in both crises, the clearest differences come to the fore in the way the two crises were framed and the amount of coverage they received. These differences can mainly be ascribed to changes in the media landscape in the years between the crises, the NOS has moved away from the more official style of reporting of the 1990s to a more public driven and relatable approach during the European refugee crisis of 2015.