The Same Song, Different Melodies — A Comparative Analysis of TV Coverage of the Crisis on the Polish-Belarusian Border

Abstract

“The Song” is about the crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, which began in the second half of 2021 and has been going on to this day. It is related to the unexpected appearance of newcomers from the Middle East and Africa (mainly Muslims) on the border. They tried (and are still trying) to cross the Polish border on their way to the West or to stay in Poland. There were thousands of them. Their appearance on the eastern border has triggered a crisis that we have known so far only from previous media reports on the southern border of the European Union. Due to the introduction of a state of emergency by the Polish authorities, it was also possible to follow their fate only through the media. However, these messages did not allow the recipient to obtain an integrated picture of the situation. Rather, they created quite contradictory narratives, different “melodies” about the crisis. In the text, I present the messages of two antagonistic television stations, i.e. TVP and TVN. On their example, I outline the rather schizophrenic social reality in which Polish citizens currently find themselves, its interpretations and proposals for overcoming the impasse. David Altheide’s Ethnographic Content Analysis is used as a theoretical framework for the analysis. It emphasizes the interaction of the researcher with the collected research material, thus classifying such analysis as fieldwork. At that time, it was the only opportunity for a fieldwork.