To understand public opinion about immigration in Europe, one has to understand the media’s role in it. We present a literature review on research on media discourse on immigration and their effects. Despite differences in the way immigration and migrant groups are represented in European media, we can observe common patterns. Migrants are generally under-represented and shown as delinquents or criminals. Although, media framing differs based on specific migrant groups the discourse is focusing on, immigration coverage is often negative and conflict-centred. Frequent exposure to such media messages leads to negative attitudes towards migration, may activate stereotypical cognitions of migrant groups, and even influence vote choice. In addition to discussing these issues in depth, the present review also focuses on comparative findings.

In contemporary high-choice media environments, people increasingly mix and combine their use of various news media into personal news repertoires. Despite this, there is still limited research on how people compose their individual news repertoires and the effects of these news repertoires. To address this and further our understanding of how media use influences political participation, this study investigates (a) how people combine the use of offline and online media into personal news repertoires and (b) the effects of different news repertoires on both offline and online political participation. Based on a two-wave panel study covering the 2014 Swedish national election, this study identifies five news repertoires, labeled minimalists, public news consumers, local news consumers, social media news consumers, and popular online news consumers. Among other things, the results show that social media news consumers are more likely to participate in politics both offline and online.

This article focuses on how citizens in a high-choice media environment can compose an individual media diet and its effects on political participation. More specifically we investigate (a) how people combine the use of offline and online media into personal news diets and (b) the effects of different news diets on both offline and online political participation. Based on a two-wave panel study (N = 2,747) covering the 2014 Swedish national election, the study identifies five media diets: minimalists, public news consumers, local news consumers, social media news consumers, popular online news consumers. Firstly, the results show that minimalists are less likely to participate in politics and secondly that there is a positive relationship between a social media news diet and both offline and online participation. The main results of this study thus suggest that the social network characteristics are more mobilizing than the immediate and interactive nature of more ‘traditional’ online news or a traditional offline news diet.

In recent years, a number of studies have suggested a positive linkage between public service broad- casting and public knowledge about current affairs. Most studies are, however, based on aggregate, cross-sectional data. On the individual level they fall short of establishing any causal linkage between TV news exposure and public knowledge. In addition, studies which investigate whether the intensity of the political information environment matters for learning effects from watching TV news, are missing. Against this background, this study compares knowledge effects from watch- ing public service and commercial TV news in three contexts that vary in the intensity of the political information environment: a national election campaign, a European parliamentary election cam- paign and a non-election period. Among other things, the results show stronger knowledge effects from watching public service than commercial TV news.