Representations of migration during the sociosanitary crisis: A lexicometric analysis of Chilean digital media

Abstract

This manuscript analyzes the representations of migration in digital news media, during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile. In total, 311 news from three digital news outlets were analyzed, which differed in their editorial frames and were among the most visited in Chile: El Mostrador, Cooperativa and EMOL. A mixed study (quantitative and qualitative) was carried out, through a lexicometric analysis, which allows analyzing large corpus of data. The findings indicate the existence of six vocabulary classes (clusters), which illustrate different ways in which the migratory phenomenon was represented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our main results are discussed regarding the content in each clustter and linked to previous national and international studies. Beyond the pandemic, the findings invite to expand our understanding of migration representation in contexts of crisis.