The image of Ukrainians on the regional websites in Podkarpacie and Lower Silesia from February 2022

Abstract

Russia's aggression against Ukraine and its consequences, e.g. in the form of the influx of refugees from Ukraine to neighbouring countries, highlighted the role of reliable sources of information. The aim of the research was to check how the media image of Ukrainians was created in the first year of the war on two regional websites (www.gazetawroclawska.pl and www.nowiny24.pl) belonging to Polska Press Sp. z o. o. The research units were verbal and visual content. A set of research questions was an attempt to answer the following questions: what was the frequency and dominant sources of origin of the surveyed units, what thematic and interpretative frameworks were present in them, and what functions were dominant in them. Interdisciplinary research methods were used – content analysis with elements of discourse analysis. The obtained results lead to the conclusion about the diverse media image of Ukrainians in the studied regions. The interpretative framework and the functions of headlines and photographs were the same, thematic framework and attendance were different.