Where Journalism Silenced Voices: Exploring Discrimination in the Representation of Indigenous Communities in Bangladesh
Journal:
arXiv
Published Date:
Jun 11, 2025
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the intersections of indigeneity and media
representation in shaping perceptions of indigenous communities in Bangladesh.
Using a mixed-methods approach, we combine quantitative analysis of media data
with qualitative insights from focus group discussions (FGD). First, we
identify a total of 4,893 indigenous-related articles from our initial dataset
of 2.2 million newspaper articles, using a combination of keyword-based
filtering and LLM, achieving 77% accuracy and an F1-score of 81.9\%. From
manually inspecting 3 prominent Bangla newspapers, we identify 15 genres that
we use as our topics for semi-supervised topic modeling using CorEx. Results
show indigenous news articles have higher representation of culture and
entertainment (19%, 10% higher than general news articles), and a
disproportionate focus on conflict and protest (9%, 7% higher than general
news). On the other hand, sentiment analysis reveals that 57% of articles on
indigenous topics carry a negative tone, compared to 27% for non-indigenous
related news. Drawing from communication studies, we further analyze framing,
priming, and agenda-setting (frequency of themes) to support the case for
discrimination in representation of indigenous news coverage. For the
qualitative part of our analysis, we facilitated FGD, where participants
further validated these findings. Participants unanimously expressed their
feeling of being under-represented, and that critical issues affecting their
communities (such as education, healthcare, and land rights) are systematically
marginalized in news media coverage. By highlighting 8 cases of discrimination
and media misrepresentation that were frequently mentioned by participants in
the FGD, this study emphasizes the urgent need for more equitable media
practices that accurately reflect the experiences and struggles of marginalized
communities.
