Analysis of media articles on the Sea Watch Case: Facts and controversial issues

This case study analyses the media coverage of the rescue operation conducted by the NGO boat Sea Watch 3 in June 2019 off the Libyan coast. In particular, the period of analysis spans from June 12th, 2019 – when 53 migrants were rescued in the Libyan Search and Rescue (hereafter SAR) zone – to the period soon after June 29th, 2019 – when the captain, Carola Rackete, decided to enter the port of Lampedusa, forcing the interdiction imposed by the then Italian Minister of Interior, Matteo Salvini. This particular case study has been chosen mainly for three reasons: (1) Although the case took place off the Italian shores and involved mainly Italian institutions (the abovementioned Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Italian Coast Guard and the Guardia di Finanza [Italian Finance Police, hereafter GdF]), it soon intertwined with a myriad of European and international legal and political issues. On the one hand, this necessarily complicates the analysis and the positions of the parties involved. However, on the other, it can improve the comprehension of the general legal and political context surrounding the case. (2) Consequently, in relation to the media coverage the case study did not remain confined at national level, but acquired a broad European and international interest, making it quite valuable in terms of research analysis and data comparison. (3) In many European countries the issue of migration is highly politicised and often subject to manipulation from both political groups and the media. The analysis of this case study aims to debunk some of the misrepresentations and misleading opinions surrounding migration, by looking at the facts and at the legal framework under which the rescue operation took place.