A critical sociology of journalism: Regulating cultural diversity in the Montreal and New York press

Why do so many liberal democracies which have made religious and cultural pluralism along with refuge from tyranny defining features of their public cultures for such a long time, now seem to retreat from such a stance?  Are laws banning the burqua or niqab in public places in France, Belgium and some German Landers as well as some schools in the U.K, plus the banning of prayers in the streets of France, or banning face covering in Quebec public institutions as proposed in Bill 94 -- exceptional measures?  Are deportations, mass incarcerations, and putting up more and more walls the new norm for the future of the Americas and of the world (Wendy Brown, 2011)? This paper develops a critical theory and sociology of recent mainstream press coverage in Montreal and New York on cultural diversity and religious pluralism to demonstrate how media help regulate the absorption of  cultural diversity. We focus our critique on a hermeneutic contradiction (Luc Boltanski, 2011) between the portrayal of minorities by the organization of the press, on the one hand, and the sense that the subjects being reported on are rarely if ever included in the horizon of expectation for the audience implied by the mediated address, on the other.  The argument is developed through a comparative framing analysis of the coverage of Bill 94 in the Montreal press and coverage of undocumented immigration by the New York Times. Patterns are identified that include forms of hospitality, tolerance or recognition that journalists frame for audiences in ways that help define the public conditions placed on welcoming, acceptance, or rejection of others.