From Exclusive to Inclusive Designations of the Rroma in Romanian media: a tale of frame adaptation

Historically the Rroma (‘gypsies’) have been framed as the eternal scapegoats, and more recently, the reason for which Romanians have a bad reputation abroad, are expulsed from Europe, accused of burglary and violence. Yet this current is countered by an increased promotion of human rights approach to the Gypsy minority, a re-adaptation of the threat frame, to one of political correctness if not integration. This paper relies on process tracing to identify the process of frame transformation, investigating its endogenous and exogenous causes (the civil society pressures, lobby groups, and EU human rights discourse). Furthermore, it analyzes the impact of the new inclusive framing of the Rroma on the Romanian audience.