Cultural diversity in European media

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S P E E D

Cultural diversity in European media refers to the role of the media in Europe's multicultural society. European societies are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse as a result of immigration. As a result of these developments governments and organizations in European countries started to think more and more about the role of the media in this case. International governmental and NGOs, such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, OSCE, the IFJ, European Union FRA and the EBU regularly underline the importance of public service broadcasting. They encourage national governments to supply the public with a diversity of media content, such as analyses, comments, cultural and educational programs and investigative journalism, capable of promoting a critical debate and a wider democratic participation of persons belonging to all communities and generations. Several Public Service Broadcasters are committed to a better reflection of the multicultural society in the media. The BBC has a Diversity Centre and the VRT from Belgium has a Charter Diversiteit. In Sweden, the SVT houses the diversity policy in a general policy department, that's also the case in the Netherlands.

Media and cultural diversity

European Year of the Intercultural Dialogue

Hungarian and Romanian language newspapers published in Cluj (Transylvania).

The year 2008 was named the 'European Year of Intercultural Dialogue', by the European Parliament and the EU-member states. The aim of the year was to put across a clear message that Europe's great cultural diversity represents a unique advantage. The initiative encouraged all those living in Europe to explore the benefits of our rich cultural heritage and opportunities to learn from different cultural traditions. One of the eight major topics that were selected for a special focus during the 2008 European Year was Culture and the Media: Cultural expression is a key for mutual understanding and cultural cooperation can contribute to strengthening Europe-wide cohesion and identity. The media also play a major role in the development of European citizens' vision of the world. The way different cultural backgrounds are depicted by the media greatly influences individual representations, thus confirming or deconstructing stereotypes.

Research

European audience research shows that immigrants do not feel that they are equally and fairly represented in the national MSM and that they are not seen as equal citizens of the country of settlement. For stories that include their own communities, they rely heavily on the Internet, local community media and transnational satellite television stations, such as Al Jazeera and Al Arabia for their information. They often find this information more reliable and trustworthy than Western news reports. Several researchers underline the important role of the media in reflecting Europe's cultural diversity. Ethnic minority actors playing important roles in soap operas and television series can contribute to a positive image of ethnic minorities. By presenting different kinds of people in different ways a more complex and therefore more nuanced image is created about the multicultural society and about ethnic minorities. Media offers a platform where groups can communicate with each other so relations between people are created, maintained or changed. Media can help individuals to look further than their own groups and broaden their horizons: this is called bridging social capital. Actions to create and maintain a media that reflects better on the cultural diversity of European societies will not only promote equality, but will also help to support integration and community cohesion. Making cultural diversity a part of the mainstream media has profound effect on the perceptions and attitudes of the audiences. It can provide the immigrant and ethnic minority communities with positive role models, while it can offer to the wider public a more realistic and balanced portrayal of these groups and the multicultural society as a whole.

Further reading

• Brouwer, L. (2006). Giving voice to Dutch Moroccan girls on the Internet. Global Media Journal 5 (9).
• Devroe, I. (2004). This is not who we are: Ethnic minority audiences and their perceptions of the media. Paper presented at Communication and Cultural Diversity Conference, May 24–27, Barcelona, Spain.
• Gillespie, M. (2006). Shifting securities. New cultures before and after the Iraq war 2003. London: Open University. Consulted at: http://www.mediating-security.com.
• d'Haenens, L., Koeman, J. & Saeys, F. (2007). Digital citizenship among ethnic minority youths in the Netherlands and Flanders. New Media & Society, 9 (2): p. 278-299.
• Hall, S. (1980). Encoding/decoding. In: Hall, S., Hobson, D., Lowe, A. & Willis, P. (eds.) (1980). Culture, media, language: working papers in cultural studies, 1972-1979. London: Hutchinson, p. 128-138.
• Klute, E. & Valdetara, M. (2006). Europe's big challenge. What role do the media play? Reader European Media Conference Migration and Integration. Utrecht: Mira Media.
• Peeters, A. & d'Haenens, L. (2005). Bridging or bonding? Relationships between integration and media use among ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. In: Communications, 30(2), p. 201-231.
• Poole, E. (2001). Interpreting Islam: British muslims and the British press. In: Ross, K. & Playdon, P. (2001). Black marks: Minority ethnic audiences and media. Aldershot: Ashgate, p. 67-68.
• Putnam, R. (2000) Bowling alone. The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Putnam, R. (2007). E Pluribius Unum: Diversity and community in the twenty-first century. The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture. In Scandinavian Political Studies, 30(2), p. 137-174.
• Ross, K. (2000). In whose image? TV criticism and black minority viewers. In Cottle, S. (2000). Ethnic minorities and the media. Buckingham: Open University Press, p. 133-148.
• Summeren, C. van (2007). Religion on line: The shaping of multidimensional interpretations of muslimhood on Maroc.nl. The European Journal of Communication Research, 32(2), p. 273-295.
• Bink, S., Valdetara, M., Klute, E. (2008). Media and intercultural dialogue in Europe in 2008. Mira Media, Utrecht.