Ethnic minority media in London: transition and transformation

Ethnic minority media in London: transition and transformation

• Samantha Lay and
• Lisa Thomas

資料來源

Media, Culture & Society, April 2012; vol. 34, 3: pp. 369-380.

1. Samantha Lay

1. MediaNation, UK

1. Lisa Thomas

1. University of Bedfordshire, UK

1. Lisa Thomas, Research Institute for Media, Art and Design, University of Bedfordshire, Park Square, Luton LU1 3JU, UK. Email: lisa.thomas@beds.ac.uk

Does it not look as though the public sphere, in falling, has shattered into a scatter of globules, like mercury … (Gitlin, 1998: 133)

This commentary examines black and minority ethnic (BME) media in London. The article first maps ethnic minority media in London. An understanding of the relationship between producers of BME media products and the communities they seek to serve is also sought through interviews with editors, publishers and community leaders. The commentary then addresses the issue of audiences by seeking to explore the uses, meanings and importance of BME media to black and ethnic minority communities in the capital. The commentary draws on findings of research commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and carried out by researchers based at the Research Institute for Media, Art and Design at the University of Bedfordshire between November 2007 and May 2008.

The meaning and value of ethnic minority media

The task of mapping BME media is a challenging one, given the range of products and platforms, and the diverse groups included in the categorization (see Husband et al., 2000). Given the diversity of BME media, how might they be reasonably analysed and mapped? During the period of this study, some 175 media outlets/products targeting ethnic groups in London were identified. These ranged from newspapers and periodicals to radio stations and internet television channels.

What do BME media mean to their audiences? A joint BBC, BSC, ITC and Radio Authority report, Multi-cultural Broadcasting: Concept and Reality, found that while specialist services for ethnic minorities ‘were still important to communities, [they] could not address this general need to be seen’ (Millwood-Hargrave, 2002: 1). Furthermore, the report found that regardless from which BME group they were drawn, ‘participants generally shared similar listening and viewing habits’ (2002: 3).

Strelitz (2002) found that working-class students at a South …

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