Diaspora, memory, and ethnic media: media use by Somalis living in Canada

TLDR: In the United States, numerous studies have reported a significant increase in the use of ethnic media and their audiences as mentioned in this paper, which could explain the existing confusion about the concepts of community media and ethnic media.

Abstract: In the United States, numerous studies have reported a significant increase in the use of ethnic media and their audiences.2 However, the area of research studying ethnic media, located at the intersection of media, minorities, and immigration, remains underdeveloped in Europe,3 which could explain the existing confusion about the concepts of “community media” and “ethnic media.” In France, instead of the concept of “ethnicity,” an elaborate list of euphemisms was constructed to serve as a semantic repertoire describing the same phenomenon,4 even though the phenomenon in question has been extensively defined.5 This confusion seems to be a product of disinterest on the part of the social sciences in France in the studies of minorities and interethnic relations, a phenomenon that involves multiple factors.6 Therefore, it appears pertinent to clarify these ambiguities. Ethnic media and community media are used in conjunction with three developments: international migration, increased privatization and commercialization of public spaces, and, lastly, the development of information and communication technologies. The development of community media is linked to the rise in privatization and commercialization of public spaces. Operating from the margins of mainstream media, community media offer a third voice in the mass-media system, after the private and public sectors.7 Ethnic and alternative media are also located in this third category.