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Rainer Geißler/Sonja Weber-Menges | Media Reception and Ideas on Media Integration
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opportunity, the necessity of a minimum form of acculturation, but also
tolerance toward legitimate ethnic particularities in accordance with the
principle of ‘unity within diversity’ (see above) are the guidelines for
reporting and commentaries.
Furthermore, the representation of ethnic minorities also embodies the
ethnic dimension of media pluralism. The mass media impart relevant
knowledge of the varying groups that live and cooperate with one
another to the respective other groups. Since the Germans – for
language-related reasons – only rarely make use of ethno-media, the
majority media are practically their sole media resource for information
on the nature and problems of the ethnic minorities. Conversely, the
ethnic minorities are only then able to participate in social and political
affairs in Germany in an informed and knowledgeable way if they
relatively regularly use German media in order to learn about and
understand German current affairs and their contexts. One stimulus to
regular media consumption is already provided by the circumstance that
the ethnic minorities recognize their own interests and problems in the
coverage of the majority media.
The characteristics of media content that is integrative in an intercultural
way can also be expressed negatively: Germanocentric media that only
allow ethnic minorities inadequate coverage, that ignore their mental
dispositions and their problems, or in whose reporting discrimination
and ethnic negativism predominate (e.g., ‘foreigners’ as groups that are
primarily a source of problems for the German population) contradict
the model of intercultural integration. Still, this does not mean that
problems with migration and integration in the accommodating society
should be taboo. On the contrary, such problems are – much like
problems concerning relationships between the sexes or between the
generations – a part of the pluralistic public discourse. But they should
not dominate this discourse.
For non-assimilated minorities, ethno-media are a necessary complement
to the German majority media. Their main target groups are the
bicultural, often bilingual segments of the ethnic minorities whose
desires for contact with their original culture and language and for
information on the specific situation and specific problems of their
ethnic group in the larger society cannot be adequately satisfied by the
German mass media. In light of the ethnic diversity and the increasing
internal socio-cultural differentiation of the individual ethnic groups,
meeting such requirements is beyond the capabilities of the German
Media – Migration – Integration
European and North American Perspectives
- Title
- Media – Migration – Integration
- Subtitle
- European and North American Perspectives
- Authors
- Rainer Geissler
- Horst Pöttker
- Publisher
- transcript Verlag
- Date
- 2009
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-8376-1032-1
- Size
- 15.0 x 22.4 cm
- Pages
- 250
- Keywords
- Integration, Media, Migration, Europe, North America, Sociology of Media, Sociology
- Category
- Medien