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Heinz Bonfadelli | Media Use of Ethnic Minority Youth
47
minorities can be identified (see Figure 1): a model based on uses and grati-
fications, a focus on media effects, and a cultural studies approach.
2.1 Uses & Gratifications Paradigm
The uses and functions of media are the focus of this line of research and
therefore represent the dependent variable in the so-called uses and
gratifications paradigm. The main research issues are: To what extent do ethnic
minorities use and prefer print and electronic media from their countries of
origin (homeland) and abstain from using the indigenous media in their
country of residence? Why is this the case, or how can this be explained?
Various dimensions, such as education, socioeconomic status, language skills
(linguistic fluency), religious affiliation or ethnic identity, are referred to in
order to explain these phenomena. A leading hypothesis claims that ethnic
minorities in most European countries prefer to use print and electronic media
from their homeland and are, as a result, trapped in a so-called “media ghetto”.
Whereas earlier studies looked at the different media types consumed
separately, more recent ones apply typologies of media use (see table 1) that
link homeland and host country media (Adoni/Caspi/Cohen 2002). However,
sometimes it is not sufficiently clear whether these labels only point to patterns
of media consumption or also indicate different types of attitudes towards
acculturation.
Use of Media from Host Country
Low High
Low Detached / Alienated Adaptors / Integrated
Use of Media
from Home
Country
High Separatists / Bonding Dualists / Bridging
Table 1: Typology of Media Use by Migrants (based on Adoni/Caspi/Cohen, 2002)
In his qualitative study, Hafez (2002) developed a typology also based on the use
of minority media from the country of origin and of majority media from the
host country, but added considerations of acceptance and trust related to the
political system and culture. As a consequence, he differentiated the so-called
“separatists” (see Table 1) into three subtypes. For the “diaspora”-type (see
Table 2), the dominant use of minority media from the homeland has to do
with pragmatic reasons – mainly lack of language skills – but it is combined
with a feeling of trust towards the political conditions of the host country.
“Political exile” means that cultural bonding with the country of origin is still
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