Page - 92 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Petra Herczeg | Migrants and Ethnic Minorities in Austria 92 their presence in mainstream media, and encouraging awareness-raising projects to integrate the different ethnic groups into society. Many key factors will impact the success of such efforts. But one paramount insight is that a positive image of ethnic minorities and migrants can only arise in the context of societal communication. 6. Appendix In the field of sociology or political science, there is no lack of empirical surveys on migrants and ethnic minorities in Austria. Yet, the data available (for example Weiss 2007; Ornig 2006) do not reveal much about the crucial factors of media and media use. There are a considerable number of qualitative surveys on migrants of various backgrounds, but no long-term studies on the relationship between migrants and the media in Austria. Bonfadelli et al. compiled European research on the media use of ethnic minorities (Bonfadelli et al. 2007b, 143) and concluded that “the research situation in Europe is disparate and varies considerably in the different countries (…) Most of the studies identified and taken into account come from Northern, North-Western or Central European countries like the Netherlands (7), United Kingdom (5) and Germany (4) whereas only very little research from Southern Europe has been found” (Bonfadelli et al. 2007b, 149). In spite of the fact that 15% of the Austrian population are migrants, there is a significant research deficit here. As Trebbe pointed out (Trebbe 2007, 174- 175), much needed research on the relationship between migrants and the media in Austria could be oriented to the following questions: (1) Can different types of integration and/or assimilation with respect to their attitudes towards the German (or: the Austrian – P.H.) society be described and identified? (2) If so, how are these different patterns of integration related to the society of origin? (3) Is there any evidence for different media use patterns within these types of integration? (4) And, finally, can empirical evidence be provided for effects of integration/acculturation strategies on the use of German and Turkish (and other migrant-language – P.H.) media?