Page - 114 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Leen d’Haenens | Whither Cultural Diversity on the Dutch TV Screen? 114 reflect a great deal about the social responsibility issue. They also pointed out that the societal climate plays a central role in their decision-making about visualizations of multiculturalism and ethnic diversity. But ideas are diverging: the producer of “Good Times Bad Times” thinks he is above all making a fiction program and therefore he believes it is up to the viewer to decide whether to go along with the story or not. The maker of “On the Way to Tomorrow” does find herself fulfilling a social responsibility. The danger of political correctness was brought up several times in the interviews, but it remained unclear what political correctness precisely is and consequently, what a realistic account of society is or should be. In fact, it is seen as the potential death of diversity. Visualizing ethnicity is considered clearly as a conflict variable in the production of fiction given that it is socially loaded. As a result of our diversity monitor 2005, the Dutch public broadcaster has recently decided (at the end of 2006) to prescribe guidelines for the amount of multicultural subjects that should be portrayed and quotas for the number of guests with an ethnic minority background who should be staged in which programs. Moreover, the public broadcaster also intends to spend 2 more million euros in order to continuously measure the viewing behaviour of ethnic minority groups. These measures clearly illustrate the firm intention to formulate clear-cut guidelines and to keep away from the former attitude characterized by a great extent of freedom from obligation. In addition to these important and perhaps temporary quantitative measures, an approach in which diversity is seen as an integral part of program quality management seems to be a fruitful way of looking at the matter. This entails taking into account staffing strategies, improving intercultural competences of the current staff, fostering ongoing communication with diverse audience groups, as well as polishing the overall image of the broadcasting organization. However, a smooth implementation of all this requires a bearing among the staff: in other words, the staff should share the same vision. 6. References Aarden, R. (2006): ‘Hoe meer kleur hoe beter, maar het moet wel passen’. Een kwalitatief onderzoek naar de constructie van etnische diversiteit in Nederlandse fictieseries en de beoordeling hiervan door jongeren [‘The more colour the better, provided it fits’. A qualitative research on the construction of ethnic diversity in Dutch fiction series and perceptions of it by youngsters]. Nijmegen: Radboud University Nijmegen, Department of Communication (Unpublished M.D. thesis)