Page - 122 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Souley Hassane | Mainstream Media vs. Ethnic Minority Media 122 in the midst of a permanent election campaign. The use of such words in the public sphere reveals a ‘special’ treatment for the populations of poor areas. Since 2001, French society has undergone a systematic and progressive loosening of the limits of acceptable verbal expression. Essentialist and stigmatizing ways of thinking are manifested and relayed by the media. The words of media intellectuals converge with those of politicians, and, as a result, xenophobia and racism become the norm in their discourse. Which symptomatic themes of the confrontations between mainstream and minority media reflect socio-economic, political or cultural problems? How and why do these confrontations occur? What are the effects of this confrontation on integration à la française, or even on respect for human rights and living together? In order to answer these questions, I will examine two important French Internet sites: Afrikara.com and Oumma.com. The first was created by a group of African/Caribbean journalists to defend the black community in France. Oumma.com is a communal Islamic site created in 1999 and dedicated to an “Islam of freedom”. Oumma.com and Afrikara.com are both francophone encounter sites run by people who wish to make their mark towards a humanistic France. Oumma.com registers approximately 65 million visits per month. Afrikara is one of the best-regarded sites of the African community in France because of the direct, compelling language it employs when addressing subjects related to Africa and to the black diasporas of France, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Cases of discrimination are presented in full detail, the stakes and possible outcomes involved well explained. The same degree of commitment is present at Oumma.com, which answers to attacks against Islam and the Muslims of France. The events of 9/11 were a turning point for this community site, which responds daily to articles, reports and statements made by media intellectuals, politicians or journalists. Support for the Palestinian cause is one of its main focuses, just as support for Africa is one of the main focuses of Afrikara. These commitments influence the treatment and follow- up of information. Journalists who contribute to these sites are obliged to scrutinize as much information disseminated by the dominant media as possible – a fastidious task whose practical completion is supported by their long-term vision. Their reactions are sometimes immediate, almost instantaneous. This is a journalism charged by urgency, far removed from the comforts of mainstream media. Both sites insist on justice and equality in the treatment of information on French populations of foreign origin.