Page - 135 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Souley Hassane | Mainstream Media vs. Ethnic Minority Media 135 colonial literature. Yet, this return to colonial theory proves to be even more reactionary than American conservatism. Recourse to these colonial ‘un- thinkables’ nurtures the ideological turnabout with its abandonment of social taboos. Hence, the individual statements appearing in widely scattered media settings can be interpreted on a global scale by resituating them in their historical context. Although many observers of the media have perceived an almost ‘born- again’ dimension in Sarkozy, there are other sources of his ideology. “I am a new man,” he declared when he accepted the candidacy of the UMP on January 14, 2007. During his campaign, he strongly insisted on the Christian roots of France. Yet, the greater affinity to the reactionary ideology just mentioned is not to be seen in religion, but in values related to ‘moral order’, security forces, the ideal of excellence, authority at school and in society, and in the condemnation of May ’68. Less than two years after 9/11, the intellectual, media and political groundwork for this ideological turnaround had already been laid. Writers, philosophers, journalists and politicians profited from a well-prepared situation. Community media also look to the USA and attempt to emulate the gains made by African Americans in civil rights conflicts. At Afrikara, hundreds of pages deal with African American personalities and their progress in areas of equality, civil rights and everyday matters. Here, the American experience provides a counterexample to France, and the USA is seen as a model of integration. Still, this does not prevent community media from criticizing American hegemony in the world much as the mainstream media does. African/Caribbean media also adopt the American cult of excellence to promote business and see success as achieved through wealth and prosperity. The doctrine of prosperity transforms the rich into the mouthpiece of the black community in a world abandoned to the market. At this level, the principles of American Pentecostal thought are expressed through the ideology of prosperity. “African leadership”, “ethnic management”, “ethnic networ- king”, and the “gospelization of the black identity” are concepts that mobilize African/Caribbean media in France. These activities are intimately linked to a certain form of Pentecostalism, which, once entrenched in the group’s identity, inevitably leads to a struggle between good and evil, a war against the devil. 3.5 A black anchor on the 8 pm news: channel TF1, Harry Roselmarck and African/Caribbean media On July 17, 2006, a 34-year-old black journalist replaced the star anchor Patrick Poivre d’Arvor for a month. This was met with great surprise in