Ethnic Minorities’ Media in Great Britain

Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj, Konsorcjum Akademickie, Krakow – Rzeszow- Zamosc 2012, pp. 159 – 196. University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow Ethnic Minorities’ Media in Great Britain Iwona Leonowicz-Bukała INTRODUCTION During the recent ten to twenty years, one of the main goals of international migrations has been – and still is – Great Britain. This phenomenon evokes contradictory emotions and causes numerous discussions in the forum of the British public opinion. Research shows that today 40% of the British see the problem of immigration as the most important public issue, which is undoubtedly influenced by media information in which the issues of immigration currently take a crucial place.1 George Walden, former MP for the Conservative Party, notes with undisguised concern that within a decade the number of primary school pupils coming from minorities in Great Britain has grown from 11% to over 20%, and in some parts of London even more.2 Regardless of the assessment of the ever changing ethnic face of the British society, it is a fact that ethnic minorities are one of its important components today. One of the elements meant to maintain the linguistic and cultural identity, and also to facilitate social and political functioning of the British minorities are ethnic media. Media Directory, a guide of the British media market, lists several tens of papers and radio stations defined as cultural and ethnic minority press and stations. These are dailies, although few, as well as weeklies and biweeklies, and radio stations, available through cable or satellite TV or the Internet. There are just a few radio stations broadcasting on a DAB licence.3 With regard to British media. See: Rob Berekeley, Omar Khan, Mohan Ambikaipaker, What’s new about new immigrants in twenty-first century Britain?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2006, p. 33. Source: http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/file/what%5C%27s%20new%20about%20new%20immigrants.pdf [of 15.02.2012]. 1 2 George Walden, Time To Emigrate?, Gibson Square, London 2006, 3rd Edition, p. 46. Janine Gibson, Media Directory 2007. The Essential Handbook, Guardian News and Media 2007, pp. 117 – 118 and 220. 3 Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj The media for recipients from ethnic minorities in Great Britain may be basically divided into two groups. The first group includes media issued and produced in Great Britain, whose target groups are minorities living in the British Isles or in Ireland. They include e.g. such papers as: Asian Leader, Asian Lite, Awaaz, Chup Magazine, electronic Asian News, and also many media addressed to Poles, like Polish Express, Cooltura or Dziennik Polski (Polish Daily), and many radio stations. The second group comprises of media owned mainly by foreign and international concerns as well as public broadcasters in various countries, who prepare the programme for recipients at home and abroad. These are often big leading media in such countries as India, Pakistan or China. Press is brought to the British market in the printed version. Sometimes it is issued parallel in several places in the world to facilitate its distribution among the members of the minorities. Audiovisual media are available via satellite. That groups of media includes e.g. Garavi Gujarat, Eastern Eye, Asian Trade, owned by the international concern Asian Media & Marketing Group. Among many others, one can also include here the pan-Arabic Ashraq Al Awsat, the international Daily Ausaf, China Radio International or the satellite station Chinese Channel. It is these media, with their recipients among British ethnic minorities, that are the object of this paper. To show the context in which the media function, the successive parts of the paper present the most important data concerning ethnic diversity of the British society, then information on the legal framework regulating media activity in Great Britain. Further, media created for the greatest ethnic groups are described, but also some interesting examples are included of media whose target minorities are not among the most numerous. For obvious reasons, that description is only an outline – a monograph would require at least a few hundred pages to contain the topic. Moreover, for the same reasons, this text is not a critical analysis of the functioning of ethnic media in Great Britain. It also does not concern the media of the “new emigrants” in any detail. The text should be viewed as a starting point for further and more detailed analyses of the issue discussed. ETHNIC MINORITIES IN GREAT BRITAIN For the needs of this text, ethnic minorities are defined as groups which permanently live in Great Britain yet have a separate ethnic consciousness, “ukształtowaną na podstawie odrębności języka, kultury, tradycji lub pochodzenia, albo wszystkich tych cech łącznie oraz Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj [dą ą] do zachowania tej odrębności.”4 – “shaped based on a different language, culture, tradition or origin or all these characteristics together and [which strive] to maintain that separate identity”. Maintaining the identity may take different forms – and so it may manifest itself only in cultivating traditions or maintaining the knowledge of the native language among the younger generations, and does not have to mean rejecting the lifestyle of the host society. Despite several centuries of migrations, the British society is nowadays not outnumbered by thus understood ethnic minorities, although the latter are visible, particularly in cities. 85% of the inhabitants of the British Isles define their ethnic status as white British. The remaining 15% declare other ethnic origin.5 For theoretical analysis, the classification of ethnic minorities of Great Britain used in the National Census may be adopted here6. According to the data from the census of 2001, the population of Great Britain consists of the following ethnic categories: 1. White – 92% 2. Mixed – 1.2%; 3. Asian or Asian British – 4%  Indian – 1.8%  Pakistani – 1.3%  Bangladeshi – 0.5%  Other Asian – 0.4% 4. Black or Black British – 2%  Black Caribbean – 1.0%  Black African – 0.8%  Black Other – 0.2% 5. Chinese – 0.4% (mainly coming from China, Hong-Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia); Based on definitions of ethnic minorities by C. ołędowski, after: Łukasz Łatocki, Obcość etniczna w perspektywie socjologiczno-politologicznej (Ethnic Foreignness in the View of Sociology and Political Sciences), Instytut Polityki Społecznej Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warsaw 2009, p. 93. 4 In future a change in these proportions may be expected in favour of the minorities, e.g. due to the greater – by over ten times – birth rate among non-white population as compared to white population. See: Ethnic birth rate climbs, 21.09.2001. Source: news.bbc.co.uk [of 21.07.2010]. 5 6 Made separately for England and Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj 6. Other: 0.4%.7 The four largest ethnic minority groups are therefore Indian, Pakistani, Black Carribean and Black African. The results of the Census certainly do not reflect the current ethnic composition of the society8, but they are the only reliable source of such data. Within the last decade – as mentioned above – new waves of immigrants have come to Great Britain, mainly from Asia and Central and Eastern Europe.9 Thus to complete the view of the origin of minorities living currently in Great Britain, table 1. presents thirty names of countries most often named in answer to the question about nationality other than British. The results come from the Annual Population Survey made by Office for National Statistics. Data have been released in “Migration Statistics Quarterly Report” in August 2011 and concern the period from January 20010 to December 2010. 7 Source: The UK Population: by ethnic group, April 2001. Source: Census 2001, www.statistics.gov.uk [of 25.07.2010]. 8 The last National Census, "2011 Census for England, Northern Ireland and Wales", has been conducted in Great Britain on 27 March 2011, but first results are planned for release in mid-2012. Source: http://www.ons.gov.uk [of 15.02.2012]. 9 More current data can be obtained from the results of the Annual Population Survey, done for estimation purposes between the censuses by the Office of National Statistics. Yet they do not include the whole population of Great Britain. APS consists of the quarterly Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey (ALALFS). After M. Garapich it may be said that the Polish equivalent of LFS is Badanie Aktywności Ekonomicznej Ludności (Population’s Economic Activity Survey) carried out by the Main Statistical Office. Cf. Michał żarapich, Dorota Osipovic, MIGPOL – badanie sondażowe wśród obywateli polskich zamieszkałych w Wielkiej Brytanii i Irlandii (MIGPOL – survey of Polish citizens living in Great Britain and Ireland), September 2007. Source: www.polishpsychologistsclub.org/system/files/Raport_migpol.pdf [of 25.7.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Table 1. Nationality of Britain’s inhabitants apart from people declaring British nationality, by 30 most often declared countries. Source: own study based on the Annual Population Survey/Labour Force Survey, table 2.3. “Estimated population of overseas nationals resident in the United Kingdom, by nationality”, Population by Country of Birth & Nationality, Jan 2010 to Dec 2010.10 Number of Item Nationality11 people (in Number of Item Nationality thousands) people (in thousands) 1 Poland 555 16 Romania 74 2 Republic of Ireland 353 17 Philippines 72 3 India 327 18 Spain 66 4 Pakistan 157 19 Zimbabwe 64 Somalia 55 United States of 5 20 America 147 6 Germany 126 21 Canada 53 7 Italy 108 22 Slovakia 50 8 France 105 23 Jamaica 49 9 Portugal 102 24 Latvia 49 10 China 100 25 Sri Lanka 48 11 South Africa 96 26 New Zealand 47 12 Lithuania 95 27 Netherlands 47 13 Nigeria 94 28 Bulgaria 44 14 Bangladesh 82 29 Ghana 43 15 Australia 75 30 Turkey 40 It is worth adding that according to data of 2001 about half of żreat Britain’s inhabitants of other than British origin have British citizenship12, so they can identify their 10 11 Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, August 2011. Source: http://www.ons.gov.uk [of 15.02.2012]. The presented data are based on the understanding of the term nationality rather than citizenship. The respondents were asked “What is your nationality?”. Differences in understanding terms related to ethnic identity, their changeability in time and insufficient operationalisation have for many years now been a problem in defining the sizes of ethnic minorities in the whole world. Cf. e.g. Ian R.G. Spencer, British Immigration Policy Since 1939. The Making of Multiracial Britain, Routledge, London and New York 1997, p. 3. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj nationality as British. For instance, in 2008 over twice more respondents gave “India” as their country of birth (647 thousand) than declared Indian ethnic identity. Only in 2008, British citizenship was granted to nearly 130 thousand people.13 Areas most often inhabited by people born outside of Great Britain include London with its administrative districts (Greater London), Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Edinburgh and Glasgow.14 Cities inhabited by the largest numbers of minority representatives include also Bradford, Leicester, Coventry, Nottingham, Derby or Bristol.15 RECEPTION OF THE MEDIA BY ETHNIC MINORITIES IN GREAT BRITAIN 12 R. Berekeley, O. Khan, M. Ambikaipaker, What’s new…, op. cit., p. 20. 13 Migration Statistics 2008. Annual Report, Office of National Statistics, Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions. Source: www.statistics.gov.uk [of 16.02.2012]. 14 Born abroad. An immigration map of Britain. Introduction and figures for Britain. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/uk/05/born_abroad/html/overview.stm [of 15.02.2012]. 15 Ruth Lupton, Anne Power, Minority Ethnic Groups in Britain, Case-Brookings Census Brief, No. 2, Centre For Analysis Of Social Exclusion, An ESRC Research Centre, November 2004, p. 4. Source: http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/CBCB/census2_part1.pdf [of 13.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Great Britain is a country known for the tradition of press reading by its citizens, regardless of status and education, although currently readership indices are falling – particularly with respect to opinion-forming press. Still, according to data of 2010, 71% of the British regularly read papers and magazines (although in 2005 it was even more – 78%). More – as many as 95% recording to data of 2005 and 2010 – regularly watch television. Beside that, 69% listen to the radio (77% in 2005) and 67% use the Internet via computer or laptop (only 50% in 2005).16 For representatives of ethnic minorities living in Great Britain the indices differ.17 Details concerning seven selected minority ethnic groups taken into account in Ofcom first such survey in 2005 are presented in the table 2. Table 2. People regularly using the media in Great Britain in 2005. Source: own study based on the Media Literacy Audit. Report on media literacy amongst adults from ethnic minority groups, 3rd April 2006, Office of Communications, p. 48.18 Type of medium UK’s population in total (%) Ethnic minorities in UK (%) Press 78 67 Television 95 97 Radio 77 71 Internet 50 65 The data indicate that interest in press among ethnic minorities in 2005 was lower than generally in the British society. Particularly the interest in current news from Britain, which is the domain of daily press, was also lower. For example, in 2005 70% adult inhabitants of Great Britain used daily press as a source of domestic news, and among ethnic minorities the index was only 56%. To read reports on domestic news, recipients from ethnic groups were more willing than the British to reach for magazines (17% as compared to 13% for the total UK Adults’ Media Literacy. Research document, April 2011, Office of Communications, p. 24. Source: : http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/media-lit11/Adults.pdf [of 15.02.2012]. 16 17 Media Literacy Audit. Report on media literacy amongst adults from ethnic minority groups, 3rd April 2006, Office of Communications, p. 48. Source: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/minority.pdf [of 15.02.2012]. 18 Ibid., p. 48. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj population of Great Britain) and use the Internet (25% and 18%, respectively). 5% of minorities’ representatives did not read domestic news at all, as compared to 2% of all British. Also, a model of using only one source of information is more popular among the minorities – it was preferred by 25% of respondents, whereas for the whole Britain the index was 20%.19 There are no data of media literacy among all ethnic minorities in 2010 or 2011. The latest data concerning this topic – released in 2008 – regard the year 2007. It also concerns only four largest ethnic minority groups. Nonetheless, it is useful to quote findings of the survey of 2007 to observe changes at least in UK population in total. Table 3. presents comparison of media activity among four largest ethnic minority groups and whole UK population. Table 3. People regularly using the media in Great Britain in 2007. Source: own study based on the Media Literacy Audit. Report on UK adults from ethnic minority groups, 15th September 2008, Office of Communications, pp. 38, 92, 146, 198.20 UK’s Type of population medium in total Ethnic minorities in UK (%) Indian Pakistani (%) Black Black Carribean African Press 74 52 49 38 38 Television 97 94 94 90 86 Radio 69 63 49 66 60 Internet 56 64 55 45 53 As stated above, watching television was the most commonly mentioned media activity among all UK population, as well as among EMG, although minorities watch TV statistically rarely. On the other hand, lower use of traditional media – such as newspapers and magazines - among ethnic minority groups is obvious recording to data. What is new in 19 20 Ibid., pp. 42 - 43. Media Literacy Audit. Report on UK adults from ethnic minority groups, 15th September 2008, Office of Communications. Source: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-literacy/ml_emg.pdf [of 15.02.2012]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj survey of 2007 – in comparison to that of 2005 - is the fact, that EMG were usually less likely (beside Indian) to use the Internet than the average for all UK adults. It should be however taken into account, that in 2005 survey concerned representatives of seven, not four minority ethnic groups living in UK. An attempt may be made to explain the differences in the use of the media by the society in general and by the specific minorities. As concerns the more common use of the Internet among minorities being part of diaspora, like Indian minority, it seems that the variances result from the peculiar possibilities given by the Web as confronted with the specific needs of the emigrants. The Internet gives them easy access to the media in their countries of origin. It is also used to keep in touch with family members and friends who remain in the home country and to establish new contacts with other compatriots living outside of their country of origin.21Contact with other people was the main reason for using the Internet for 23% of all UK adults and for 27% of Indian, 33% of Pakistani, 26% of Black Carribean and 21% of Black African. 22 The Internet allows thus access to information and contact with others without having to know the language of the country of settlement. Also, the lower interest in press or radio among the minorities, in 2005 as well as in 2007, as compared to the whole of society may be related to the linguistic competence of the respondents. Majority of titles and stations are only in English. Many minority members, particularly new emigrants or elderly people, do not know the language at a level which would allow them to use the press or the radio.23 The problem might concern mainly the people who did not grow up in an English-language environment. What is worth mentioning is the role of digitalisation in creating EMGs representatives habits in using media. For example, the index of listening to the radio seems to be systematically increased by the availability of digital radio reception. In 2003, 34% of More on the issue in: Piotr Siuda, Wirtualna komunikacja z własnym narodem, czyli rola Internetu w podtrzymywaniu tożsamości narodowej emigrantów (Virtual Communication with One’s Own Nation, or the Role of the Internet in the Emigrants Maintaining Their National Identity) [in:] Komunikacja społeczna w świecie wirtualnym (Social Communication in the Virtual World), Mirosława Wawrzak-Chodaczek (ed.), Wyd. Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2008, pp. 125 – 140. 21 22 Media Literacy Audit. Report on UK adults from ethnic minority groups, op. cit, pp. 49, 103, 156, 211. Cf. Reinier Salverda, Multilingual London and its literatures. “Opticon 1826” Issue 1(1), Autumn 2006, pp. 1-15. Source: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/opticon1826/archive/issue1 [of 15.08.2010]. 23 Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj minorities’ representatives listened to digital radio. 87% of them declared that since they had access to digital radio services, they listened to more stations than they had done before. Interestingly, in 2005 listeners from ethnic minorities chose more often to listen to digital radio through television (21% of digital services’ users) than through DAB radio receivers (14%) or the Internet (7%). Nearly 1/5 used more than one technology to receive the signal.24 Digital radio was most often used by members of the Black African and Black Caribbean minorities and those coming from the Middle East in 2005.25 In 2007 the situation has not changed – Black Carribean and Black African were still those groups most interested in digital radio functions (77% and 78% compared to 68% of Indian adults and 72% of Pakistani).26 Digital technology was also popular with television. In 2005, 73% of adult representatives of the British minorities examined by Ofcom27 declared having access to digital television at home. Every third one of them had access to satellite televisions, every fifth one – to cable TV. Only 5% had a receiver or converter to receive terrestrial digital television for free from the common platform of British broadcasters – Freeview.28 In 2005, the Pakistani, Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern minorities used digital television most often. The Pakistanis spent the most time watching television among all minorities.29 In 2007 digital television ownership was declared by 81% of examined Black Carribean, 82% of Black African, 83% of Indian and 89% of Pakistani. The average for all UK adults was 82%.30 It is hard to estimate the actual reception of the particular media targeted at minorities – of both British and foreign editors and broadcasters. In this respect, estimations may only be Media Literacy Audit. Report on media literacy amongst adults from ethnic minority groups, op. cit., pp. 26 – 29. 24 25 Ibid., p. 26. 26 Media Literacy Audit. Report on UK adults from ethnic minority groups, op. cit, p. 7. 27 Office of Communications. 28 Freeview was then used by 29% of respondents from among all adult British people. Already in 2006 the number of households using terrestrial digital TV exceeded the number of the ones using analogue TV. Cf. Media Literacy Audit. . Report on media literacy amongst adults from ethnic minority groups, op. cit., p. 21. See also: Freeview 'overtakes analogue TV', 7.06.2006. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk [of 11.08.2010]. 29 Media Literacy Audit .Report on media literacy amongst adults from ethnic minority groups , op. cit., p. 22. 30 Media Literacy Audit. Report on UK adults from ethnic minority groups, op. cit, p. 5. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj based on the press circulations and sale indices as declared by the publishers, and in the case of satellite television – on the number of subscribers. Yet based on the data from the Ethnic Minority Communities report (2003) it may be stated that the younger generations of ethnic minorities and people with better education more frequently read newspapers and periodicals of the British mainstream, such as The Times or The Guardian, and regional press: Birmingham Evening Post, The Bradford Telegraph and Argus, The Leicester Mercury, The South London Press and The Manchester Evening Post.31 Young women from ethnic minorities commonly reach for magazines read by that age group regardless of their ethnic background, such as the Cosmopolitan or Glamour. 32 Those papers are just as popular among the white majority. The thematic profile of a medium is thus more significant for the young representatives of minorities than the ethnic profile. ETHNIC PRESS IN GREAT BRITAIN The ethnic press market in Great Britain includes at least several tens of titles, both ones with long traditions and young papers established in the recent years. As it is difficult to find the one and only right criterion which would allow to systemise and logically order the titles, a decision was made that a criterion most practical in use, but also such as would allow a relatively permanent division, is the language in which the printed press is issued. Considering this criterion, the press of ethnic minorities in Great Britain may be divided into three groups: 1. media available only in English; 2. media available in English and in the minority’s language(s); 3. media available only in the minority’s language(s).33 The first and most numerous group – press printed in English – includes such titles as: Asian Express, Bangla Mirror or The Asian Post, Asian Lite, Chup Magazine, Eastern 31 The research was done on a sample of 205 respondents in 6 ethnic groups. See: Ethnic Minority Communities, Quality research report, COI Communications Common Good Research, August 2003, p. 62. Source: www.coi.gov.uk/documents/common-good-bme-exec-summ.pdf [of 16.02.2012]. 32 33 Ibid., p. 68. The above division does not take into account advertisements, which are sometimes printed in ethnic languages in the English-language media, and in media issued in the languages of the minorities there appear advertisements and announcements in English. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Eye, The Asian Express Newspaper, Asian News, Asian Leader, Jamaica Gleaner, Voice, Ovation or The Nation, issued until 2009. Some titles are addressed directly to the minorities in Britain, like Asian Express, some others – to a larger group of recipients, like Ovation. It is noticeable that media available only in English are targeted rather at the younger generations of minorities which had long been present in the Isles. The declared target group are often the second and further generations of the minorities, who have been educated in English and have grown up in the English-language environment and so can naturally be more interested in English-language media. The most numerous representation among ethnic press titles is the one for communities coming from the Indian subcontinent (Asians). One of the oldest papers is the biweekly Asian Express Newspaper, established in 1973 in London “aiming to bridge the communication gap between all Asians and the host community as well as to promote harmony and better understanding among all multicultural people worldwide”34. The paper gives particular attention to the issue of cultural variety. It is addressed to the minority of Indian origin. Its founder and publisher is Vallabh Kaviraj. At first the paper had a more tabloid-like format, and currently it is issued as a broadsheet. Most of the popular titles, however, are of a smaller format and are concerned with light subjects. The older ones include e.g. Eastern Eye35, which has been present in the market for over two decades. The target groups of the weekly, which is sold in 22 thousand copies every week36, are recipients from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Topics include current news, sports, entertainment.37 The weekly Asian Post has the same target group and topics. Both titles give much coverage to Bollywood. Asian Post often does it in the form of special supplements.38 Among the younger titles worth mentioning is the free local monthly Asian Focus, whose range includes Leeds and its surroundings. It has been founded in 2009.39 34 Source: http://www.asianexpressnewspaper.com [of 6.08.2010]. 35 It belongs to the Asian Media and Marketing Group, which also publishes the biweekly Asian Trader. Until 2009 the weekly belonged to the Ethnic Media Group, which also issued the weekly New Nation addressed to the communities of Caribbean descent. 36 Source: http://www.amg.biz/mail/EE_RateCard.pdf [of 7.08.2010]. 37 Source: http://www.easterneye.eu [of 6.08.2010]. 38 Source: http://www.theasianpost.co.uk [of 6.08.2010]. 39 E-mail message from Edward Qualtrough, Asian Express journalist, to the Author, of 13.09.2009. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Another example is the biweekly Asian Express, owned by Mediaworld Ventures Ltd. and addressed to the second and third generations of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, which is indicated e.g. by adverts addressed to younger recipients. It is issued fully in English, only one out of every fifty or so advertisements in an issue is printed in Urdu.40 It has two separate editions – for the Yorkshire county and for the Lancashire and Greater Manchester counties. The edition for Yorkshire is issued in about 45 thousand copies. According to the words of the founders of Asian Express, one of the main aims of the local editions is to promote positive relations between communities, e.g. by informing about valuable achievements of members of Asian communities, which is to overcome any negative stereotypes (e.g. informing about the role of an Asian dancer in the Fame musical in Dublin or about the first Sikh rugby player).41 The paper also has a national edition, issued currently twice a month in about 150 thousand copies. The national edition is available e.g. in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Leicester.42 Among the smaller titles there are such as aspire to become serious, quality press titles. One of them is the monthly Asian Lite, owned by New Asian Media Ltd. It has been founded on 1st June 2007. At first the circulation was 25 thousand copies43, now the owners give the number of 35 thousand copies. The paper is distributed e.g. in well-known supermarket networks, mosques and Sikh temples (gurdwaras), minority organisations’ seats, clinics, business centres. The paper is addressed to new immigrants from Asia and “professionals”.44 Quite a high level is also maintained by the free daily Asian Leader, distributed in Greater Manchester, York and North West. Currently Urdu is Pakistan’s official language. It is the main language of the Muslims from Pakistan and northern India. At the end of the 20 th century about 50 million people were using it. It comes from Hindustani, just like India’s national language – Hindi. Yet Urdu uses Arabic alphabet, and Hindu – the Devanagari alphabet. See: Obyczaje, języki, ludy świata. Encyklopedia PWN (Customs, Languages, Peoples of the World. PWN Encyclopaedia), Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warsaw 2007. 40 41 E-mail message from Edward Qualtrough, Asian Express journalist, to the Author, of 30.07.2010. 42 Ibid. “New national Asian tabloid launching from Manchester”, 23.05.2007. Source: http://www.how-do.co.uk [of 6.08.2010]. 43 44 Source: http://www.asianlite.co.uk [of 6.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj There are also printed media addressed to selected ethnic groups, e.g. the weekly Bangla Mirror or Chup Magazine – full-colour, modern lifestyle magazine for young Bangladeshis (target group at the age of 18 – 30).45 The image of the media addressed to the Asian minority is completed by glossy women’s magazines – like Asian Bride for the future brides, or Asian Woman, a lifestyle monthly on fashion, health, beauty and celebrities’ lives. The publishers claims that the magazine is distributed in 62 countries and has a total readership of about 100 thousand.46 Both papers, read usually by young women, stem from the paper Asian Woman & Bride issued since 1999, which was then divided into two separate publications. Asian Bride and Asian Woman belong to Asian Interactive Media Ltd., which also issues other glossy magazines: Asian Fashion, Asian Groom & Man and Asian Home & Style. Relatively few titles are addressed to the black communities, both of African and Caribbean descent. One of the titles worth mentioning is the well-known paper The Voice – the oldest weekly for the black minority in Great Britain in a tabloid format. It focuses mainly on news from Great Britain important for the black minority, as well as reports from Africa or the Caribbean. Noteworthy is also Jamaica Weekly Gleaner – a weekly issued in Kingston in Jamaica since 1834.47 It has a British edition, also issued once a week. It has its recipients mainly among the older Jamaicans – the first generation of immigrants from Jamaica living currently in Great Britain.48 Relatively popular among the Blacks are glossy magazines, such as Pride magazine – a glossy monthly for women from the black minority, founded in 199049 by Peter Murray. It is a lifestyle magazine, and its topics cover fashion, beauty and the lives of celebrities. Black & Beauty Hair has a similar character – it is a bimonthly addressed to Black women. Beside gossip and lifestyle, it focuses on advice concerning hair care and hairstyles.50 Noteworthy among magazines is also the full-colour Ovation International read by members of African communities. Its founders call it an “African magazine for Africans”. The topics of the magazine include the lives of African celebrities and gossip. It has been issued since 1996, 45 Source: http://www.chupmagazine.com [of 6.08.2010]. 46 Source: http://www.asianwomanmag.com [of 7.08.2010]. 47 Source: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com [of 5.08.2010]. 48 Ethnic Minority…, op. cit., p. 149. Source: http://pridemagazine.com [of 5.08.2010]. 49 50 Source: http://www.blackbeautyandhair.com [of 5.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj and has its roots in London, where it was founded by a Nigerian, Dele Momodu, staying there in exile. It also has a French-language edition. Until recently another magazine addressed to the black community, New Nation, was issued. It was founded in 1996. The owner of the magazine was Ethnic Media Group, which went bankrupt in 2009. In 2005 the title reached a readership of 22 thousand weekly, which made it the best selling paper for the black community. Yet three years later the readership fell to 6 thousand. According to Internet sources, the weekly’s editor-in-chief in 1997 – 2007, Michael Eboda, blamed an ineffective management model for such decrease of popularity. A former journalist of the weekly, Adenike Adenitire, claims in turn that one of the elements that contributed to the paper’s fall was Ebode’s leaving in November 2007.51 The thesis of the paper losing its standard seems to be confirmed by the comments of Web users under the article on closing the paper, which was published on the Overground Online website, and made available by Madnews.biz. In a post of 1st February 2009, an Internet user with the nick Pheva wrote: I stopped buying the New Nation a while back, when I was honest with myself and admitted that it was not very good. In the end I realised I was buying it out of ‘loyalty’ and trying to support the Black press. But if what you are supporting is below standard then that doesn’t help anybody.52 One may not forget the countless English-language media online, either addressed to a broad circle of recipients, such as The Times of India (www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com), India Monitor (www.indiamonitor.com), Asia Times Online, or customised for recipients in Great Britain – like RedHotCurry.com (South Asian, British Asian, East African Asian), Clickwalla.com (Asian), Blacknet.co.uk (Black) czy DimSum.co.uk (Chinese). An example of a regional webpage addressed to South Asian communities is also Asian News (http://menmedia.co.uk/asiannews), owned by the M.E.N. Media. As claimed by the publishers, the page has 55 thousand unique users monthly. It is dedicated to Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi users from the North West region.53 Additionally the market offers printed media of a religious profile, like the monthly Muslim News, which has its readers in Muslim communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, See: Orantes Moore, “Stop the Press: The Żuture of 'Black' Newspapers is Online”. Source: http://www.overgroundonline.com [of 6.08.2010]. 51 52 Source: http://madnews.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/uk-news-ethnic-media-group-goes-in-to-administration [of 7.08.2010]. 53 Source: http://menmedia.co.uk/asiannews [of 6.07.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj India, Malaysia, Turkey, Arabic and African countries, and other.54 The paper provides news from the whole world on Muslim communities. Much coverage is currently given to the issues of terrorism and international politics. Also of a religious and ethnic character, The Jewish Chronicle informs weekly about the problems of Jews in Great Britain and the world, cultural, political, religious and social events concerning Jewish communities, and comments on reports from Israel.55 It is worth mentioning that the new emigrants, mainly those from Central and Eastern Europe, do not have access to ethnic press in English. The second group is made up by bi- or sometimes even trilingual press. An example of it is e.g. the biweekly Asian Trader, founded in 1985 and issued in English, Gujarati56 and Urdu. It has a business character and is addressed to entrepreneurs active in the trade sector – e.g. owners of trade centres and shops. It provides the newest information and research results concerning the trade sector in Great Britain. It belongs to the Asian Media and Marketing Group. Once a year it grants the Asian Trader Awards.57 Also trilingual is the free monthly tabloid Awaaz, available since 1982 in the West Yorkshire county in northern England. The monthly mostly publishes articles in English, yet it has one page in Gujarati and one page in Urdu. Awaaz provides local and national news, one can find there recipes, information about new computer games, interviews with stars and news from Bollywood. In the March issue the lead topic was on extraterrestrials – the paper discussed them in the article Do Aliens Exist In Islam?58 The owners of the tabloid estimate the readership to be at a level of 125 thousand monthly59. Also the weekly Garavi Gujarat is addressed to the linguistic and ethnic minority speaking Gujarati. The publisher – the Asian Media and Marketing Group, already mentioned 54 Source: http://www.muslimnews.co.uk [of 7.08.2010]. 55 Source: http://www.thejc.com [of 7.08.2010]. 56 Used in the Gujarati region, on the Indian-Pakistani border. In Great Britain there live about 300 thousand people using the language. The communities live mainly in London (Wembley, Harrow, Newham districts) and in Leicester, Coventry and Bradford. Cf. Rachel Dwyer, Teach Yourself Gujarati, Hodder and Stoughton, London 1995. 57 Source: http://www.amg.biz/asian_trader [of 6.08.2010]. 58 “Awaaz”, No. 326, March 2010, p. 13. 59 Source: http://www.awaaznews.com [of 6.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj in the article – claims the sales to be about 43 thousand copies weekly.60 Garavi Gujarat is also distributed on board Air-India planes, where about 5 thousand copies are available weekly.61 Since 1987 in Birmingham, the bilingual and biweekly Punjabi Guardian is issued – in English and Punjabi62. The bilingual media group also includes electronic ones, like e.g. Sikh Times, available in English and Punjabi, owned by the Eastern Media Group.63 The third group are papers published fully in the languages of minorities, such as Eurobangla, Potrika, Surma, Tamil Times, Daily Jung, Ashraq Al Awsat, Sing Tao Daily, Des Pardes, Dziennik Polski or other Polish-language titles. The older and less educated generations are more interested than the younger ones in using ethnic media in their native languages. This concerns particularly people from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and eastern and central Asia. As has been mentioned before, in Great Britain there are still many people living in ethnic communities who have not learned English sufficiently to function in everyday life – hence the press in their native language(s) is important for them. There are quite many titles available in the languages of ethnic minorities. Several quite known titles are addressed to the speakers of Bangla. One of them is Eurobangla, which – except for advertisements – only publishes texts in Bangla. Another paper in Bangla, issued since 1997, is the weekly broadsheet Potrika (addressed mainly to the Bangladeshis in Great Britain), and since 1978 the weekly Surma is issued, aiming to reach the Bangladeshis using the Sylheti dialect64. Also Tamils have their own press – in Surrey the Tamil Times65 is issued, all in the Tamil language66 except for marriage offers and announcements concerning renting property, as well as advertisements. Beside the above, titles in other languages of the Indian 60 Source: http://www.amg.biz/mail/EE_RateCard.pdf [of 7.08.2010]. 61 Source: http://www.amg.biz/mediapack/GGMediaPack.pdf [of 7.08.2010]. 62 The official language of the Indian state of Punjab. See: Obyczaje… (Customs...), op. cit. 63 The concern also issues the online English-language Eastern Voice, addressed to the third and fourth generations of South Asian minorities. Source: www.emgonline.co.uk [of 15.08.2010]. 64 Source: www.surmanewsgroup.co.uk [of 4.08.2010]. An electronic version of the paper is available online at http://www.thetamiltimes.com (the paper’s portal is in preparation since 2006). 65 66 Beside India, where Tamils inhabit mostly the state of Tamil Nadu, the Tamil language is one of the official languages of Sri Lanka and Singapore. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj subcontinent are well represented: as examples one could name the Navin Weekly (in Hindi) and Milap Weekly (in Urdu, issued since 1965), as well as an opinion-forming weekly Opinion (in Gujarati) and a popular weekly Des Pardes (in Punjabi). That last one has been founded in 1965. According to the publisher, the paper reaches 80% of Punjabi speakers in Great Britain.67 It is worth noting by the way that with regard to the minorities and immigrants from Central and Easter Europe, Polish titles are quite numerous. Starting with Dziennik Polski, which continues the patriotic traditions of the post-war Polish community in Britain (issued since 1940), through the weekly Nowy Czas (since 2006), addressed to intellectuals and aiming to integrate the “old” emigration with the new wave of emigrants who have come to the Isles after 1990, to the tabloid Polish Express (2003). Relatively high recognition is also given to the full-colour weekly Cooltura (since 2004), a weekly with reprints from Polish press – Panorama (since 2007), as well as the weekly Goniec Polski (since 2002). A Catholic weekly Gazeta Niedzielna was issued by the Veritas Foundation until 2009; after 60 years of its presence in the market the publication of the paper stopped due to financial reasons.68 Currently the market also has two Russian-language titles owned by the Russian London Courier: the biweekly London Courier and the quarterly lifestyle magazine Russian UK. London Courier has been founded in 1994 as the first Russian-language paper in Great Britain. It is addressed to the Russian minority in Great Britain as well as the British interested in Russian culture or conducting business with Russian entrepreneurs.69 An example of press read by a minority and issued outside of Great Britain is Daily Jang – the greatest Pakistani daily issued in Urdu, in whose online version (ejang.jang.com.pk) one can find “city sites” of Karachi and London. Only some advertisements in the daily are published in English. The daily is owned by the Jang Group of Newspapers, which also issues the Pakistani Weekly Akhbar-e-Jehan (in Urdu), available to readers outside of Pakistan in subscription or online at www.akhbar-e-jehan.com. 67 Source: http://www.despardesweekly.co.uk [of 7.08.2010]. Wojciech Płazak, Kres naszej drogi (The End of Our Way). Source: http://www.mindfrog.plus.com [of 7.08.2010]. 68 69 Source: www.russianuk.com [of 7.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Another paper of that kind is Sing Tao Daily – a Hong-Kong daily in Chinese available in Great Britain, owned by the Sing Tao Newspaper Group. It has a tabloid format, and the concern’s office in London is one of its 22 offices throughout the world.70 Another daily addressed to readers in all the world, although founded in London in 1978 and issued in Great Britain, is the pan-Arabic Ashraq Al Awsat. Thanks to satellite connections, the daily is printed at the same time in London, Frankfurt, Marseille, New York, Casablanca, Cairo, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dharan, Dubai, Bagdad and Lebanon.71 The paper has an online English-language edition. Other pan-Arabic titles are also available to readers from all the world in the Internet; these include e.g. Al-ArabOnline, Al-Hayat or Al-Ahram, all registered in Great Britain. Also the Japanese living in Great Britain have media printed in their own language – it is the full-colour weekly Eikoku News Digest. It is also worth noting that the online BBC World Service provides information in 32 languages beside English, e.g. in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Urdu and Pashto.72 RADIO FOR ETHNIC MINORITIES IN GREAT BRITAIN The radio for ethnic minorities which is best known in Great Britain is the national radio channel BBC Asian Network, addressed to communities of South Asian descent.73 The language of most programmes is English, but certain programmes are broadcast in the languages of minorities: Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati and in Mirpuri (a dialect of the Potawari language). The station offers Asian music (Bollywood and Banghra), information and entertainment programmes and radio dramas, the best known of which was Silver Street, broadcast until March 2010.74 Currently the station is threatened with closure – 70 Source: www.singtao.com [of 14.08.2010]. 71 Source: http://www.asharq-e.com [of 7.08.2010]. 72 Full list of languages to be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/index.shtml [of 13.08.2010]. 73 At first BBC programmes addressed to Asian communities were part of regional programming of the BBC station, first in BBC Radio Leicester (since 1977), then in BBC WM (since 1979). In 1988 both stations unified the programmes for South Asian communities and broadcast them for 70 hours a week. Since 1996, BBC Asian Network functioned as a separate station, first a regional one (Midlands), and since 2002 – a national one, when it started to broadcast a digital signal on the DAB platform. It is also available through digital television and the Internet. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Asian_Network [of 7.08.2010]. 74 Ibid. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj for financial and substantial reasons, as official sources give. For instance, according to the executive director of BBC, Caroline Thompson, the station’s programme concept itself is not right, as it proposes too various content (even with regard to the languages) to too diverse audience (e.g. there are no age limits for the target group).75 In three years (2007 – 2010) BBC Asian Network lost about 20% of listeners. At the end of 2009 the average number of the station’s listeners was 360 thousand weekly76. In a statement for The Guardian, an anonymous presenter from the station blamed the management, which would conduct wrong employment policy and for posts responsible for the programme take people unrelated to the Asian community who would not understand its needs.77 The position of BBC Asian Network as an important part of the media offer for the South Asian minority is proven by the facts that famous people coming from that community joined its defence, and that since the plans to close the station were announced, nearly 30 thousand people joined the group who spoke for maintaining the station on Facebook.78 On the other hand, on 13th May The Guardian reported further decrease in the number of the station’s listeners, from 360 thousand in February to 357 thousand in May.79 So far the future of the station remains uncertain. Beside public radio, South Asian communities in all Great Britain may use the multilanguage commercial offer of such radio stations as: Sunrise Radio (English), Kismat Radio (English), XL Radio (English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bangla), Asian Sound Radio (English, Urdu, Punjabi, Bangla and Gujarati), NuSound Radio (Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil, Gujarati, Bangla and English), Asian Star (Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, English) and many others, impossible to list here. Contrary to the press, stations targeted at the black minority are numerously represented on the map of ethnic radio stations in Great Britain. One can distinguish here stations of an ethnic profile, but also of musical ones. 75 John Plunkett, BBC Asian Network under threat, 3.02.2010. Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk [of 7.08.2010]. 76 John Plunkett, Stars line up to save BBC Asian Network, 6.03.2010. Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk [of 7.08.2010]. 77 Ibid. 78 Source: http://www.facebook.com, profile: Save The BBC Asian Network [of 12.08.2010]. 79 A year earlier the listener figures reached 405 thousand. See: John Plunkett, Digital radio claims 24% of listening, 13.05.2010. Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk [of 7.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Examples of radios targeted at communities from specific African countries are Radio Focus, addressed to readers from Ghana, or Npower Radio – a station headquartered in London, addressed mainly to the Nigerian community in the United States, in the Caribbean, but also in Great Britain. It is available through satellite, the Internet and on the DAB platform. It has an information – education – entertainment profile, it offers e.g. original Nigerian music. Quite differentiated in terms of languages is the Voice of Africa Radio, which provides programmes in several languages used by the black minorities, e.g. Yoruba, Akan, French and obviously English. The station’s target group in the black community in London. Many stations listened to by the black minority are urban stations broadcasting “black” music, i.e. hip hop, rap, r’n’b, reggae and garage. They include e.g. the BANG Radio – a relatively young local station of London’s district of Brent, as well as Choice FM or Galaxy FM (Birmingham, Manchester, North East, Scotland, South Coast, Yorkshire) and many other ones. Today the stations are usually available online. Quite important for the younger recipients among the black minority – both of African and of Caribbean descent – are pirate radio stations, such as Genesis or those available only in some districts of London: Powerjam, Sting, Fusion, WBLS, addressed to the minorities, broadcasting illegally (in the Web and on airwaves) and often irregularly – mostly in the afternoons and at weekends.80 Although not a strictly ethnic radio, the religious Premier Christian Radio81 also enjoys recognition among the black community. It may be explained by the Christian profile of the station. The radio broadcasts e.g. prayers and religious hymns – and as shown by research published in the report on Ethnic Minority Communities of 2003, minorities from Africa and the Caribbean often stress how important religion is in their lives.82 The station has its seat in London. One of particularly interesting radio projects is the commercial, multi-ethnic Spectrum Radio, headquartered in London. It has been in existence for nearly two decades. The station’s 80 Several pirate station also broadcast their programmes e.g. for the Turkish minority (Dost FM), and in 2007 in London there appeared an illegal Polish-language Radio Banita. 81 Data of 2003. See: Ethnic Minority…, op. cit., p. 149. 82 Ibid., pp. 137 and 142. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj president is Toby Aldrich, former general manager of United Press International.83 The programmes of Spectrum Radio are available on medium waves, through satellite and the DAB platform. The station’s programme consists of selected fragments of offers of 22 radio stations of an ethnic character. Programmes from each of them are transmitted from 30 minutes to 7 hours daily in turns. Spectrum Radio broadcasts programmes of: CBC – Radio Canada International, China Radio International, Arabic Spectrum, Irish Spectrum, Chinese Spectrum, Radio Sweden, Negat Ethiopia Radio, ILC Tamil, Somali On Air, London Turkish Radio, Paradise Club from Mauritius, American NPR/PBS, Spanish Tiempo De Cambiar, Ghanaian Radio Focus, Danish Radio Seagull, Portuguese As Noticias, South Korean KBS Radio, Qatari Sout al Khaleej Radio, Jewish Tikkun Spectrum, Muslim Radio Fatima and Sikh Armit Vela Radio. It is worth noting that the station offers also a programme dedicated to the issues of sexual minorities, entitled Diva Talks on Gay Radio UK.84 TELEVISION OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN GREAT BRITAIN It seems that the communities coming from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have the greatest choice of television stations which offer programmes suiting them with regard to the language and content. Some of them are addressed to users in all the world. One of such stations is STAR TV – a TV network located in India, which broadcasts programmes in Hindi, mainly information programmes, series and films, on two channels. A similar profile characterises Sony TV – a station which offers mostly entertainment in Hindi. Another network located in India is Zee TV, which on three channels broadcasts programmes in various languages used in the country. B4U TV (Bollywood for You), in turn, has two channels where it offers Bollywood films and music. The Pakistan community in the whole world may take advantage of the offer of ARY Digital – a satellite television, in whose programme recipients can find information, series, music programmes and quiz shows in Urdu. Founded in 2000 in Great Britain as the Pakistani Channel, with time it expanded its range to other European countries. It is currently available on all continents except Australia. The station is currently located in Dubai in the United Arab 83 In 2008, together with Channel 4, Spectrum Radio sponsored a conference organised by The Guardian, entitled Ethnic Media Summit 2008. Re-engaging and reconnecting with ethnic minorities in media. 84 Source: http://www.spectrumradio.net [of 5.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Emirates.85 Since 1998, also a popular satellite channel Prime TV is offered to the Pakistani community in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The station promotes itself as a family entertainment channel.86 Since 2000 ATN Bangla – the first private satellite channel in Bangladesh – has been available in Europe. It may currently be received on all continents. The station has an information – education – entertainment character, and broadcasts in Bangla.87 Another example is the first satellite television for the Bangladeshis seated outside of Bangladesh – Bangla TV in London, active since 1999. The station’s programme is addressed mainly to the Bangladeshis in Great Britain and European capitals.88 As regards Chinese-language recipients in the world, it is worth mentioning Phoenix TV. It is a station located in Hong-Kong which offers a programme of information and entertainment in Mandarin. Another proposition is the Chinese Channel – broadcasting mainly programmes from Hong-Kong and Taiwan in Mandarin and Cantonese (the latter is used e.g. in Hong-Kong). Since 1997 it addresses its offer to recipients in Europe, with its range encompassing 48 states. It is part of Television Broadcast Limited located in HongKong.89 Beside stations which seek their audience among their specific ethnic communities, in Great Britain alone there are stations addressed to particular ethnic communities in the country, although there are few of these due to the large range given by satellite broadcasting – thus the stations do not want to limit themselves. An example of a British ethnic station in MATV (Midlands Asian Television) – a terrestrial broadcaster from Leicester, available also via the Internet, whose target group are South Asian communities in Leicestershire. The programmes are made in English, Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi.90 A separate category is television meant for audience from black communities. The offer addressed directly to them is not very rich, probably due to the large inner ethnic 85 Source: http://www.imuslimz.com/ary-news-tv [of 12.08.2010]. 86 Source: http://www.primetv.tv [of 12.08.2010]. 87 Source: http://www.atnbangla.tv [of 12.08.2010]. 88 Source: http://www.banglatv.co.uk [of 12.08.2010]. 89 Source: http://www.chinese-channel.co.uk [of 4.08.2010]. 90 Source: http://www.matv.co.uk [of 12.08.2010]. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj differentiation of black minorities living in Great Britain. Representatives of those minorities to a large extent use the programme offer of the mainstream media. One of the stations which clearly define their audience among the Afro-Caribbean minority (but also other ethnic minorities), mainly in Great Britain, Ireland, continental Europe and North Africa, is OBE TV (Original Black Entertainment Television). Since June 2006 it is also available on a satellite platform in the USA and in Canada.91 The station has its seat in London, but its owners are from Ghana.92 Also, one of the more interesting TVs oriented towards the black minority in Great Britain is the Internet television Colourtelly.tv, founded in 2007 by a journalist and presenter of Ghanaian descent, Dotun Adebayo, and his wife Carrol Thompson.93 The channel is available at www.colourtelly.com. Similarly as in the case of the radio, representatives of black minorities in Great Britain often use religious channels, including The God Channel – a global TV network of a Christian profile. Moreover, popular stations include (or included): the American BET (Black Entertainment Television) located in Washington, the British-Irish Trouble TV (closed in 2009) and the MTV Base channel, offering mostly black music. Such preferences of the audience may be explained with the interests of that group of recipients. For representatives of the Black Caribbean minority surveyed in 2003, music and religion were “important facets of [their] culture”94. Summarising, it may be clearly stated that the black minorities have the most difficulty in accessing media of (their) ethnic profile, particularly as compared to the Asian minorities – both as regards press and the audiovisual media.95 SUMMARY 91 Source: http://www.obetv.co.uk [of 1.08.2010 ]. 92 Source: http://afroeurope.blogspot.com/2009/01/black-television-in-europe.html [of 12.08.2010]. 93 James Silver, We don't see ourselves http://www.guardian.co.uk [of 12.08.2010]. 94 95 represented on screen at all. 2.07.2007. Source: Ethnic Minority…, op. cit., pp. 133 - 145. An important aspect in the context of black communities in Great Britain is, according to their representatives, a wrong image of the said minorities created by the mainstream media as well as poor representation of black journalists in the British media. For more on the subject see e.g.: Karen Ross, In whose image? TV criticism and black minority viewers [in:] Ethnic minorities and the media. Changing cultural boundaries, Simon Cottle (ed.), Open University Press, Buckingham – Philadelphia 2000, pp. 133 – 148. Also cf.: Beulah Ainley, Black Journalists, White Media, Trentham Books Ltd., London 1998 and many others. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj Today, ethnic minorities’ media in Great Britain make up a large segment of the media market of the country. In Great Britain there are several hundred papers and several tens of radio and TV stations available with respect to all the groups. Their detailed description is not of purpose here – many printed and online papers or radio stations are short-lived – they appear and then disappear from the market within several months. Hence only a brief description of selected titles and broadcasters was given to show the diversity of the offer addressed to the minorities as well as its lacks. Among such lacks one may include the relatively poor offer for minorities of African and Caribbean descent, particularly as compared with other ones. Another problem is the frequently low quality of the offer actually available to those minorities. It seems that that was the reason for the fall of The Nation, which paper had been functioning for many years, and it possibly still contributes to many other papers of ethnic press – not only black – disappearing from the market. Yet some of them last, even if their level leaves much to be required. A question could be posed – what decides about them lasting? Attachment? The wish to support press representing the interests of one’s own group? It seems that the ethnic media may count on a particular kind of audience, such as may be willing to make irrational decisions as consumers in order to reach a rational aim as members of an ethnic minority and to visibly contribute to indicating their presence. A large number of ethnic media may indicate that, at a certain level, the idea of a multicultural society whose members have the right to and experience in maintaining their own cultural traditions and promoting the successes of their groups is being realised in Great Britain. The fact that they often do that in English proves their acceptance of the inevitable changes in their communities, and on the other hand proves a certain openness towards the rest of the society. With respect to the same issue, one might add a question whether that rest of the society is interested in using the said openness. Does ethnic press in English also have recipients among the dominating, white majority? Can it thereby be a source of attitudes and ideas about the ethnic minority groups? If not, what criteria would it have to meet to play such a role? The questions so far remain unanswered, yet the presence of the topic of minorities and immigrants in British politics shows that the matters related to various aspects of their functioning within the British society are a topical and current issue and one that – in perspective – seems very developmental from the point of view of scientific research. I hope that this text may contribute to starting the discussion. Media Mosaic. Modern Media in the New World, ed. By Anna Siewierska-Chmaj BIBLIOGRAPHY: “Awaaz”, No. 326, March 2010. Ainley B., Black Journalists, White Media, Trentham Books Ltd., London 1998. Berekeley R., Khan O., Ambikaipaker M., What’s new about new immigrants in twenty-first century Britain?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2006 (online: http://www.runnymedetrust.org). British Census 2001 (data accessed online: www.statistics.gov.uk). Dwyer R., Teach Yourself Gujarati, Hodder and Stoughton, London 1995. 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