Introduction: Conceptualizing the Media of Diaspora

Abstract

Diasporic media are a platform for self-expression, the representation of cultural artefacts and the contestation of negative stereotypes by migrant people in the public sphere. In the context of this anthology, diasporic media are perceived ‘as the media that are produced by and for migrants and deal with issues that are of specific interest for the members of diasporic communities’ (Bozdag et al., 2012, p. 97). Their functions have been articulated in previous literature, including the production of ‘culturally relevant and locally vital information to immigrants in the host society’ (Yin, 2013, p. 3); ‘orientation and connective roles’ (Ogunyemi, 2012b); ‘open space for a self-reflective discourse among migrants’ (Bozdag et al., 2012); ‘reinforce identities and sense of belonging’ (Georgiou, 2006); ‘the (re-)creation of alternative imaginative space alongside existing mappings’ (Karim, 2003); and contribution ‘to the ethnic diversity of a multi-ethnic public sphere’ (Husband, 2000, p. 206). However, we know very little about their production practices because they are hardly used in empirical studies. This hiatus in the literature is evident in the observation made by Wahl-Jorgensen and Hanitzsch that ‘the work of US news organizations is extremely well charted, whereas we know excruciatingly little about what goes on in newsrooms and media content in Africa, Asia and Latin America’ (Wahl-Jorgensen and Hanitzsch, 2009, p. 8).