Representation of Minority Ethnic Groups
The United Kingdom mainstream media represent the ethnic minorities negatively as compared to the major ethnic groups. To be convinced by my claim, the reader needs to comprehend what media representation is and how ethnic minorities are represented. Media representation encompasses how media such as radios, televisions, books, and films portray specific communities or people. Many media underrepresent various groups in the United Kingdom. These include people of color, women, people with certain body types and ranges, disabled people, and people who are not Christians. In the United Kingdom, some of the ethnicities considered to be minorities include Indians, Chinese, Irish, and Blacks. There are certain factors that affect how the mainstream media portray the ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom. These include media ownership, pluralism, and the hypodermic needle theory. Media representation is essential since it offers a different perspective on various aspects such as culture, race, religion, and gender. Media representation reduces stereotyping and inaccurate portrayal of various groups.
Media Ownership
Most of the United Kingdom media outlets are owned by billionaires who determine the content to be published or aired regarding the various ethnic groups. For example, the Telegraph and Express are all owned by billionaires. Most of the media are used for advertising various brands, goods, and services, mainly targeting the major ethnic groups in the UK. Thus, the media owners do not promote those people with divergent values and beliefs from what is considered the norm in society in the UK. Through directing the information to be relayed to the public, the media ownership tries to curb anything that threatens the identity, which leads to prejudice against the various ethnic minority groups.
The result is the media portraying the minorities as terrorists, Romanian beggars, and immigrants who are claiming benefits (Airgood, 2017). Since such content is released under the knowledge or directives of the media ownership, they directly impact how the minority groups are represented. The negative representation of the minority groups by mainstream media, including newspapers such as Daily Mail and the Sun, results in more people buying the newspapers, which translates into more profit for the media owners.
Pluralism
Over the years, media pluralism has been defined as a change in media outlets’ ownership structure. However, over the years, pluralism has been explained by encompassing a variety of factors. Media pluralism entails seven principles. These include
- no restriction to the international and domestic media by the citizens
- Independency of broadcasting corporations in the production of their news and programs.
- Non-partisan nature of the state and public media, thus serving the interests of the public (Jakubowicz, 2015).
- Gathering and distribution of news for broadcast and print media by the independent broadcast media.
- Consumers’ judgment of objectivity of news through the transparency of the ownership in media.
- Affordability of the private and public sources of news.
- A vast number of the public’s social interests are represented and reflected in the media, including the languages of the minority group.
Though media pluralism is on the rise in the United Kingdom, there are still biased media houses used to drive the interests of various influential personnel or pass specific policies. For example, the United Kingdom media have been on the frontline talking about how there is an increase in immigrants and how this aggravates danger to the country. Moreover, they have failed to promote certain aspects of humanity and respect for human rights. An example of such is the media failing to point out the many cases of police brutality. Most of the cases that are aired or documented by the media sources usually occur due to public pressure (Jakubowicz, 2015). More than sixty percent of the employees at the media stations are from the major ethnic group in the United Kingdom. The mainstream media should strive to air news that enhances unity, love, and respect among various ethnic groups. However, in most cases, the media usually only airs or announces saddening news about the minority ethnic groups such as terrorist attacks and immigration. The media do not highlight the selfless community service offered by minority ethnic groups.
Nonetheless, various attempts have been put in place to ensure that ethnic minorities receive news and information via media stations and outlets. First, there have been broadcasting and newspaper outlets from Britain which have been working effortlessly to ensure the ethnic minorities such as those in Ireland are represented. These include papers such as Asian Lite, Asian Leader, electronic Asian news, and Chup Magazine. The other group that has been allowed in the United Kingdom is the media owned by the International and foreign cooperations. This includes media from some of the countries where the ethnic minority groups come from, such as India and China.
Hypodermic and interpretive model
The hypodermic needle model insinuates that the media injects certain information to the public. This information is directly taken up by the viewers and readers into their brains (Bertrand & Hughes, 2017). However, though the information aired or written is general, both the media outlets and the viewers tend to focus on particular topics that trigger certain beliefs and notions. Over the years, the media depictions of the South Asians, Caribbeans, and Africans have been built around violence, criminality, and crimes. Often, images of angry black men carrying out demonstrations, urban riots, some committing crimes such as gun stabbing and shootings fill most of the media in the United Kingdom. Even in scenarios where protests involve both the white and the black, such as the London riots of 2011, most of those who are aired causing demolition and harm are from the minor ethnic communities. Though the view towards other ethnicities on an interactive level has changed, the portrayal of such images and clips regarding the different ethnicities makes the viewers segregate and discriminate against the other ethnic communities.
Moreover, most television channels and newspapers tend to focus on the many immigrants arrested in the United Kingdom. Also, the airing of immigrants by media houses as they claim their social subsidies triggers hate and resentment to the minor ethnic groups by Britain’s residents (Airgood, 2017). Thus, even though positive and lucrative information regarding the ethnic communities is aired or written, people will choose what to read or watch and believe. On most occasions, it is the negative aspects that are selected. Furthermore, in movies and films, most of the lucrative roles are given to whites, and the lesser or support roles are given to those from the minor ethnic communities. This, in a way, promotes the way people view the little ethnic communities.
Conclusion
Media representation is a vital aspect of modern-day society. Most of the perceptions and notions that people have towards other ethnic groups or races are dependent on how media portrays these groups. In the United Kingdom, there is still some immense negativity being illustrated regarding the minor ethnic groups. This promotes racism, segregation, and hatred. Media should be diverse in portraying culture, race, religion, ethnicity, and gender.
References
Airgood, B. (2017). Immigrant representation: A content analysis of media narratives of immigrants in UK and US publications. Michigan State University.
Bertrand, I., & Hughes, P. (2017). Media research methods: Audiences, institutions, texts. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Jakubowicz, K. (2015). New media ecology: Reconceptualizing media pluralism. In Media Pluralism and Diversity (pp. 23-53). Palgrave Macmillan, London.