New Zealand’s 2008 general election, with its unprecedented focus on the “ethnic vote” and ethnic minority candidates with highest-ever party list rankings, proved compelling from a migrant engagement perspective. How do migrant communities achieve voice in their adopted country? And how does a now unmistakably multicultural nation address the political communication needs of an increasingly vocal, pro-active, and politically involved migrant population? This thesis examines the role of ethnic minority media in engaging migrant communities in the democratic process. In particular, it examines South Asian media in New Zealand and the extent to which they represented a vital public sphere for informing and engaging their wider migrant communities in public political debate during the 2008 election campaign. Applying qualitative and quantitative research approaches, this thesis elicits and analyses diverse perspectives of the extent to which local South Asian newspapers and radio current affairs programming represented an important complementary public sphere for informing and engaging migrant voters during the campaign. Ultimately, this study provides an alternative perspective on media coverage of the 2008 New Zealand general election, and insight into the role and influence of ethnic minority media within democratic discourse. As a contribution to the body of academic literature examining the media and minority political engagement, it is intended to provoke critical consideration of the communications needs facing new migrants in an increasingly multicultural New Zealand.

The role of local Chinese media has become more important as the size of the Chinese community in New Zealand has increased rapidly in recent years. The function of local Chinese media could be like a bridge connecting the Chinese community and the mainstream society. This was an exploratory study which examined the current situation of local Chinese media to determine such issues as to whether they are the main source of information for the Chinese community, what if any difficulties they are facing and how they may develop in the future. A general research was conducted for the local Chinese media in Auckland, which covers brief introductions for some local Chinese newspapers, radio, websites, and the sole Chinese television company-World TV. Meanwhile, the researcher collected 102 questionnaires and conducted 10 in-depth interviews from the local Chinese residents and the staff working in local Chinese media companies. The findings of research suggest that most local Chinese residents utilize Chinese language media as a tool to collect daily information either from local society or their original countries. The local Chinese media not only provides information for the local community, but also has social value as a means for self-representation of the Chinese community in New Zealand and better adaptation to the mainstream society. On the other hand, the funding shortage as well as the tough competition became the obstacles for the future development for the local Chinese media. The results of this research may point to what the government’s role should be.

The role of local Chinese media has become more important as the size of the Chinese community in New Zealand has increased rapidly in recent years. The function of local Chinese media could be like a bridge connecting the Chinese community and the mainstream society. This was an exploratory study which examined the current situation of local Chinese media to determine such issues as to whether they are the main source of information for the Chinese community, what if any difficulties they are facing and how they may develop in the future. A general research was conducted for the local Chinese media in Auckland, which covers brief introductions for some local Chinese newspapers, radio, websites, and the sole Chinese television company-World TV. Meanwhile, the researcher collected 102 questionnaires and conducted 10 in-depth interviews from the local Chinese residents and the staff working in local Chinese media companies. The findings of research suggest that most local Chinese residents utilize Chinese language media as a tool to collect daily information either from local society or their original countries. The local Chinese media not only provides information for the local community, but also has social value as a means for self-representation of the Chinese community in New Zealand and better adaptation to the mainstream society. On the other hand, the funding shortage as well as the tough competition became the obstacles for the future development for the local Chinese media. The results of this research may point to what the government’s role should be.

Il presente lavoro di tesi si propone di ricostruire le “logiche mediali” dell’editoria promossa dalle minoranze etniche attraverso un approccio etnografico. Nella prima parte si ricostruisce lo scenario mediale, culturale, istituzionale entro il quale si dipanano le attività editoriali, con particolare attenzione alle profonde trasformazioni indotte dalle dinamiche globali e dalle migrazioni internazionali. Nella seconda parte, si ricostruisce il dibattito sulle culture mediali etnico-minoritarie a partire dall'analisi dei contributi più significativi, con un approfondimento meta-teorico sugli approcci metodologici più ricorrenti e, infine, la descrizione della realtà editoriale italiana. Nella terza parte, si indaga il significato del processo di framing in relazione alla capacità dell’istituzione giornalistica di fornire definizioni della situazione sociale e, al contempo, produrre un allargamento delle forme di cittadinanza. Nella quarta e ultima parte, si espongono i risultati di una ricerca etnografica che ha coinvolto un campione composto da sei redazioni impegnate nella produzione di contenuti televisivi. Dall’indagine qualitativa emerge una panoplia di culture produttive, in cui la professionalità e l’etnicità del soggetto vengono ri-negoziate sulla base delle peculiarità di ciascun assetto produttivo. Nondimeno, le culture mediali etnico-minoritarie rappresentano un punto d’osservazione privilegiato dal quale cogliere le complesse dinamiche che investono il mediascape contemporaneo nell’epoca della convergenza. / The dissertation is an attempt to reconstruct ethnic minority publishing media logic through an ethnographic approach. The first part is a depiction of the media, cultural, institutional scenario, where publishing practices unfold, with a specific focus on meaningful transformations provoked by both global dynamics and international migrations. The second part is a reconstruction of the debate upon ethnic media culture, or rather, an analysis of the most salient approaches and a meta-theoretical examination of the most recurring methodologies. The third part provides an insight on the process of framing with relation to the journalism, and the possibility to offer a definition of the social situation and to produce an enlargement of the concept of citizenship. The fourth part is a presentation of the ethnographic results of a research upon a sample compounded by six newsroom. Qualitative outcomes reveals a huge range of productive cultures, in which both professionalism and ethnicity are negotiated in base of the specific features of each organization. Nevertheless, ethnic minority media culture represents a privileged viewpoint from where to observe the complex dynamics affecting the contemporary mediascape in the convergence era.

(in English): The diploma thesis analyzes special historical and social themes, which have been published in two most significant newspapers of Polish minority from Teschen Silesia - Głos Ludu and Zwrot. The theoretical part of this thesis is focused on problematics of Polish press in Teschen Silesia since 1848, especially on a history, contens and editors of first Polish- language newspapers. This part is also dedicated to the development of Polish press in Teschen Silesia in the 20th century, primarily to advancement of Polish press in the first half of the century, but also to the reaction to partition of Teschen Silesia after the First World War. This part put emphazis on Czech-Polish relations. The diploma thesis is also focused on the historical development and content of Głos Ludu and Zwrot (in the period of communism). Except for content analysis the thesis is dedicated to newspeak. The main purpose of the practical part of the thesis is to introduce a Polish perception of themself and perception of Czech majority through the minority press in the first six years after the fall of the communist regime (1990-1995). Using the Critical discourse analysis (CDA), the thesis examine a snippets of articles, which are divided into the following socio-historical thematic units: position of Polish...

The diploma thesis deals with Russian language periodic press in the Czech Republic from 1990 to 2016. Based on a quantitative document analysis, the thesis describes changes in number of periodicals, identifies three types of publishers and details the biggest publishing companies. Readers and functions of Russian language periodic press are defined with the help of in-depth interviews with media producers. The thesis is supplemented by a list of Russian language titles published in the Czech Republic in 2018. It also contains a description of producers of this minority language media and their working conditions. The thesis concludes that there is a declining tendency in number of Russian language titles published in the Czech Republic. The age of readers of this type of minority media varies. The audience speak and read in Russian and it is also comfortable for them to read in this language. These printed periodicals provide their readers with civic and cultural explanation and with apolitical information with so called Czech element. These functions enable their readers assimilation into the major society.