News media fosters cultural integration
In order for immigrant communities to integrate in their host societies, learning the national language is vital. It is also a means for immigrants to know the societies in which they live. Interculturalism as a way to reinforce cultural dialogue and foster the process of immigrant immigration was the focus of the EU-funded project TVNPI (TV news for promoting interculturalism: A novel step towards immigrant integration). More specifically, it aimed at a comprehensive and integrated approach to understanding the role of (TV) news media in the integration processes of new migrants in Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain, at both structural and sociocultural levels. Various phases of the project were designed to better understand the factors mediating the relationship between news media and integration. These involved looking at news coverage patterns for social reality in television news broadcasts of the host countries as well as at the role of news in the integration experiences of immigrants. Additionally, an online platform of TV news educational content that can enhance immigrants' skills in their host country's language and promote intercultural communication processes was included. The team conducted a content analysis of a representative sample of public and commercial TV channels in Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain. This involved the examination of patterns of TV news production across the sample countries in three different studies. Migrants in the study noted that media exposure to the host country's news offers a broader range of social and cultural components. In turn, this allows them to understand the values and current issues of the host country. Factors that influence the relationship between media use and migrant integration include levels of education, migration background, language skills and the way the host country's news is perceived. Recommendations have been made for further research and best practices regarding the use of media for promoting immigrant integration and intercultural dialogue. Additionally, collaboration with research projects was realised in different universities and research centres.
Keywords
News media, language acquisition, social integration, interculturalism, TVNPI
