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Representations of Ethnic Minorities: Are Canadian newspapers altering content to attract minority culture readers?
Canadian newspapers are made up of the current mainstream dailies, many of which are among the highest circulated in the country, such as The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, and The Montreal Gazette. Canadian newspapers are also made up of ethnic newspapers, such as Ming Pao Daily News and CanIndia, as well as student newspapers from various universities across the country. With the increasing growth in immigration over the past decades, many of these newspapers have altered and are continuing to alter their content to attract minority culture readers. However, the need to alter content to attract minorities can go both ways and have positive or negative effects on readers (both minorities and non-minorities). In order to better understand these effects, it is helpful to look at the historical framework of how Canadian newspapers have portrayed ethnic minorities.

A Historical Perspective
The problematic depictions of immigrants in the media go back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. A lot of the newspapers back then had anti-Chinese sentiment with headlines like: “Chinese gambled; These 18 Chinks were Roped in…” (Toronto Daily Star, March 29, 1909). Other minorities were also subject to racist discourse, with headlines such as: “Negro Thieves given Stiff Sentences” (Windsor Evening Record, Oct. 20, 1912). In almost all the early headlines, generalized racial identity was directly linked to the wrong doings of a few people. Skipping decades later to the 1970s, and signs of racist discourse was still visible in newspapers. For example, a study done by Rosenfeld and Spina in 1977, revealed that The Toronto Sun’s coverage of ethnic minorities was racially biased and discriminatory. The Globe and Mail also went under the watchful eye of researchers, who studied the newspapers’ immigration issue from 1980-1985. They found that the immigration news stories had a misuse of language, such as cliché and stereotypical words like ‘flood of refugees’, the ‘surge’ in the number of immigrants and ‘job stealers'. From these examples, the mainstream press only included negative stories of minorities that presented them in a bad light. The stories further stereotyped an entire minority group, based on the wrong doings of a few people in that group. It is hard to imagine such prejudiced reporting occurring in Canadian newspapers (especially the recent historical examples), because it does not reflect the reality of Canada as a diverse and multicultural country. However, even with the implementation of the Multiculturalism Policy of 1971, reports have said that Canadian mainstream newspapers have continued to be stereotypical and prejudiced towards ethnic minorities, but under a more subtle guise (Mahtani).

Multiculturalism Policy
In 1971, Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy, and based on its guidelines, the policy ensures that all citizens can keep their identities, have pride in their ancestry, and a sense of belonging. The policy also affects media representations of minorities in Canada because, according to the Broadcasting Act of 1991, media organizations are expected to reflect “the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada”. However, the Broadcasting Act is often ignored in the Canadian press, and the inclusion of minority-related news is often built on various stereotypes that still persist in mainstream newspapers.

Issues of content alteration: How Canadian newspapers alter their content to attract minority culture readers
The way minorities are portrayed in Canadian newspapers play a big role in shaping their social identities, and the attitudes of both minority and non-minority readers. Canada has one of the highest levels of newspaper readership in the world, with 40 percent of Canadians reading a newspaper on a daily basis. Since many Canadian citizens rely on newspapers as an important source of information and knowledge about their country and fellow citizens, their attitudes are shaped by what they read. In addition, newspapers - particularly large dailies with a wide readership - have to be responsible when publishing content that a lot of people take in as factual. But even though newspapers claim to uphold the traditional journalistic values of balance and objectivity, and even though Canada is a multicultural society, Canadian minorities often receive unequal treatment or are excluded in newspapers. When newspapers do alter their content to attract minority culture readers, the alterations are often misrepresentations or a form of under-representation of their cultures. In turn, minority culture readers are attracted to the prospect of seeing their culture being represented in mainstream news, only to find out that they are misrepresented and/or under-represented.

Misrepresentation
When it comes to depicting minorities in Canada, the major dailies often take a polarized approach and present them as the ‘other’ to the rest of Canadian society, even when the minorities are Canadian citizens as well. The misrepresentation of Canadian Muslims in newspapers during the past two decades, reflect this ‘othering’ of a minority group. Canadian Muslims, particularly Muslim women, have been portrayed as outsides that do not promote Canadian values in their covered attire (i.e.: headscarf). Newspaper headlines in the past have included: “Wearing a uniform of oppression” (The Globe and Mail, 1993), “Shrouded in black, women rendered invisible, voiceless” (Toronto Star, 1995). These headlines misrepresent Muslim women minorities in Canada, because it creates a discourse of a ‘third-world woman’ and someone who is backward. Furthermore, it instigates a negatively constructed reality towards Muslim women minorities, which get instilled in the newspapers’ readers. Non-minority readers will perceive the stories as reality, right from the get go of sensationalist headlines. While minority Muslim women readers feel alienated and ashamed of themselves; they are cast as outsiders despite their status as Canadian citizens. Another area of misrepresentation of Muslim women is the ‘Orientalist stereotype’ that newspapers take on. Research shows that Islam and Muslims are mostly covered in the foreign affairs section, which further shows their presentation of outsiders and ‘other’, rather than members of the Canadian nation. In addition, the mainstream newspapers’ fixation on the Muslim women’s dress code is so pervasive, that in a review of five Canadian dailies between 1993-1997, 20 out of 23 articles were specifically about the women wearing the hijab in Canada - as if it is the only relevant aspect of a Muslim woman’s identity. This specificity reinforces the ‘Orientalist’ discourse that newspapers take, to show that Muslim customs (i.e.: wearing the hijab) are oppressive towards women, and are therefore un-canadian. In these 20 articles, it is important to note that the minority Canadian Muslim women were presented as ‘immigrant status’, rather than ‘Canadian women’. Moreover, the newspapers were so zoned in on the ‘others’ dress code, even when Muslim Canadian women readers would rather read about other matters, such as their contributions to Canadian society.

Under-representation
If Canadian newspapers do alter their content to attract minority culture readers, they often alter them under a limited framework (i.e.: only portraying them in certain sections of the paper, as in the case of Muslim Canadian women in the foreign affairs section). Newspapers also limit the scope of minority representation, by only featuring them in stories as athletes and entertainers. Or they represent them in stories where they are the cause of trouble or victimized. . These limited frameworks lead to the under-representation of minority groups, wherein readers do not get the full picture of the groups they are reading about. And so, their attitudes towards minority cultures are often based on what they read in the newspapers’s constructions of them.

The under-representation of minority culture content in the mainstream dailies are markedly felt when comparing their low statistics with the rising statistics of immigration in Canada. According to the 2006 statistics Canada census, visible minorities make up 16.20 percent of the total population, and that number is increasing rapidly Statistics Canada notes that by 2017, one out of five people are expected to be a visible minority citizen So if the population of visible minorities is on the rise, why aren’t they being represented more effectively in Canadian mainstream newspapers? There are several reasons that suggest this imbalance of low news content and rising population (rising readership) - One, the issue of newspaper media ownership in Canada. Two, the lack of minorities within the newspaper workforce. And three, the idea of reporting the ‘norm’ via pack and copycat journalism:

1. Newspaper media ownership in Canada

Many of the mainstream newspapers fall under a media consolidation or a concentration of media ownership in Canada, which is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. With the partial exception of the Toronto Star, many Canadian newspapers are also owned by the same big media conglomerates which own the TV networks, such as Canwest Global. Due to the concentration of newspaper media ownership, news makers have to follow certain guidelines and are careful about what they publish and deem newsworthy. They have to take into account the considerations of their corporate controllers. One of the main motives of the big media conglomerates is increased profitability, and they require news makers to publish ‘news that sells'. And if the dominant ideology dictates that the ‘norm’ non-minority topics are news stories that sell, then newspapers will focus on those topics only. Furthermore, their decision to include minority culture stories are based on the purpose to polarize minorities as the ‘other’ from the ‘norm’, adapting a ‘them’ versus ‘us’ mentality. Like with the media conglomerates, newspaper editors also have an active say in the news selection process. They too have business profit in mind, and news becomes more about the media’s priorities (promoting the constructed ideology of minorities as ‘other’) rather than the reality (the steady rise of minority citizens in Canada).

2. The newspaper workforce

The lack of minority news makers is another reason why there is a lack of coherent news stories about ethnic minorities in Canada. Based on research conducted to compare with the results of the original CDNA statistics of 1994, there has been a slight increase in the minority news staff from 2.6 percent to 3.4 percent. However, the numbers do not keep up with the huge increase of visible minorities in Canada. Minority managers are even more scarce, and are less likely to be employed. If minority journalists are hired, the posts are often part-time than permanent full-time jobs, and only 13.5 percent of managers feel the strong desire to hire a diverse staff. Their main reason for this decision is because they ‘hire the best person regardless of race or gender’. And most often the ‘best person’ tends to be white and male. Another excuse that newspapers use is that there aren’t enough minorities in their area for diversity to be an issue and that ‘minorities don’t apply here’. Moreover, 80 percent of newspapers agree that diversity coverage is a job for everyone one, and it should not depend on hiring diverse reporters. However, how can diversity coverage be considered effective if it is only seen through a dominant, white point of view? And how can it be effective, if many newspapers do not take the initiative to implement better ‘diversity training’ for their hired journalists?

3. Promoting the status quo

The absence of minority coverage in Canadian newspapers serves to consolidate the status quo. In doing so, ethnic minorities often feel left out, alienated and under-represented. It is unfair to them, because they are rightful Canadian citizens too, and would rather see news stories that reflect their engagement as citizens of the country, instead of stereotyped ones that foster the mentality of ‘othering’ minorities as separate from the dominant culture. They feel like they are under-represented in the news sections that matter, and exaggerated in other sections like entertainment and sports. According to Augie Fleras, mainstream newspapers see minorities as tokens, as a way to provide entertainment or serve ornamental purposes through exaggeration. Such entertainment articles include ethnic food recipes with a ‘western’ twist, the plethora of event listings and festivals (i.e.: Caribana coverage, various ethnic dance festivals), and cultural entertainment coverage like the recent International Indian Film Academy Awards in Toronto. While covering minority culture events is important to the appreciation of these cultures, it is not enough for mainstream newspapers to only represent minorities in ‘Life’ and ‘Arts’ sections, while under-representing them in the actual ‘News’ section. It does a disservice to both minority culture and non-minority readers - minority readers are not fully represented and feel that they cannot relate to the news in mainstream dailies. While non-minority readers get a partial and generalized conception of their fellow minority culture citizens, and can be prone to view them under the light of the newspapers’ constructions.

Content alteration for the purpose of profit
Due to the prominent growth of visible minorities in Canada, many newspapers have turned their attention to these minority groups in recent years, because they see them as the new ‘target consumers’. And because of their sheer mass, they cannot be ignored anymore. With a rise in population, comes a rise in readership, which translates into profit for those in control of newspaper media. Much of the content alteration in newspapers have occurred for business purposes in viewing minority readers as commodities, rather than providing an engaging space for readers. According to the Statistics Canada Census in April 2008, South Asians (Chinese and Indians) make up the new target consumer group, because they have the biggest populations among ethnic minorities (jin article). The altering of print advertising is one way in which Asian minorities get drawn to Canadian newspapers. For example, there are many flyers and news stories that cater to Asian-culture specific products like food and promotion of programs that specifically cater to Chinese and Indian minorities, such as a posting in the Mississauga News about a ‘Diabetes info session for the Chinese Community’. The mainstream Canadian newspapers have seen the fastest growing Asian minority readers as commodities, because their purchasing power is higher than other ethnic groups. Hence, altering content to attract these minorities have been more than rectifying past prejudices and stereotyping, or about being politically correct. It becomes a big business venture. There are problems that seem to arise when newspapers generalize their ethnic minority readers as commodities of the same, all-encompassing whole. The economical and lifestyle situations vary between the people in Chinese and Indian minority groups. Not all of them are well-to-do and financially stable. For example, a minority citizen who has lived in the country for 20-plus years, versus a 6-month newcomer will have different situations. Another example of differences, might include the different situations of first-generation minorities in Canada versus their second-generation counterparts. Oftentimes, the offspring of minority Canadians might not relate to the altered print advertisements, because they have already integrated themselves into the mainstream culture and show little interest in them. By idealizing its new target readership the mainstream media might actually be detracting some of its minority readership, by situating them under all-encompassing umbrellas, without noticing the differences (however subtle or stark) among the individuals in the group.

An alternative to the mainstream: Ethnic Newspapers
Minority culture readers who find that they are being misrepresented, under-represented and over-generalized in mainstream Canadian newspapers, seek out and get attracted to alternative print media outlets. The main alternative for them is ethnic Canadian newspapers. There are two types of definitions for ethnic media - one, it is media by and for ethnics in a host country with content in ethnic language. And two, it is media that is trans-nationalized and produced in part by their home countries rather than by immigrant communications themselves in their host countries. Ethnic newspapers like the English-language CanIndia (for Indian minorities), to the Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily (for Chinese minorities) attract a particular kind of readership. It is this specificity and importance in specialized news stories that attract minority culture readers to ethnic media, which they don’t find in the mainstream dailies. The rise in immigration is reflected in the rise of ethnic newspaper publications. Visible minority groups have created their own media since 1979. And according to the Media Awarenewss Network in Canada, more than 250 ethnic newspapers include weeklies and seven non-english dailies. These newspapers provide an alternative public sphere to that of mainstream newspapers, where readers can identify and relate to the news stories being published. Feelings of alienation give way to feelings of belonging.

James W. Carey’s ‘Ritual View of Communication’
In order to better see how and why many ethnic minorities are attracted to the alternative ethnic newspapers, as opposed to the mainstream dailies, it is helpful to look at James W. Carey's Ritual View of Communication. Unlike the Transmission view of communication, the Ritual view promotes sharing, participation, association, and possession of a common faith, and news stories in Ethnic papers are written in this light. The stories give dramatically satisfying presentations of what the world is, and minority readers get drawn to them because they can identify with their culture (be it Sing Tao’s promotion of Chinese minorities or CanIndia’s support of Indian minorities). By seeking the alternative solutions to the mainstream dailies, minority culture readers are engaged in their own specific ritual of communication that they relate to. Furthermore, by seeking out the ‘right tools’ (ethnic newspapers for a lot of them), they can conduct their rituals more effectively.

Conflicts
The stories in ethnic newspapers have ‘protagonists’ that minority culture readers can relate to unlike their mainstream counterparts. However, minority readers might fall into the trap of solely relying on ethnic newspapers their only source of information, because they place their full trust on ethnic media. By situating themselves into comfortable and idealized niches, minority readers who are also Canadian citizens, might not be able to fully integrate into Canadian society. In order to gain knowledge and a thorough understanding of their minority placement in Canadian society, readers must utilize both mainstream daily newspapers and ethnic newspapers.