Rigoni, Isabelle
Turkish and Kurdish Media Production in Europe: A Comprehensive Overview
The London School of Economics and Political Science
Elements of the paper 'Les Medias des Migrants de Turquie en Europe.' I. Rigoni & R. Blion (2001), pg. 207-220.
Dr. Isabelle Rigoni, the author, received a Ph.D. from the University of Saint-Denis in Paris, France. A part of her dissertation was published in 2001. She was a lecturer for five years at Saint-Denis and Evry-Val d'Essonne (1991-2001) teaching sociology and political science. She is a member of many research centers, an associate research fellow, and a correspondent for CEMOTI. Along with her wonderful achievements, she is also the author of various articles on migration (identity, transnational networks and citizenship) and political violence within the Kurdish and Tamil cases. She is currently EU Marie Curie Research Fellow at CRER (Center for Research in Ethnic Relations) at the University of Warwick.
Conference Organization. Center for Research in Ethnic Relations.
Isabelle Rigonis' article, Turkish and Kurdish Media Production in Europe: A Comprehensive Overview, aspires to illustrate the impact of ethnic media in European countries and the experiences it has provided for the immigrants (Turks and Kurds) due to the unprecedented profound changes. The vast selection of media has allowed Rigoni to investigate many areas for her research. However, for this study, the focus was on Turkish newspapers, Turkish satellite television and magazines written by Kurdish migrants from Turkey.
From the 1971 to 1990, the Turkish newspapers, available in Europe, alternated between liberal, nationalist, religious and conservative trends. These dailies are published in Germany then delivered all over Europe. Sales have fallen dramatically in two years due to the lack of investigative journalists who fear legal prosecution, imprisonment and even legal execution; therefore, the papers are often poor and rarely affect society.
The Turkish satellite television is delivered from the networks in Germany, through transmitters that are built in Europe then transferred to Turkey. The satellite television has over twenty five channels; with most of them belonging to private owners via satellites in Eutelsat and Turksat. They are mainly commercial, with some being religious or political. The Turkish State is the first to provide the migrants with television broadcasts through the TRTINT channel. The satellite television is an important bearing for ethnicity and prefers the identity continuation without taking part in the armed conflict.
There are dozens of newspapers and magazines that have been published by Kurdish migrants. Rigoni found seventy seven of them. These publishers are located in Germany (25 of them), in Sweden (21), Belgium (6), France (5) and the United Kingdom (1). These publications are often monolingual, written in a Kurdish language (57), Turkish (31), German (12), French (7), English (7), and other languages (4). The majority are designed for women, young people, and Kurdish minorities- on political and cultural topics.
Throughout the article, Rigoni stated that the Kurds who currently live in Europe, and had originated from Turkey, owned satellite stations that their listeners gravitated towards with much interest. The most popular Kurd television channel is Medya-TV; which is produced in Denderleeuw and then sent to London for the satellite transmission. In Turkey, Medya-TV is banned; along with the British license that has been suspended from March 22 to May 29, 1999. Along with television, newspapers allowed the Kurds to produce more newspapers in Europe, in several languages.
During the 1990s, new technology slowly began arriving, leading to the Turkish governments' loss of control over the media. Soon after, the entire Turkish press began declining; starting with the journalists fear of legal prosecution over the coverage of stories. With the development of the Internet and satellite television, Rigoni explained how it helped give a voice to the Turks through the expansion of the political and religious content of the newspapers.
Rigoni acknowledged the low level of participation that the young people of Turkish or Kurdish origin, in Europe, had in the press. Research shows that the majority of the migrants from Turkey show little concern for the ethnic press that is created in the host countries and receive the majority of their media consumption from the European media outlets. A survey conducted in 1991 and 1997 (through the Office for Foreigners of Berlin State), showed a representative sample of 1,500 16-25 year-olds of Turkish and Kurdish origin which indicated their consumer strategy.
The results: German television is viewed by 72.7% and 68.7% for Turkish television, German press is read by 52.3% and 48% for Turkish press, German broadcasts are listened to by 28.6% and 17.4% for Turkish broadcasts. Overall, from 1991 to 1997, the interests for German channels declined, whereas the attraction for Turkish channels increased. The Turkish television is preferred for its talk shows, news, variety shows and sport broadcasts, while the German television is chosen for its movie programs. The youngsters rather read the Turkish newspapers and the German magazines.
The end of the article posed two questions. One, “How can and should the Turkish and Kurdish media adapt themselves to these changes?” and “What is the participation of the migrants in the media scene of the host countries?” (Rigoni 15). In order for them to adapt, Rigoni stated that it is vital for the press to recover with a quality of journalism. The journalist who have impeccable investigative skills should be in a place of comfort within the company they work for which will keep them at ease while they are covering a story; allowing them to avoid legal prosecution. In general, the national media reproduces and creates the discourse of migrants and does not appear ready to reconcile the conflicting voices of the Turkish and Kurdish people. “The media are themselves being made while they are simultaneously making something else” (Rigoni 10). (Reviewed by Precious Wheat)
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