Imagined communities of television viewers: Conceptual challenges in reception research on ethnic minority audiences.

Dhoest, A. (2011). Imagined communities of television viewers: Conceptual challenges in reception research on ethnic minority audiences. . Zagreb conference: "New challenges and methodological innovations in European media audience research". 7-9 April 2011.

Abstract: Television audiences are often described as ‘imagined’ or ‘interpretive’ communities, sharing interpretive frameworks and using television to form or confirm group identities. This paper theoretically explores these notions, starting with a discussion of the assumed homogeneity of national audience which is increasingly questioned in the age of multi-channel global TV. Then, ethnic minority viewing practices are discussed, drawing on research into diasporic media use. Are ethnic minority audience members part of imagined ‘national’ communities, do they constitute a different kind of (diasporic) communities or is the very notion of ‘communities’ outdated in a world of multiple and changeable identifications? Moving on from these theoretical reflections, this chapter discusses the methodology of reception research on national and ethnic minority audiences. Own research on ethnic majority and minority viewers in Flanders (Belgium) is used to illustrate the problems inherent in the assumption of homogeneity within and difference between ethnic communities.